Announcement: MeaWallet is going cloud-native!
Announcement: MeaWallet is going cloud native!
There it is: Due to popular demand, we are switching our hosting platform to AWS, which means our services will go cloud native.
This is a fairly big change under the hood, which will yield oodles of benefits for everyone involved, including you – if you’re a customer, that is! So, let’s dive into some of these benefits and some background of cloud-native architectures and applications, shall we?
What does "cloud native" mean?
According to our new cloud service provider, AWS, “Cloud-native applications are software programs that consist of multiple small, interdependent services called microservices.”
In essence, the cloud-native approach takes the traditional, single-block structure that would contain all the functionalities of an app and break it up into smaller pieces called “microservices.”
This does several things: Because these microservices work independently and take fewer resources to run, the overall application becomes more efficient and agile. Collaborating on modifying and testing individual pieces of the application puzzle instead of said giant block, where it’s more likely you stop on each other’s toes. Scalability on different platforms becomes a lot more feasible, too!
Those are some of the benefits behind Gartner’s projection that “more than 85% of organizations will embrace a cloud-first principle by 2025 and will not be able to fully execute on their digital strategies without the use of cloud-native architectures and technologies.”
"But how does cloud-native benefit me?"
Thank you for that question, eagle-eyed reader! Yes, a lot of the benefits from the earlier paragraph will impact the way we at MeaWallet develop and deploy our services.
More, faster, sooner
Being faster and more flexible helps us deliver new features, products, and improvements to you significantly sooner.
Better customer experience
Cloud-based connections are more stable and reliable. If you or your customers have experienced frequent lags or timeouts, those should become a thing of the past.
AWS also has several hubs around the world, from which you can access our services. Currently, the further away from our hub in Scandinavia you are, the longer it takes for data to travel, which can cause small service delays. With this change, everyone around the globe will get the same quick response time – no worries, Australia!
Tighter security
Remember we talked about how cloud-native applications consist of small, encapsulated, microservices? This design also improves overall data safety.
In addition, we’ve selected AWS because they satisfy the security requirements for global banks and other high-sensitivity organizations and help to achieve third-party validation for thousands of global regulatory requirements.
Cloudy with a chance guarantee of satisfaction
We hope you’re looking forward to the move to cloud-native as much as we do. If you have any questions pertaining to the change, please let us know.
Australian Settlements Limited & Meawallet
MeaWallet and Australian Settlements Limited partner up to bring eftpos digital payment technology to the Australian Mutual and Customer Owned Banking Sector
Australian Settlements Limited (ASL), a mutually owned provider of payment and settlement services, has partnered with the Norwegian FinTech MeaWallet to deliver world leading tokenization and digital payments technology to the Australian Mutual and Customer Owned Banking sector such as eftpos capability in mobile wallets and new digital security initiatives like tokenisation.
The new partnership with MeaWallet enables ASL Members to integrate eftpos functionality such as Cash Out into Mobile wallets such as Google Pay which have seen rapid adoption in Australia, while also providing a tokenisation service that enables ASL Members to replace card numbers with a token in the digital world, significantly reducing the chance of cardholder fraud.
After an extensive evaluation, which included several established global providers and some newer entrants, ASL settled on the MeaWallet Token Platform.
In assessing the available options and with a view on the potential future applications, ASL’s Chief Executive Officer Mark Tibbles noted that “many of the providers we looked at didn’t fundamentally understand the mutual banking sector, and in particular the unique service and proposition ASL provides. Whilst the solutions were functionally very rich, and some providers could point to very large tier 1 banking clients, our focus had to remain on a partner who would deliver confidence and capability. Our preference was for a SaaS based, cloud native, API driven technology stack, that allowed us to scale as our Member’s business and volume increased. MeaWallet ticked all these boxes.”
The partnership fits perfectly with MeaWallet’s strategy for expansion into new regions. MeaWallet’s CEO, Nuno Sitima, comments: “As we grow and expand our tokenization business, we are looking for partners that share our mindset and our values.
We were happy to find this in ASL. The partnership with ASL will allow their Members to easily and cost-effectively enable the next generation of payments. It also enables MeaWallet to expand our platform’s support to include Australian local scheme eftpos – and it acts as a catalyst for our continued growth in the APAC region.”
MeaWallet and ASL are currently rolling the solution out to ASL Members and have recently completed the pilot rollout for eftpos capability in mobile wallets with one of our larger Members.
About ASL
ASL is a mutually owned Australian Authorised Deposit-taking Institution (ADI) subject to prudential supervision by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) and operates an Exchange Settlement Account (ESA) at the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) which is used for the settlement of payment obligations of System Participants.
ASL is a principal member of AusPayNet, BPAY, VISA, Mastercard, eftpos, Austraclear, PEXA, and NPP, and accepts responsibility for settling the payment system obligations of System Participants that arise within payment streams.
ASL provides our access to these payment systems to our Members on an aggregated, share cost model and offer these services through using our own strategic assets or via selected, best in class partners.
About MeaWallet
MeaWallet is a digital payments enabler. We help FinTechs, issuers, acquirers, and PSPs globally in enabling card tokenization, mobile contactless payment acceptance and related services, through our Mea Token Platform and MeaPay solutions. MeaWallet is a proud Mastercard Engage, Visa Ready, and American Express GNS partner.
MeaWallet is a global company headquartered in Oslo (Norway). With employees residing in seven countries and spanning more than 10 nationalities, we serve 85+ customers in 30 countries. We are an organization with a mix of industry veterans combined with young, entrepreneurial spirits, that constantly challenges the status quo. This combination has proven to be unique and valuable, and has generated proven results with customers, partners and in the FinTech industry in general.
CASE STUDY: Successful security evaluation according to the EMVCo SBMP Evaluation Process
Successful security evaluation according to the EMVCo SBMP Evaluation Process
As a company with many years of experience in the payment industry, MeaWallet knows the challenges of the sector quite well. For this reason, the digital payments enabler had its Mea Token Platform Software Development Kit (MTP-SDK) tested by TÜViT against the EMVCo SBMP security standards.
Scenario:
MeaWallet has developed the Mea Token Platform Software Development Kit (MTP-SDK), a new SDK solution for software-based mobile payment. In order to successfully launch and establish their solution on the market and to build trust, the company wanted to objectively prove its security and robustness. Therefore, MeaWallet commissioned TÜViT with a security evaluation according to the EMVCo SBMP evaluation process.
Product tested:
With the MTP-SDK, MeaWallet enables the securing of Mobile Payment Applications (MPA) in real world scenarios. It allows MPA developers and vendors who use MeaWallet‘s MTP-SDK to use Cloud Based Payments, including contactless and remote payments.
Challenges:
Technical challenge:
Mobile Payment Applications (MPA) must ensure secure payment services without the help of dedicated Hardware Security Modules (HSM) or Secure Elements (SE). In this context, they must implement a variety of software defenses to counter the numerous attack paths that a malicious actor could use to hack the MPAs and thus the security of the payment system.
Market access challenge:
Payment providers, e.g. credit card companies, require evidence of security of payment solutions in order to protect their brands from damage due to security breaches. As a result, the proof of a payment application‘s security becomes a decisive market entry factor.
Marketing challenge:
The payment industry is trust driven, i.e. success can only be achieved if customers trust the payment providers, payment systems and MPAs. Companies are therefore faced with the challenge of communicating and proving the trustworthiness of their products to the outside world.
Solution:
A security evaluation according to the EMVCo SBMP Evaluation Process provides the solution to all three of the previously listed challenges. During a security evaluation, the product vendor‘s solution, in this case MeaWallet‘s MTP SDK, is thoroughly reviewed (Documentation Review, Source Code Review) and penetration testing is performed. This ensures that the product provider‘s technical solutions are sufficient and work as expected. Once the security evaluation has been successfully completed, an evaluation report is delivered to EMVCo, who in turn issues a Security Evaluation Certificate. This certificate allows entering the payment market and shows to potential customers that the product is trustworthy.
Benefits:
- Objective proof of compliance with SBMP security standards
- Increased trust in the market due to the confirmed security and robustness of the MTP-SDK
- Possibility to cooperate with major payment providers such as VISA and MasterCard as a result of the demonstrated security
- Competitive advantage for MeaWallet by differentiating from other non-evaluated or non-certified competitors
- International recognition of the evaluation and certification, as it is based on the international standard EMVCo
- Increased product visibility by placement in the publicly visible EMVCo Evaluated Products list after a successful evaluation
Results:
By performing an EMVCo SBMP Security Evaluation by TÜViT, MeaWallet is able to assure to payment providers, as well as their own customers, a high level of security and maturity regarding their MTP-SDK product. This helps MeaWallet differentiate their products from non-evaluated or non-certified competitors products, and enables them to work with major payment providers such as VISA and MasterCard.
Full Case Study here
MeaWallet acquires BankLaunch
MeaWallet acquires BankLaunch
After more than a year in development and several strategic partnerships, BankLaunch platform has been acquired by MeaWallet and will power the upcoming MeaPay product launch.
”We are proud to announce our acquisition of BankLaunch. The synergies between our companies has been clear since our initial partnership, and the resources and people in BankLaunch will bolster our tech and overall tea, in a time where speed to market is crucial” says Nuno Sitima CEO of MeaWallet.
MeaPay is a revolutionary payment processing system enabling merchants to accept card payments using off the shelf Android smartphones and its built-in Near Field Communication (NFC) chip. The technology will radically change the payment experience worldwide in upcoming years. Smartphone based POS Terminals, also called SoftPOS, will replace traditional and mobile versions in many industries, and especially in the SME segment. SoftPOS terminals offer lower cost of ownership and maintenance, and can be enabled within a few minutes. Right now several vendors are competing to get similar solutions to market faster and in better shape. This initiative is supported by VISA and MasterCard.
What is BankLaunch?
BankLaunch is a digital platform used to create the FinTech solutions. It provides an alternative strategy to the off-the-shelf SaaS often used in the industry. It’s a mixed approach, in which development and consulting is provided with custom coding. Instead of starting from scratch, the platform uses modules, that are adopted for each use-case. It has developed white-label core banking solutions, launched peer-to-peer crowdfunding networks, cross-border remittances, credit card solutions, AML compliance tools and more.
What is MeaWallet?
MeaWallet is a multinational corporation based in Oslo (Norway). Employees of the company reside in six countries and represent more than 10 nationalities. MeaWallet has more than 85 customers in 30 countries. MeaWallet is an organisation with a mix of industry veterans and young, entrepreneurial spirits. This combination has proven to be unique and valuable, and has generated proven results with customers, partners and in the FinTech industry in general.MeaWallet’s existing service (Mea Token Platform) offering is a suite of APIs that allows digital payments for FinTechs, issuers, acquirers, and PSPs globally by enabling card tokenization, mobile contactless payment acceptance and related services. MeaWallet is cooperating with Mastercard Engage, Visa Ready and American Express GNS as partners.
How will MeaPay work?
Use of MeaPay is going to be simple yet very convenient. Transactions can be made following these few steps:
- Customer pays to merchant’s Android device with contactless tap-on-phone technology
- Card Issuer asks for a PIN as soon as the merchant reaches his transaction limit
- The customer enters the PIN on the screen, and the transaction is complete
Simplicity of this technology is the reason why it will change the payment experience worldwide in the next few years. We will see the product launch on the selected markets early 2022. And as BankLaunch managing director Dmitry Buzdin has mentioned: “This is a really exciting opportunity to launch a groundbreaking product based on a solid foundation of the BankLaunch platform.” Also as a part of the partnership deal Dmitry Buzdin, and the current development team is joining MeaPay to continue work on the platform and deliver it to a wider audience.
Getting the IP and people from BankLaunch into the MeaPay organization, has boosted MeaWallet´s existing tech and talent pool. The company has been growing exponentially in the last few months, hiring 22 new employees so far this year, and in addition to the 20+ positions planned to be filled before the end of the year. If you want to join the future of payments, and be part of our fast growing business. Check out our career page here
Over half the world’s population will use mobile wallets by 2025, says Boku study
Over half the world’s population will use mobile wallets by 2025, says Boku study
More than one in two people will use a mobile wallet by 2025, as cash is increasingly displaced, finds a study from mobile payments company, Boku. This equates to an increase of 2.7 to 4.8 billion wallets in use globally in the next four years.
Leading the way in this transition is Southeast Asia, with a 25.5% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) and an expected overall growth of 311% in the next five years. The rise in e-commerce, and the dominance of super-apps like Grab and Gojek – particularly in markets such as the Philippines and Indonesia – are just some of the drivers of wallet adoption in this region.
Following closely behind – in areas where wallets are offering access to financial services for the underbanked – is Latin America, and Africa and the Middle East. These two regions are due to expand their usage of mobile wallets by 166% and 147%, respectively, by 2025. In Africa and the Middle East, adoption is being catalysed by the increasing usage of mobile money services, such as M-Pesa, which are offering improved access to e-commerce.
In Western Europe and North America, however, wallet uptake is moving more slowly – at 65% and 50% by 2025, respectively. This is a result of high levels of card penetration and contactless usage at physical points of sale. Nevertheless, markets such as the UK are seeing a spike in card-based mobile wallets, due to the adoption of contactless spurred on by the pandemic. Thanks to shifts like this, Boku predicts that three quarters of Europeans will be using a digital wallet by 2025.
“We are witnessing a paradigm shift in payments driven by mobile wallets,” says Jon Prideaux, CEO at Boku. “Mobile wallets have lowered the barrier to making digital payments and ushered billions of new consumers into e-commerce. These consumers are not in North America or Western Europe, they are in emerging markets, and while they don’t have credit cards, they overwhelmingly have mobile wallets. For global merchants, mobile payment acceptance is not about accepting one type of mobile wallet or another, but ensuring that consumers in every market will have the required selection on payment types in order to monetize transactions.”
Boku’s report follows an eventful week for the mobile wallets sector in Europe, with the merger of Vipps, MobilePay and Pivo as they look to compete against the likes of Alipay, Apple and Google.
Source: finextra
Our toughest man!
Think your company has tough colleagues? We´ve got you beat! Atis Klavis, our Head of Engineering is the toughest guy my a mile. By several miles in fact… Last week he completed the insane Werewolf Marathon in Latvia, a 42km race with a 2000m(!!!) ascent. It has been described as one of the most difficult marathons in Europe. Some of the steepest parts of the trail are just ridiculous. Atis came in at a respectable 21st place out of 88 participants and completed in a little over 6 hours.
“I feel more at home on the longer distances” says Atis. “I used this race more as a warmup to my race in two weeks, where I´ll run 107km for the Ultra-Asphalt marathon going from Riga to Valmiera. But even that is not the highlight for this years running season. I am most excited about participating in the Ultra trail du MontBlanc in August. Its only 56km, but its has 3500m ascent, so it will be a tough race. My focus now is just sticking to my training plan, being disciplined on my dietary intake, and avoid injury so I can make sure I have a good season”.
Needless to say we are immensely impressed by Atis´ endurance, and his incredible discipline. Being able to juggle an intensive competitive training program, a family and his career is, in lack of better words, awesome! We are proud to have you on the team Atis, but none of us would want to run a hundred miles in your shoes…
Meawallet and Universo disrupt the payment space in Portugal
Meawallet and Universo disrupt the payment space in Portugal. The digital transformation partnership was announced in mid 2020, as is set to speed up the adoption of digital payments and digital wallet use for Universo’s massive customer base, and set a new standard in innovate use of payment technology.
“MeaWallet is delighted to announce its recent partnership with Universo. We actively seek out innovative companies that are keen to disrupt the Status Quo, and teaming up with Universo who are well known for pushing aggressively for digital transformation, is a great strategic fit for us” quips Rui Patraquim Senior, Senior Sales Director at Meawallet.
“Working with Meawallet gives us set of functionalities of provisioning and control for our digitalisation of cards and payments. In general terms this cooperation will give our customers the ability to more easily to add and manage their payment cards into digital wallets, like Apple Pay, Google Pay, FitbitPay and GarminPay, and then make cardless payments with your phone or watch” explains Sara Pinto head of Digital Products and Services at Universo.
About MeaWallet: MeaWallet is the centre of excellence within mobile and digital payments and mobile wallets, providing state of the art certified technology in 20+ countries. As one of Europe’s leading companies within mobile payments, MeaWallet provide customers with a short time to market with high-quality products. In close relationship with Amex, Mastercard, Visa, NXP and other key organizations, MeaWallet are at the forefront of the mobile payments space.
About Universo: Universo is a trademark belonging to Sonae FS, the Sonae Group business unit responsible for fostering and coordinate the financial services, in-store credit and insurance services of the group’s customers. It includes the “Universo” credit card, “Dá” prepaid cards, Continente Money Transfers, in-store credit services and also the insurance broker MDS.
Sonae Group is a multinational company managing a diversified portfolio of businesses in retail, financial services, technology, shopping centres and telecommunications. Sonae is present across all continents and geographies, gathering a team of talented professionals from all parts of the globe.
Meawallet and Cirilo Ayling SAIC partners up
Meawallet and Cirilo Ayling SAIC partner up to bring new payment technology to Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay.
Cirilo Ayling, leading payment infrastructure provider, which has been an integral part of the financial institutions backbone in the region for over 60 years, has now teamed up with the Norwegian fin-tech Mewallet to take payment tokenization and new technology to the banking sector in Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay.
The region has seen an explosion of demand for credit cards, new bank accounts, and digital wallet apps and innovative solutions since the start of the Covid pandemic.
Marcos Ayling, Sales Director at Cirilo Ayling, see this as a positive prospect: “This partnership allows us to add a new layer of key infrastructure and technology previously unavailable in this market, allowing faster and better development to all financial players in the field of digital wallets and push provisioning”.
“We are tremendously excited about working with Cirilo, because of the synergies our cutting-edge tech can create in combination with their network and industry knowledge. The market is a big opportunity, and is ripe for change. We want to help take the region from cash-first to a digital-payments market.” say Rui Patraquim, Senior Sales Director Meawallet.
About Cirilo Ayling SAIC is a leading solution provider in payments, identity and data protection with over 60 years’ experience in the market with presence in Latam Region. Cirilo Ayling is at the forefront of new developments and robust solutions that bring integrity and security to transactions.
About MeaWallet
MeaWallet is the centre of excellence within mobile and digital payments and mobile wallets, providing state of the art certified technology in 20+ countries. As one of Europe’s leading companies within mobile payments, we provide our customers with a short time to market with high-quality products.
In close relationship with Amex, Mastercard, Visa, NXP and other key organizations, we are at the forefront of the mobile payments space. We are an organization with a mix of seasoned and experienced subject matter experts together with young entrepreneurs that constantly challenge the technology. This combination has proven to be unique and given us credit with customers, partners and in the FinTech industry in general.
Learn more about Cirilo Ayling here and Meawallet here.
Spanish Version
Meawallet y Cirilo Ayling SAIC se asocian para llevar nueva tecnología de pago a Argentina, Chile, Paraguay y Uruguay.
Cirilo Ayling, proveedor líder de infraestructura de pago, que ha sido una parte integral de la columna vertebral de las instituciones financieras en la región durante más de 60 años, ahora se ha asociado con la empresa de tecnología Mewallet de Noruega para llevar la tokenización de pagos y las nuevas tecnologías al sector bancario en Argentina, Chile, Paraguay y Uruguay.
Desde el inicio de la pandemia de Covid, la región ha experimentado una explosión de demanda de tarjetas de crédito, nuevas cuentas bancarias y aplicaciones de billetera digital y soluciones innovadoras.
Marcos Ayling, Director de Ventas de Cirilo Ayling, ve esto como una perspectiva positiva: “Esta asociación nos permite agregar una nueva capa de infraestructura y tecnología clave que antes no estaba disponible en este mercado, lo que permite un desarrollo más rápido y mejor para todos los actores financieros en el campo de billeteras digitales y aprovisionamiento bajo demanda".
“Estamos tremendamente emocionados de trabajar con Cirilo, debido a las sinergias que nuestra tecnología de vanguardia puede crear en combinación con su red y el conocimiento de la industria. El mercado es una gran oportunidad y está listo para el cambio. Queremos ayudar a que la región pase del mercado de con un muy alto porcentaje de pagos en efectivo a un mercado de pagos digitales ", dice Rui Patraquim, Director Senior de Ventas de Meawallet.
Acerca de Cirilo Ayling SAIC
Cirilo Ayling es un proveedor líder de soluciones en pagos, identidad y protección de datos con más de 60 años de experiencia en el mercado con presencia en Latam Region. Cirilo Ayling está a la vanguardia de nuevos desarrollos y soluciones robustas que aportan integridad y seguridad a las transacciones.
Acerca de MeaWallet
MeaWallet es el centro de excelencia dentro de los pagos móviles y digitales y las billeteras móviles, que proporciona tecnología certificada de vanguardia en más de 20 países. Como una de las empresas líderes en Europa en pagos móviles, ofrecemos a nuestros clientes productos de alta calidad en un corto tiempo de comercialización.
En estrecha relación con Amex, Mastercard, Visa, NXP y otras organizaciones clave, estamos a la vanguardia del espacio de pagos móviles. Somos una organización con una combinación de expertos en la materia experimentados y experimentados junto con jóvenes emprendedores que desafían constantemente la tecnología. Esta combinación ha demostrado ser única y nos ha dado crédito con los clientes, socios y en la industria FinTech en general.
Obtenga más información sobre Cirilo Ayling aquí y Meawallet aquí.
Meawallet is proud to announce the closing of its pre-series A round.
MeaWallet is proud to announce that last week we closed our pre-series A round of 26 Million NOK ($3 Million). This is an important milestone in MeaWallet’s history following its acquisition by IdeKapital and management in late 2018 and spent the last 2 years growing its product portfolio and customer base. During the last 24 months we grew our recurring revenues by nearly 300% and our customer base grew from 7 to 70. We saw the first projects in Australia and Latin America and we have established 15 reseller/distribution partnerships.
“Today I would describe us as a two-year-old startup, that to inherited a well-developed platform and highly qualified technical team, and we are now raising fresh capital to invest in our new product MeaPay, a software-based contactless point of sale system (SoftPos) that makes it possible for any mobile phone to accept contactless payments – replacing traditional payment terminals”, says Nuno Sitima, CEO MeaWallet.
Rune Holen, partner at Idekapital (the Lead Investor) has great faith in the investment. -The existing business is in itself profitable now, and justifies the valuation as it is today, but if MeaPay develops as we hope, it can be many times better, according to the investor. This is where the fun starts, and we will work hard to make our investors, founders, CEO and colleagues proud. Stay tuned for more updates and learn more about our SoftPos initiative here
MeaWallet is expanding into new regions!
MeaWallet is expanding into new regions!
Our new cooperation with SL Innovation & Solution will now boost digital payments in Latin America. We are grateful to announce that SL Innovation & Solution has choosen us to be their strategic tokenization partner. This cooperation opens an opportunity for MeaWallet to provide digital payment solutions to ALL the customers of SL Innovation & Solution. We will support the coming projects in a list of countries in Latin America where digital payments are starting to gain more traction with the local consumers. This partnership is particularly valuable to MeaWallet, after many years of development, and building relationships with the schemes.
Our tokenisation technology that supports the digital wallets and all other projects related to network tokenisation will now start scaling in Latin America. This is another milestone for Meawallet, as we can now boast that our technology (awarded Platinum Partner of Mastercard) is now used in all time zones of the world(!), starting from Australia right till Latin America. It is a great achievement by the MeaWallet who have managed to develop this platform that allows any organisation to connect on a digital level to the major schemes with minimal effort and without any regional limitations. It looks like 2021 is going to be a year of turbo-fuelled growth!
Get to know SL Innovation & Solutions better
SL Innovation & Solutions arose from the need to present to the Latin America technological solutions that would accelerate the digital transformation in emerging markets. Nowadays with almost a thousand employees SL Innovation & Solutions leave their footprint in all the counties of Latin America starting from Mexico till Argentina. They solve the needs of local innovative organizations primarily by taking advantage of the modern technology. They support their customers with help of their experience of over 5 years bringing intro effective action their relationships in the financial and technological space in the region.
About MeaWallet
MeaWallet is the centre of excellence within mobile and digital payments and mobile wallets, providing state of the art certified technology in 20+ countries. As one of Europe’s leading companies within mobile payments, we provide our customers with a short time to market with high-quality products.
In close relationship with Amex, Mastercard, Visa, NXP and other key organizations, we are at the forefront of the mobile payments space. We are an organization with a mix of seasoned and experienced subject matter experts together with young entrepreneurs that constantly challenge the technology. This combination has proven to be unique and given us credit with customers, partners and in the FinTech industry in general.
Author: Alena Grishcheva
