Vaultspay, Wibmo team to launch Pre-Paid Card Platform

This goal is meant to be achieved by serving the large population of underbanked people in the Middle East. Set to go live in the third quarter of 2022, the prepaid card will be launched across the GCC with a phase-wide approach.

Through the partnership, VaultsPay will leverage Wibmo's Prepaid platform to build a card issuance capabilities that is also feature-rich, configurable to specific requirements and secure. Operating as a closed loop platform, with use on the VaultsPay platform, the new pre-paid card will specifically help meet the ease of financial transactions of blue-collar workers, who may not have bank accounts, and have less resources for online transactions. It will also add to the convenience and cost-effective human resource management of corporates. They can make wage payment and other services for their employees by depositing salaries into pre-paid accounts. These cards can then be used by the employees to withdraw money, as well as at various shops and merchant places. 

While countries such as the UAE have introduced the wage payment scheme, there is still potential to channel the unskilled and semi-skilled workers- estimated at over 2.2 million – about 52% of the workforce, as per a UNSDG report – for online transactions through innovative fintech solutions, an opportunity that the two innovative enterprises are leveraging.

Consumer behaviour in the Middle East

According to the Arab Monetary Fund cited by Menafin.com, 79% of the MENA region's young adults are unbanked, there is a gap of over 23% between women and men in accessing financial services, and 72% of the poorest citizens can benefit from financial inclusion. An enabler of the UN Sustainable Development Goals 2030, financial inclusion is a critical lever to growth, which VaultsPay aims to achieve through its innovative fintech service developed with Wibmo.

Wibmo, a PayU company, is a payment technology company with its products. Established in 1999, it currently works with around 275 banks and fintechs globally, including about 30 in the Middle East and 70 across MENA. VaultsPay is a fintech/payment solution provider (PSP) with a strong presence in the region.