Simplicity through innovation in payments technology
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Finance Incorporated Limited is a Business Reporter client.
Finance Incorporated Limited is harnessing the potential of digital payments to provide solutions for sole traders, bigger businesses and individuals, as well as financial institutions themselves.
New technologies are revolutionising the way in which financial transactions work. Developments such as mobile digital payments, blockchain and artificial intelligence mean payments are becoming less about the movement of money and more about the transfer of data. With the right infrastructure behind them, financial institutions, businesses and individuals can enhance their own offer to customers and turn payments into a competitive advantage.
Finance Incorporated Limited is at the heart of helping organisations embrace such innovation. Initially set up in 2012, the business has evolved into an alternative digital bank, as well as a partner organisation for other financial institutions. “We work with other banks and financial institutions so their clients can perform transactions through us. Moreover, we work with merchants (physical and e-commerce) to process their payments,” says Cenk Kahraman, CEO of Finance Incorporated Limited. “We also work with retail and corporate clients which have their payment accounts with us. We are effectively an alternative digital bank for them.” Based in Malta, the organisation is now looking to expand into the European market, including the UK, Germany, Spain and Italy.
Paymix SoftPOS
In the business space, large corporates, retailers and even small businesses are relatively well served in a competitive market, says Kahraman, but there is a gap when it comes to sole proprietors – sole traders or freelancers. “This group represents 69 per cent of established companies in Europe, so there are more sole traders than there are corporations,” he explains. “But they aren’t generally the most profitable clients for the traditional banks.”
Paymix SoftPOS is designed specifically to address the needs of sole traders enabling them to accept contactless payments using their phone without the need for additional hardware and with no regular monthly fees.
Combining this with Finance Incorporated Limited’s own Mastercard debit card means much quicker processing times, allowing sole traders and freelancers to spend the money straight away without long waits for it to clear. Potential customers range across a large spectrum, says Kahraman: taxi drivers, nail technicians or piano teachers, for example, as well as small businesses such as restaurants.
Paymix Pro
For larger corporates, meanwhile, Paymix Pro offers a fast, transparent and accessible financial solution, which incorporates accounts, payments and cards. Built by Finance Incorporated Limited itself, it also includes the ability to make mass payments through an online corporate portal, meaning organisations can access banking services through their existing ERP or accounting software.
“With a push of a button, they can initiate 50,000 payments a day,” explains Kahraman. “This function has been made possible by a comprehensive, custom-built risk-monitoring system that assesses any transaction coming in or going out, and it means we can offer clients a different level of service compared to traditional banks.”
An e-commerce platform allows customers to pay through different methods and across currencies and countries, using the SWIFT and SEPA networks. Businesses can also offer their own employees Mastercard debit cards and can set varying limits for different functions or individuals.
iPaymix
At the other end of the scale, iPaymix is aimed firmly at individuals offering an e-wallet account for anyone wanting to engage in online banking. Customers can load money to the e-wallet account from a credit or debit card attached to their main bank and can also get a debit card attached to the account, which allows them to make payments in stores.
The product is particularly suited for ex-pats who live in Europe. The current target markets are those living in Malta, Germany, Italy and Spain. “The account opening process is completely automated through your phone, including your ID verification,” says Kahraman. A credit card offering will also be launched soon, he adds.
Beyond these products, Finance Incorporated offers additional services, including enabling financial institutions or enterprises to offer their own payment cards to employees or customers, and a card data processing system that allows financial institutions to communicate with Visa and Mastercard in an encrypted way.
Kahraman believes that, after a few years of evolution, financial institutions will divide into two camps: traditional banks specialising in loans and deposits, and digital payment specialists. “Cards will be one element of that but not the only one,” he says. “There will also be significant consolidation in the market, because there are too many players at the moment.”
As for Finance Incorporated Limited, in the longer term Kahraman envisages expansion both west and east of its Maltese base. “In the east we’re looking at the Middle East, India and the Pacific, and in the west the UK and North America,” he says.
To find out more about how Finance Incorporated Limited could help your business develop financial solutions for a digital future, visit financeincorp.com.
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