Pyypl (pronounced “People”) – a fintech company in the MEA region, has announced its Principal License Membership and strategic framework agreement with Visa (NYSE: V).
The partnership with Visa is said to be a testament to Pyypl’s mission “to democratize access to financial services, its innovative business model and the large market opportunity – as well as highlighting Visa’s trust in Pyypl to accelerate financial inclusion.”
The Principal license also enables Pyypl “to issue virtual and physical prepaid Visa cards, through its accessible mobile application, directly to its hundreds of thousands of active users – elevating its users from cash, mobile money and being financially underserved to the world of digital payments.”
The Strategic Framework Agreement further “recognizes the license approval process in other markets that Pyypl is entering.”
With the support of local regulators, Pyypl is able “to provide access to prepaid Visa cards in these markets, fast-tracking financial inclusion across the MEA region.”
This marks the latest innovation in Pyypl’s transformational consumer offering and accelerates Pyypl’s international expansion “by enabling, over time, the Company to offer prepaid Visa cards on a pan-regional basis.”
The partnership is aligned with Visa’s growth and innovation strategy of “enhancing access to capabilities for 850 million digital natives across MEA.”
Antti Arponen, CEO and co-founder of Pyypl, commented:
“We are excited to announce our partnership with Visa. Our payments ecosystem has multiple benefits for Visa and will accelerate the provision of financial services to the vast population of underserved digital natives in the region. Working closely with Visa and local regulators in new markets, we are focused on growing Pyypl’s presence and contributing to advancing financial inclusion across the region.”
Hasan Kazmi, VP, head of strategic partnerships and ventures – CEMEA, Visa said:
“We are delighted to welcome Pyypl to our mission of advancing financial inclusion. We believe in empowering underbanked consumers by providing them with innovative, secure payment solutions. This not only gives them access to the digital economy, but also helps them thrive in this increasingly digital age.”
As noted in the update, Pyypl is the consumer Fintech focused on “driving financial inclusion in the MEA region, enabling digital payments for the 850 million smartphone users in the Middle East and Africa who are financially underserved.”
