SimpliFi & Infinios partner to support the growing Fintech ecosystem in MENA

July 13, 2022: SimpliFi, the leading Cards as a Service (CaaS) platform for MENA and Pakistan, and Infinios Financial Services B.S.C (c) (Infinios), a card processor and payment services provider licensed and regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain, announce a strategic partnership to support the growing fintech ecosystem in the MENA region. Under the partnership, SimpliFi will utilize Infinios Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS), to accelerate the enablement of digital financial services for businesses in the region.

The partnership aligns with SimpliFi’s vision to offer a one-stop solution for businesses to issue scheme-enabled prepaid cards across MENA and Pakistan, as well as Infinios’ goals to deliver flexible and secure digital banking and payment solutions to Fintechs like SimpliFi.

“We are delighted to be partnering with a strong BaaS player like Infinios that brings together deep domain knowledge and extensive payments experience in the region,” said Ali Sattar, Founder and CEO of SimpliFi. “By combining Infinios’ capabilities with SimpliFi’s deep tech expertise and customer relationships, we will enable businesses to bring innovative propositions to market in record time.”

“The collaboration with SimpliFi is in line with our commitment to supporting the growing fintech ecosystem in the region.” commented Andrew Sims, CEO of Infinios. “This partnership demonstrates how two Fintechs can come together to provide seamless, holistic solutions which enable a rapid route to market for businesses that wish to embed digital financial services into their business processes and applications.”  

About SimpliFi:

SimpliFi, a Cards as a Service (CaaS) platform for MENA and Pakistan, provides businesses with a one-stop solution to issue and manage their cards’ program, enabling them to streamline operations, drive new revenue streams, and increase loyalty. 

SimpliFi provides a full-stack solution consisting of APIs, SDKs, a client portal, a white-label app, and end-to-end program management capabilities. The Company manages all ecosystem partners required to issue cards, including banks, card schemes, processors, identity verification, card fulfillment, and customer care to deliver a seamless experience across multiple markets. In addition to providing a purpose-built tech stack, SimpliFi manages day-to-day card operations and compliance so businesses can focus on their core strengths whilst leveraging the capabilities and scale of SimpliFi. For further details please visit https://www.simplifipay.com.

About Infinios:

Formed in 2014, Infinios Financial Services B.S.C(c) (previously known as NEC Payments B.S.C.(c)) is licensed and regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) as an Ancillary Services Provider, Payment Services Provider, and Card Processor. Infinios built the Infinite Financial Solutions platform from the ground-up, complying with multiple security and business process standards, and working with leading names in the technology and Fintech industries. Its vision is to help digital businesses to thrive and their customers to prosper, and its mission is to enable the growth of digital commerce and the development of superior digital financial services experiences through the provision of innovative, robust and compliant technology solutions. For further details please visit https://www.infinios.com.

Card Scheme: Fintech Explained by SimpliFi

In any given payment card transaction there are multiple entities involved in the processing of those transactions- one of the fundamental entities found in the process is the Card Scheme.

What is a Card Scheme?

A card scheme is a payment network that processes payments made on prepaid, credit, and debit cards. Its primary role is to connect payors with payees by acting as a trusted party and managing payment transactions, including authorization, clearing, and settlement. Transactions are managed according to a set of procedures, rules, and arrangements that allow cardholders to buy products and services from retailers and other service providers.

Card schemes serve as a fundamental part of payment processes, making online and offline purchases possible without the need for cash or cheques.

As consumers, we use these schemes day in and day out in spite of the fact that there is no direct relationship between the card scheme and us – the consumer. Banks and other financial institutions are members of card schemes like Visa or Mastercard which allows them to issue payment cards.

How Does a Card Scheme Work?

Card schemes use a set of unique rules and procedures to transfer transaction information from the acquiring bank to the issuing bank.

Once a payment card is tapped, swiped, or inserted in a POS terminal, or through an online payment system, a certain pathway of communication opens up. This pathway is between the card scheme, the issuing bank, and the acquiring bank – representing how cardholder data is stored, processed, and transmitted in order for a transaction to go through.

As consumers tap their cards to pay, card schemes send authorization requests to cardholder’s bank – validating card details provided and ensuring sufficient funds are available in cardholder’s account. Once authorized, card schemes send information back to the acquiring bank. Transactions are settled typically overnight and funds are released and placed into the merchant’s account.

In short, card schemes are an essential component of successful transactions, connecting merchants and financial institutions to authorize transactions and facilitate the transfer of funds.

SimpliFi partners with gate to pay to fast-track card issuance in Jordan

June 28, 2022: SimpliFi, the leading Cards as a Service (CaaS) platform for MENA and Pakistan, and Gate to Pay, a regional Fintech operating within the payments and the BaaS (Banking as a Service) domains, have joined forces to enable businesses to issue scheme-enabled payment cards in Jordan.

The partnership brings together SimpliFi’s leading card issuance platform and deep technology expertise with Gate to Pay’s extensive market knowledge and local strategic assets to deliver a seamless proposition to bring innovative card programs to market. The partners will work closely to enable Fintechs and other technology companies to issue cards to support a variety of use cases involving consumer and B2B payments, thereby digitizing the payments ecosystem in the Kingdom.

“Collaborating with Gate To Pay is one additional step towards democratizing card issuance in the MENA and Pakistan region,” said Ali Sattar, Founder, and CEO of SimpliFi. “The Fintech industry needs players like Gate to Pay, committed to providing seamless digital payment solutions to their partners, and we are beyond excited to be partnering with them to bring new solutions to market.”

“We are extremely proud and honoured to be chosen as an enabler for SimpliFi” commented Maha AlSaid – General Manager at Gate to Pay. “SimpliFi has really ambitious and exciting plans for the MENA region, and we are glad to be part of this journey as a chosen partner for SimpliFi. We look forward to this joint project in which we hope to play a part in shaping the MENA FinTech industry along with SimpliFi”

About SimpliFi:

SimpliFi, a Cards as a Service (CaaS) platform for MENA and Pakistan, provides businesses with a one-stop solution to issue and manage their cards’ program, enabling them to streamline operations, drive new revenue streams, and increase loyalty.

SimpliFi provides a full-stack solution consisting of APIs, SDKs, a client portal, a white-label app, and end-to-end program management capabilities. The Company manages all ecosystem partners required to issue cards, including banks, card schemes, processors, identity verification, card fulfillment, and customer care to deliver a seamless experience across multiple markets. In addition to providing a purpose-built tech stack, SimpliFi manages day-to-day card operations and compliance so businesses can focus on their core strengths whilst leveraging the capabilities and scale of SimpliFi.

About Gate to Pay:

Established in 2014, Gate to Pay is a Jordanian FinTech specialized in offering tailored payment solutions. Operating within the regional FinTech domain, Gate to Pay is committed to delivering fully-fledged solutions, enabling partners with the latest technologies, and facilitating instant digital payments all over the globe.

Under the license of the Central Bank of Jordan, and through principal memberships with global schemes including Mastercard, Visa, and Union Pay International, Gate to Pay is serving a wide client base across several sectors and industries.

Gate to Pay currently powers several financial and non-financial entities across the region through its wide-range BaaS (Banking as a Service) modules. Offerings include card issuance, mobile wallet systems, instant payment solutions, digital onboarding, screening/ fraud monitoring solutions, and several other technology stacks. Gate to Pay also offers lines of corporate and retail products, enabling entities and users with the latest payment technologies whilst facilitating instant, borderless, digital payments.

How is Modern Card Issuing Enabling Innovative Payment Experiences?

For decades, legacy payment infrastructure has enabled the payment of goods and services globally, reliably and securely. However, with the rise of new and complex business models, a one-size-fits-all architecture can no longer serve the demands of today’s sophisticated use cases.

That’s why innovators are turning to modern card issuing solutions to provide payment experiences that ensure the success and growth of these emerging business models.

What is Modern Card Issuing?

Modern card issuing is a more flexible and secure way to issue payment cards. Usually delivered through open APIs, modern card issuing solutions empower businesses to customize, build and run card programs at scale.

These solutions enable flexible embedded payment experiences that have been difficult to provide with legacy frameworks and architectures. Modern card issuing removes the roadblocks for businesses looking to deliver unique business models and payment experiences in a scalable, flexible and secure manner whilst ensuring quick time to market with limited investment.


Modern Card Issuing Use Cases for Merchants & Retailers

Using card-issuing APIs, businesses can create customizable, branded, physical and virtual cards to serve multiple scenarios and use cases.

Here are 4 modern card issuing use cases that merchants and retailers can leverage to scale their payments:

Use case 1: BNPL & Virtual Cards

Buy now, pay later has become one of the most in-demand financing options around the world, sweeping the consumer landscape. Today, customers can buy now and pay later for just about anything and everything. As the name suggests, this kind of financing provides customers with point-of-sale installment loans to purchase items and pay for them in small installments – breaking up the cost over predefined time periods.

Modern card issuing is an easy way for BNPL platforms to provide their customers with BNPL payment options through instantly issued virtual cards. To illustrate, when a customer initiates a BNPL purchase at a merchant’s store or online, a card is issued to pay the merchant instantly and is accepted through a standard POS system. This creates a seamless onboarding experience for the merchant since complex POS integration is not required beforehand and the BNPL platform can scale on the back of the payment acceptance networks.

Use Case 2: Consumer Spend Cards

More businesses across various industries are implementing payments as a core part of their business model to stay at the heart of their customers’ financial lives.

Modern card issuing APIs can provide merchants such as retail marketplaces with increased visibility into customer spending patterns and lifestyles to gain in-depth actionable insights. By collecting more data on how, when, and where customers are spending their money, merchants can provide more relevant, tailored offerings to enrich customer experiences.

Use Case 3: Corporate Payout Cards

Merchants can conveniently pay employees, workers, contractors, and suppliers by pushing funds to cards that they issue. Modern card issuing provides an alternative method for payroll, enabling organizations to pay salaries on reloadable prepaid cards. This helps today’s B2B organizations adapt to emerging trends like remote workforces, gig economies, and supply chain diversification.

It’s not just that. When it comes to merchant-supplier disbursements, modern card issuing facilitates supplier payments and breaks down the amount of complexity in a typical B2B payment process. Online and offline merchants and retailers can quickly onboard suppliers and provide them with instant access to their money through prepaid cards.

Use case 4: Corporate spend cards

Corporate expenses and reimbursements can be painfully troublesome for both employers and employees alike.

The challenge lies in how employees can receive the money and transact, and the ability of employers to place controls to align employee spending to corporate policy. Modern card issuing resolves both issues.

Dynamic spend controls for virtual and physical cards can monitor spend and approve transactions in real-time. These controls can be set to restrict spending options to specific channels, and/or different user groups or individuals, or by different amounts for different merchant category codes.

Across numerous industries, merchants and retailers can now create next-generation payment experiences that set them apart. Looking to launch a card program for your business? Learn more here.


Partner up with a modern card issuing provider like SimpliFi to develop your own card issuing solution or launch your own card program. Using our open APIs and SDKs, card products can be built quickly, tested in a private sandbox, and delivered to market in a short time frame.

MDP and SimpliFi collaborate to accelerate the expansion of payment solutions into the Middle East and Africa region

May, 2022: MDP, the leading payments & card issuing platform signed a partnership with SimpliFi to accelerate expansion into the MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA region.

MDP & SimpliFi combine their expertise in innovative payments & Cards as a Service (CaaS) – one-stop solutions to expand their business offerings & establish their position as a partner of choice for the payments ecosystem. The partnership highlights both entities’ commitment to empowering the fintech ecosystem, backed by payment experts and a powerful processing platform, with end-to-end digital solutions catering for the payment & fintech sector in the Middle East & Africa.

MDP – Chief Executive Officer, Ahmed Nafie, said the partnership would work as a vehicle for broadening the company’s reach.

“It’s exciting for MDP to ignite its strategic partnership with SimpliFi – through our collaboration we will work on accelerating the delivery of better financial experiences for all our customers,” said Ahmed Nafie, CEO of MDP. “The payments industry is evolving at a rapid speed, which has been a crucial catalyst for the growing demand for innovative digital payment solutions in the banking & fintech industry.”

Khaled El-Goghel, Managing Director at MDP also added, “MDP’s partnership with SimpliFi brings unprecedented innovation & speed to market, by providing comprehensive service offerings catered to the next-generation banking & fintech sector. Our collaboration with SimpliFi comes in line with the MDP’s strategic market and geographical expansion into the Middle East & Africa.”

Ali Sattar, Founder & CEO of SimpliFi, commented that the partnership would enable SimpliFi to expand its geographic footprint and capabilities. 

“Demand for card issuance is exploding and our partnership with MDP will not only allow us to accelerate our entry into Egypt but also the wider MENA and African markets. This partnership will lay the foundation for our continued rapid expansion to roll out our Cards as a Service capabilities and realize our mission of democratizing card issuance,” said Ali Sattar, Founder & CEO of SimpliFi.

About MDP:

MDP is the leading card issuing platform, enabling businesses to roll out their financial solutions with end-to-end payment infrastructure offerings – ranging from personalized card production to digital processes transaction. MDP is well-positioned in the market for more than 30+ years’ , acknowledged for accelerating payment experiences – through a tech-driven approach. MDP embraces the global adoption of innovative, scalable & secure emerging fintech solutions; that provide seamless omni-channel customer experiences. MDP is headquartered in Cairo, Egypt with an extended footprint in more than 40 countries globally.

About SimpliFi:

SimpliFi, a Cards as a Service (CaaS) platform for MENA and Pakistan, provides businesses with a one-stop solution to issue and manage their cards’ program, enabling them to streamline operations, drive new revenue streams, and increase loyalty. 

SimpliFi provides a full-stack solution consisting of APIs, SDKs, a client portal, a white-label app, and end-to-end program management capabilities. The Company manages all ecosystem partners required to issue cards including banks, card schemes, processors, identity verification, card fulfillment, and customer care to deliver a seamless experience across multiple markets. In addition to providing a purpose-built tech stack, SimpliFi manages day-to-day card operations and compliance so businesses can focus on their core strengths whilst leveraging the capabilities and scale of SimpliFi. 

Streamlining Payments For The On-Demand Food Delivery Market

The global market for on-demand food delivery services is projected to reach $259.7 billion by 2027, growing at a global CAGR of 29.4% over the period 2020-2027.

The global food delivery space has been tackling various ongoing challenges since its inception – even as it continues to expand, the commercial model and economics are still evolving. The Middle East online food delivery market is heating up as well in response to soaring customer demand.

On-demand delivery concepts and food disruptors have been emerging in the Middle East integrating online platforms with offline stores.

The overall on-demand food delivery market in the Middle East has doubled in revenue in 2020, with Saudi Arabia having the highest revenue growth rate. Global players, like Deliveroo, and homegrown players including Talabat and Mrsool, are all striving to stay relevant in an ultra-competitive market.

As the industry continues to develop, payments innovation and operational efficiency will become key factors for long-term success for the various players in the region.

In search of operational efficiency, innovative companies are starting to overhaul their existing payment infrastructure, replacing inflexible systems with modern card issuing platforms.


What are Modern card issuing platforms?

Modern card issuing platforms are end-to-end platforms that enable organizations to create, distribute, and manage physical and/or virtual cards using open APIs.

But how can this power the on-demand food delivery market?

Let’s dive right in.


The working principle of on-demand food delivery platforms is solely based on a network of several parties including the customer, the merchant, the aggregator, and the delivery partner. Essentially, all these parties need to be constantly incentivized and empowered to sustain operations on the same platform.

On-demand food delivery companies can partner with modern card issuing providers to give better experiences to their customers, streamline operations and drive profitability.

Modern card issuing enables on-demand delivery companies to overcome long-standing payment challenges by maximizing control over daily operations and driver-related payments.

Today, food delivery companies have a golden opportunity to unlock use cases that have never been served before.

With the help of open APIs, companies can issue their own cards to delivery couriers that can be used to process payments just like any other point-of-sale transaction. This way, delivery companies can scale with an ever-expanding restaurant selection without payment settlement becoming a bottleneck – enabling delivery drivers to rely on modern card payment technology to pick up and pay for food for hungry customers on tight schedules.

How Modern Card Issuance addresses common payment pain points in on-demand food delivery

Many food delivery orders require point-of-sale payments. This means that food pickup payments are settled either directly between the platform and merchants or drivers have to pay for the order using their own payment methods when picking it up at the store.

For settlement between the platform and restaurant, platforms have to build extensive financial operations teams to reconcile and process payments which means restaurants don’t get paid for days or weeks.

And if the driver has to pay out of his pocket then that is constrained by the cash that he carries on him which in turn depends on how quickly he gets reimbursed for those orders. What if the driver after accepting an order didn’t have enough cash to fulfill the order? Well, this might result in an unfulfilled order, a disappointed customer, and consequently, missing out on a sale. And a lost sale means losing a customer as well, whether their order was small or large.

Cards are essential to enable delivery drivers to always be in the money and fulfill orders when they don’t have cash in their pockets.

But how does modern card issuance differ from traditional card issuing?

Older legacy card issuing methods are too complex and require lengthy and costly processes – slowing the onboarding of new drivers. This, as a result, will prevent companies in this ecosystem from meeting the surge in demand for on-demand delivery services.

Mrsool’s order revenue in 2020 is more than five times that of 2019, rising from 59% in Q3 of 2019 to 77% in Q1 2021.

To meet the crush of orders, many on-demand delivery companies are scrambling and working 24/7 to hire thousands of delivery couriers and operations associates.

Modern card issuing is enabling on-demand delivery companies to thrive in a crowded market with fierce competition.

Using modern card issuing platforms and their open APIs, cards can make it into the hands of drivers in short time frames. The faster these cards are in the hands of new drivers, the faster they can begin fulfilling orders. Once drivers pass a background check, they are good to go.

On-demand delivery companies need modern card issuing to:

• Gain control over driver payments

Modern card issuing platforms not only make it possible for on-demand delivery companies to get physical and virtual cards in the hands of new drivers quickly, but they also add security layers. This additional security is even more important today given the rising volume of fraud.

In an on-demand delivery case, companies can issue cards for their couriers with predefined spending controls — for example, restaurant ID and the exact total amount of purchase — to avoid card misuse at other restaurants or fraudulent add-ons. Restricting when, where, and how these cards are used provides additional protection and ensures cards are used for their intended purpose.

• Generate new revenue streams

Business expenses can be turned into a revenue generator. By issuing cards through modern card issuing platforms, companies will be able to generate new revenue streams by earning transaction fees on every card payment made by delivery drivers.

• Obtain end-to-end insights

Through modern card issuance, delivery companies can gain end-to-end, real-time insights over every transaction to help them and their restaurants learn more about delivery preferences – to better serve end customers’ needs and wants.

Figure out how SimpliFi’s corporate spend card programs can help you streamline driver-related payments and power your on-demand food delivery business.

Modern Card Issuance – A Game-changer for Gig Payments

According to a study carried out by Visa, 77% of the surveyed gig workers endure times where they need money and only 12% describe themselves as financially secure.

The challenge for gig companies today is to recruit and nourish their gig workforce as a long-term, dedicated pool of labor. As gig economy companies look to retain their workforce relationships, addressing payment needs to empower a financially healthy gig workforce will help them gain a competitive edge.

To secure the services and skills of the most sought-after gig economy workers, key payment facilitation issues need to be addressed.

Gig Payment Challenges and Inefficiencies

Gig workers experience unreliable demand fluctuations for their work, making income volatility a major challenge for this group of people.

For instance, during the Covid-19 lockdown, consumer demand for home delivery skyrocketed while their interest in ride-sharing dropped due to health concerns. These inconsistencies can lead to substantial swings in income from one month to the other.

Another key challenge with gig worker payments is the likelihood of receiving untimely and delayed payments. Traditional bank and wallet-based transfers that rely on batch processing and third parties increase the time between when a gig worker delivers work and when they receive payments. This makes it difficult for gig workers to access their earned wages instantaneously and fulfill their recurring financial obligations in a timely manner.

A Think Forward Initiative report shows that workers who experience such challenges encounter more financial stress, lower savings, and difficulty making ends meet.

Organizations and gig platforms need to replace their complex, slow, and costly payment processing methods with real-time payments to ensure immediate payment transfers and settlements.

Gig workers are increasingly craving efficient and flexible payment experiences. In fact, 85% of the gig workforce is willing to work more often if they could get paid faster.

Modern card issuance: Fostering Lasting Relationships with Gig Workers

By directly addressing long-standing gig payment inefficiencies, payment solutions capitalizing on real-time capabilities can help businesses a) elevate gig worker experience b) foster loyalty, and c) reduce costs of attracting and retaining gig talent.

So, how can your business reap these benefits? Through Modern card issuance.

Modern card issuance is a secure and flexible way of issuing cards by creating customizable, flexible card programs through open APIs. Your organization can issue and fund cards instantly to provide workers with immediate access to their earned wages.

Receiving payments quickly and seamlessly as soon as the job is completed is a great motivator for gig workers. Real-time, on-demand gig worker payouts can help build loyalty and engagement. According to a survey conducted by Visa and Directions Research, over half of the surveyed gig workers prefer real-time payouts.

What’s more, using modern card issuance solutions, organizations can issue their own branded cards, which can further deepen the relationship with gig workers on your team. In addition, through programmable features, companies can not only automate payouts but also customize them such as the timing of the payout and % of the amount paid by linking them to the rating of the gig worker or his tenure.

Embracing payment platforms that address gig workers’ pain points through real-time money movement and a range of flexible payment options allows your businesses to strengthen vital working relationships with gig workers and also attract top talent.

Give workers the financial peace of mind they want with the speed and flexibility of Modern Card Issuing Platforms. Explore SimpliFi’s corporate payout solutions to strengthen and streamline gig worker relationships.

What is RegTech? – A Simple Guide

RegTech is more than just a buzzword in the global financial and compliance community. So what is RegTech and why is it gaining prominence?.

In simple terms, RegTech is the fusion of the words Regulatory and Technology.

RegTech is the technology that applies innovative capabilities and techniques to help financial institutions improve regulatory governance, reporting, compliance, and risk management. It is making the shift from just a fancy buzzword to becoming a vital piece of the regulatory and compliance landscape.

History of RegTech

The history of RegTech can be categorized into three phases:

  • RegTech 1.0 (1990): This comprised quantitative risk management practices that we are familiar with today.
  • RegTech 2.0 (2000): Tools helping companies comply with regulations and improving supervision activities focusing on KYC.
  • and the industry is now on the verge of RegTech 3.0: Shifting from ‘know your customer’ to ‘know your data’ – interpreting compliance-related data and improving predictability through AI to drive efficiencies and reduce risk.

RegTech is not new. However, like any other application of technology, it is developing rapidly due to the decreasing costs of emerging tech, expansion of data, and a staggering increase in computing power.

Also, the 2008 financial crisis represented a turning point in the development of RegTech. The consequent regulatory changes and technological developments have fundamentally changed the nature of financial markets, services, and institutions.

Post-crisis fines have exceeded US$200 billion, and the ongoing cost of regulation and compliance has become a primary concern industry-wide – facilitating the emergence of RegTech.

RegTech is disrupting the financial sector and in order to illustrate how, we need to deep dive into the main challenges and pressure points faced by financial institutions that RegTech is meant to address:

Challenges faced by financial institutions:

  • Managing high costs of compliance
  • Introduction of additional financial regulations
  • Rising penalty fees on non-compliance with regulations
  • Legacy systems constraints due to insufficient automation & digitization to meet the pace of regulatory changes
  • Incompatible systems resulting in insufficient integrations

Current legacy solutions adopted by financial firms are ill-fitted to overcome such challenges and meet the stringent requirements continuously passed down by regulators.

And so, the demand for regulatory frameworks that give rise to more granularity and transparency has skyrocketed in the last few years.

The global RegTech market size is expected to grow from $7.6 billion in 2021 to $19.5 billion by 2026, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 20.8%.

Financial Institutions combating compliance and regulatory challenges with RegTech

The time is NOW for the financial sector to explore the capabilities of AI-powered risk and compliance management systems.

Capitalizing on big data and machine learning technologies, RegTech solutions analyze huge volumes of data from numerous sources at high speeds. This slashes the time needed to carry out highly complex analyses and checks, catalyzing improved productivity and efficiency gains.

For example, 10–15% of the workforce in financial institutions is dedicated to regulatory compliance matters. RegTech solutions can automate and streamline sophisticated tasks such as customer onboarding processes, enabling financial firms to potentially reduce the time and compliance costs associated with such tasks by 30-50%, according to Deloitte.

RegTech systems are paving the way for financial institutions to scale and adapt to the modern threat and regulatory landscapes through a) Identifying suspicious activity more easily and b) accelerating risk detection and remediation of complex cases.

What is Card as a Service – A Simple Explainer for Businesses

In the past, issuing cards to customers was the product of a partnership between a large business and a bank – often referred to as co-branded cards.

Not to mention, this involved high network and processing fees, bureaucratic and infrastructural barriers, and geographic limitations.

But today, the emergence of CaaS business models has made card issuance an accessible pursuit for businesses. Organizations can design, build and launch personalized card programs to match their desired customer experiences, at scale.

Moreover, they can do it in WEEKS rather than months.

But What is CaaS?

Read on to learn more.

What is Card as a Service (CaaS)

Card as a Service, or CaaS, is an up-and-coming card-issuing model that enables companies to easily develop and launch card services as part of their business offering.

It is a modern-day approach for businesses to issue payment cards as a turnkey solution without the hassle of navigating complex regulations, numerous partnerships, painstaking integrations and managing ongoing financial operations.

Simply put, CaaS providers offer comprehensive, out-of-the-box solutions for businesses, handling the entire end-to-end card issuance process on their behalf – from managing all entities and processes across the value chain such as banks, card schemes, processors, identity verification to card fulfillment and delivery.

As an enabler of modern card issuance, CaaS is becoming the key touchpoint facilitating smarter financial services.

Modern card issuance is accelerating and streamlining the process of card creation. Using open APIs, and programmable controls, businesses can customize their own card programs to enable new business models and unique digital experiences.

While modern card issuance can enable multiple use cases, issuing cards to customers empowers organizations to reap the following benefits:

Benefits of issuing your own cards: The Modern Way

A win-win for you and your customers

• Generate new revenue streams by monetising spending

Issuing your own cards will allow you to monetise customer spending by realizing transaction fees every time they use their cards.

• Obtain valuable insights from increased visibility over customer data

Modern card-issuing platforms grant you access to a complete set of APIs to gain visibility into valuable customer spending data and key insights from customer lifestyles. These insights can form the building blocks for creating personalized services to develop more meaningful customer relationships.

• Tap into new markets and capture a new customer base

Modern card issuing provides you with great control over the card-issuing process to define the best user experience. You can set up and customize card programs to meet your desired use cases – the sky’s the limit! For example, you can tap into the consumer credit by providing customers with BNPL cards that are restricted to merchants of your choice.

Choosing the right CaaS provider

Partnering up with modern card issuance service providers is the most efficient way to build, issue and manage card programs. Choosing the right CaaS partner is one of the most important decisions to make.

Here are some critical criteria for you to consider and use to evaluate prospective providers:

  1. The strategic fit between your company and your partner
  2. The level of flexibility your partner poses to cater to your desired solution scope and features
  3. Partner’s pricing model to match your current and future scale
  4. Ability to help you scale across multiple markets
  5. The quality of the technology stack and key product features

Thinking of launching your own card program?

Unlock the power of financial ownership and issue your own payment cards instantly with SimpliFi, the leading CaaS platform in MENA and Pakistan.

Cross-border Commerce is a Trillion-Dollar Opportunity – but is your business ready?

According to a Juniper study, the value of B2B cross-border payments will exceed $42.7 trillion in 2026, from $34 trillion in 2021. The main contributor to this upsurging growth, as the research suggests, is cross-border e-commerce with a total value expected to reach over $4 trillion by 2027.

Although cross-border payments sit at the heart of international trade and economic activity, it acts as one of the key roadblocks to global e-commerce business growth and success.

While the demand for cross-border commerce thrives, managing cross-border payments is still a challenge for most organizations. Cross-border payment affairs can especially impede small merchants from expanding their businesses overseas.

First, let’s define cross-border payments.

Cross-border payments are broadly defined as fund transfers for which the sender and the recipient are located in different countries/jurisdictions. These transactions can be made between individuals, companies, banks, or institutions.

Banks and other financial institutions have taken many initiatives to help bridge the gap and simplify the process. However, traditional cross-border payment systems still have major pain points.

For this reason, Fintechs are transforming the current scene; re-inventing cross-border payments, by enabling faster, easier, and more transparent international transactions.

In this article, we will deep dive into cross-border payment challenges, and how fintech APIs can help merchants combat these challenges and seize the trillion-dollar opportunity.

Cross-border Payments Challenges

1. Slow transactions

Traditionally, cross-border transactions take between two to five days to process, and even longer for some less-developed markets. This counts as a very slow turnaround time compared to instant domestic payments transactions. That’s because numerous entities and intermediaries are involved with every single transaction, which results in a series of steps often delaying the transfer of payments.

2. Transparency

Ideally, organizations and merchants of all shapes and sizes want better visibility over financial transactions and movement across their business, and cross-border transactions have been far from transparent.

A SWIFT and EuroFinance survey found that 64% of corporations want real-time payment tracking capabilities, while 47% want better visibility into the costs and deductions involved.

A single cross-border transaction can go through multiple different intermediaries. As payments move across international waters, fees accumulate passing by every intermediary along the way – with no reliable way of calculating for that near future hidden cost.

3. Security

There is no single global regulatory body controlling cross-border transactions. Every country abides by its own set of regulations. Therefore, the cross-border payment system is at risk of being hacked whenever money enters a country with less-rigid security policies.

In the past, cross-border payment systems have suffered from high-level security breaches, like Bangladesh central bank’s $81 million heist in 2016. Security hackers used a Federal Reserve Bank account in New York belonging to Bangladesh Bank to illegally transfer $1 Billion and successfully managed to steal $81 million.

4. High costs

Sending money from one country to another through banks has always ​​been notoriously expensive. Money is channeled through several intermediaries, each of which charges a fee for its service – regulatory, SWIFT, chargeback, and FX fees.

Harnessing the Trillion-Dollar opportunity using Fintech APIs

This trillion-dollar cross-border e-commerce market is being shaken up by the rush of new entrants that promise to solve long-standing pitfalls.

Overcoming cross-border payment challenges and barriers is becoming easier every day, but exploring reliable cross-border payment solutions is paramount to navigating the world of global commerce.

As the pandemic pushed the fast-forward button on innovation in payment systems, Fintech APIs are reducing the friction and increasing the efficiency needed to make cross-border transactions feel more like domestic payments. That means cutting down on transaction processing time, removing hidden costs, and mimicking the domestic payments experience.

Fintech APIs, through single API integrations, are setting a new standard of trading without borders, enabling faster & simpler transactions and a more transparent system of cross-border payments.

With real-time payment tracking and instant payment processing capabilities, Fintech APIs are making international payments more accessible to small businesses and merchants.

Planning on globally scaling your business? Discover how modern card issuing can enable your business to settle payments with other businesses in real-time and help you grow globally.

BNPL is Exploding! This is Why…

With 100 billion in BNPL purchases in 2021, up from 24 billion in 2020 – Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) models have become the poster child of the payments sector and one of the most popular payment methods for young consumers.

The global pandemic resulted in a spike in e-commerce growth and a not-so-pleasant decrease in disposable income. As a result, popularity for BNPL boomed and merchants and retailers are looking to adopt BNPL offers across multiple business lines. For consumers, it makes buying more accessible and for merchants, it opens up opportunities to sell more things, to more people.

Although other sectors benefit from the BNPL adoption, E-commerce retailers currently control the majority of usage. Retailers with BNPL APIs on their site are estimated to experience a 20-30% increase in conversion. The option to pay for an item over a period of time without hidden cost is an excellent motivation to purchase more and also free up cash for other expenses.

How FinTech APIs became the catalyst to BNPL adoption

It is easy to attribute the massive adoption of BNPL to COVID-19 and the resultant lockdown, cash crunch, and lifestyle changes. However, doing that alone is underestimating the role of API-based infrastructure offered by fintech providers to promote inclusiveness in the financial sector.

The ease of integration, scalability, and versatility of API models has made it very simple for BNPL providers to integrate BNPL functionality and even simpler for merchants to provide BNPL payment methods for their products and/or services all around the world.

Thanks to the development and modular nature of Fintech APIs, organizations can integrate and launch BNPL solutions in a matter of minutes, with minimal internal business disruption and without specialized development teams.

Fund your customers in real-time through one-time disposable or reusable payment cards enabling them to make purchases with ease without merchant tie-ups.

Building a BNPL platform?

Instantly enable shoppers to spend right away at merchants of your choice globally. Deliver unique BNPL experiences and maximize reach with SimpliFi’s card issuing APIs.

5 Reasons to use Virtual Cards for Company Spending in 2022

Businesses around the world rely on one of the three following methods to pay their workers and vendors: writing checks, sending electronic payments, and presenting payment cards. Until today.

Over the past five years, a growing number of digitally-driven companies have discovered a new, better way to make payments: Virtual cards.

What are virtual cards?

A virtual card works just like a physical card. It has all the same credentials as a physical payment card, including:

  • Cardholder Name
  • 16-digit card number
  • CVC
  • Expiry Date

Virtual cards empower organizations with visibility and control overspending in the new and modern era of remote working. A virtual card can be generated instantaneously either for an online one-time transaction or multiple recurring ones. It can also be created for specific use cases such as payment for a certain subscription on a recurring basis or for travel for a specific trip.

The controls that an organization can put on the cards can help it preserve its budget, minimize fraud risks, and increase control over expenses. This is driving more businesses than ever to opt for virtual cards to manage their finances.

Food for thought: Imagine you run a food delivery business

By using one-time virtual cards, you can program cards for the thousands of delivery drivers in your network with the exact amount of each food pick-up, the location and the time. This allows for a high level of control and helps you monitor transactions more easily.

Your business can benefit from virtual cards too

1. Stay on top of vendor payments

Create virtual cards with custom spending limits for each vendor or subscription service your business uses to avoid overcharges and/or manage recurring fees.

2. Manage card & spend controls easily

You can easily freeze virtual cards, as well as set spending limits, or program them for one-time usage. This way you can control your budgets and limit how much your employees can spend. Limits can be mapped by job level, function, geography etc. thereby allowing a high degree of flexibility and control on the spend depending on the user.

3. Reduce Fraud Risks

When multiple employees and vendors share corporate cards, organizations are exposed to higher fraud risks. Using virtual cards can make electronic payments safer and more secure.

4. Make online purchasing easier for high performing teams

In a new world where teams need to be agile, facilitating quick and efficient purchases of products and services is necessary. Virtual cards can be instantly issued and with automatic set budgets.

5. Improve spending visibility and automation

Virtual cards provide rich transaction data. Every expense charged on the card, receipt uploaded or any detail entered can be shared with finance teams to easily track spending in real-time. This provides real-time visibility into spending, enabling data-driven decisions that can streamline and automate different stages of the payment process.

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