NOW Money partners with Mastercard to roll out financial services to migrants

NOW Money, a fintech committed to the bancarization and financial protection of migrants in the Middle East, has just announced a partnership with payments giant Mastercard. The Dubai-based company also offers payroll solutions to businesses, with the aim of supporting employee financial inclusion. The partnership with Mastercard aims to offer payment cards to migrant workers, so that they can use their money anywhere, in complete security.

FACTS

• NOW Money has entered into a partnership with Mastercard to offer a payment card to its customers.
• NOW Money workers will receive a Mastercard payment card, providing them with an accessible and secure payment solution.
• The two new partners are highlighting a number of advantages linked to their partnership, including :
• The worldwide acceptance that a Mastercard offers, whether online, at the point of sale, etc. ;
• Transaction and payment security, thanks to Mastercard's extensive expertise in card payment security and fraud prevention.
• The fintech will therefore be changing the payment network for its cards, which until now have been issued on the Visa network.
• NOM Money is available to migrant workers in the Gulf Cooperation Council area of the Middle East.

CHALLENGES

• Promoting financial inclusion: The fintech's main mission is to promote financial inclusion. With Mastercard, NOW Money aims to continue offering financial services to as many people as possible, while improving workers' ability to understand financial logic and use dedicated mobile applications.
• Offering digital services for ease of use: NOW Money wants to offer an increasingly adapted service, based on complete management of banking services on a mobile application. The aim is to secure workers' accounts while simplifying their daily lives. Customers can manage their payments, transfers and other banking operations directly via their mobile phone.
• Thwarting the competition: The signing of this new partnership by MasterCard, in place of Visa, is proof, if any were needed, that the two schemes are waging a competitive battle on every market.

MARKET PERSPECTIVE

• Fintechs regularly come to the aid of migrant populations in various countries. Back in 2009, a branch of the Philippine National Bank introduced a prepaid Visa card for Filipino migrants living in the United States. The aim was to facilitate access to banking services for migrants arriving at their destination.
• Later, other initiatives such as Rebtel, Remitly and WayaPay also opened banking services to migrant populations arriving in certain parts of the world.