The S1LKPAY startup has raised over $ 1.2 million from the investment company Seven Rivers Capital LTD, UAE, as well as from several angel investors in the Middle East and Central Asian regions. The business information center Kapital.kz was informed about this by the founder of the project, ex-banker Gani Uzbekov.
At an estimate of $ 14.5 million (post money valuation). S1LKPAY is a developer and copyright holder of a software package and its own processing, certified by Mastercard, which allows instant P2P transfers, including cross-border transfers.
“The philosophy of the project is an analogue of AIRBNB for cards: rent a card or own a clone. Our project helps individuals to share money instantly, and to access the money, you only need a smartphone for the recipient, he does not need a bank account or card. People can easily join this platform by purchasing prepaid cards or using existing cards issued by partner banks of the project, ”said Gani Uzbekov.
Potential market: p2p transfers in the amount of $ 10 trillion annually, of which cross-border transfers of labor migrants – about $ 600-700 billion.
The startup is an affiliate member of Mastercard in Astana AIFC, the company has licenses to issue cards and service them – acquiring.
S1LKPAY has its own payment processing, which is certified by Mastercard, with permission to issue cards, acquiring, Samsung Pay.
“Very soon, our project will have Google Pay, Apple Pay and its own issuing wallet (Token Service Provider), which will allow customers to make contactless payments within the application. The team consists of 12 people, experienced fintech specialists, professionals in the creation and launch of innovative ideas and services. At its core, S1LKPAY is a fintech bank that has full technical functionality of a bank and can work as a full-fledged bank, in case of obtaining a banking license, ”explained Gani Uzbekov.
Test transactions are planned to be launched in the summer of 2021. After the regulators confirm the success of the test, it is planned to obtain a full commercial license for the mass market of the UAE and Central Asia by the beginning of 2022.
“The nearest plans include launching on the existing technical base in Southeast Asia and Europe in 18-24 months. As an affiliate Mastercard, with its own certified processing. Our project offers card services to local banks in any jurisdiction of the world, sharing with them a higher level of income from currency exchange and interchange income from cross-border transactions, as well as a new client base, ”said Gani Uzbekov.
According to him, the local bank registers S1LKPAY as a TTP (as an external processor) in Mastercard, and then the company offers its products and solutions to the mass market, using its own processing and functionality, as well as BINs of cards of partner banks.