Singapore fintech Wallet Engine has partnered with leading cloud banking platform Mambu to fast-track the development of its innovative wallet-as-a-service offering, which aims to become the go-to solution to embed financial services into any app or user experience.
Wallet Engine empowers non-financial organisations to launch their own branded wallets for seamless money transfers between their users, regardless of the dollar amount or country of origin - with its core focus on micro transactions and cross-border capabilities.
The news comes amid rising demand for embedded finance solutions, with the global market predicted to reach a worth of $7.2 trillion by 2030. This reflects a shift toward ‘anywhere finance’ during the pandemic, with non-financial sectors expected to respond more quickly to changing consumer needs.
With its cutting-edge, globally compliant wallet-as-a-service proposition, Wallet Engine plans to help solve the issue of cross-border compatibility, as well as offer a solution for individuals and businesses wanting to make micro transactions.
Gregor Arn, CEO and Co-founder at Wallet Engine, said: “Traditionally, if a customer wanted to send a small amount of money to someone else via their bank or financial provider, it was a very difficult and incredibly expensive exercise - often the fees would swallow the amount being transferred. Wallet Engine wanted to solve this problem by focusing on micro transactions and removing the problems created by the unique regulatory systems in different countries.
“We believe that making low-value, cross-border cash transfers quick, easy and inexpensive will have a significant impact on financial inclusion, particularly in those countries that are currently underbanked or underserved. Our wallet-as-a-service subsequently enables organisations in all sorts of industries to launch their own branded wallets to provide their customers with added value that is convenient and simple.”
Myles Bertrand, Managing Director APAC, at Mambu, said: “Wallet Engine came up with an ingenious solution to a long-held problem, that being, how can people send small amounts of money to each other, across countries, without it costing more than the transaction’s value? Now, with their wallet-as-a-service offering, they’ve made this technology available to other businesses who want to offer their own customers this innovative solution. It’s been especially gratifying that this project has been designed, developed and launched right here in Singapore - it’s a great indication of the current strength of Singapore’s fintech ecosystem.”
Wallet Engine’s globally compliant wallet-as-a-service is operational in Singapore - with Mambu’s powerful, composable platform underpinning the solution, enabling optimum flexibility and speed - and will be rolled out across the wider Asia Pacific region throughout 2022.
It can provide the foundation for contextual peer-to-peer payments, micro-finance, and in-app economies, to name but a few applications. “We have seen a phenomenal transformation in the wallet space in the last couple of years. E-wallets were seen as a very niche point of sale (POS) solution, with not much potential for more than that,” added Arn.
He continues: “And yet, here we are just a few years later and e-wallets have been instrumental in keeping the world’s money flowing during the pandemic and are now seen as an effective way to facilitate borderless exchange of value. We believe they have an enormous role to play in Asia Pacific’s financial future. Mambu’s composable platform was instrumental in us being able to develop our wallet-as-a-service, with Mambu’s flexibility and best-in-class technology critical to our solution. The fact that they were right here in Singapore with us was definitely an added bonus.”
Wallet Engine and Mambu will continue to work together to drive financial change in the Asia Pacific region, building on the momentum generated in recent years.