Rapyd – WireUp

Rapyd selected as Rakuten Viber’s first official payments provider to launch Viber Pay

July 29, 2022 Published by TheFintechBuzz.com

Rapyd, the leading global fintech platform, is partnering with Rakuten Viber, a worldwide leader in private and secure messaging and voice-based communication, to introduce in-app payment transactions to the Viber app and its millions of users. Rapyd will integrate its licensed financial technology offerings directly into the Viber app. By selecting Rapyd as its first official payments partner, Rakuten Viber will enter the global digital payments market with a worldwide user base of hundreds of millions of consumers and a strong reputation for security rooted in its on-by-default end-to-end encryption for private communications.

The landmark partnership enables Rakuten Viber to expand into digital payments. With functionality powered by Rapyd, Viber users will be able to store money in a mobile wallet with an IBAN, available in the Viber app which will allow them to send and receive money instantly and securely with no fees. First opening the service with Euros, Viber will later expand to include multiple currencies and additional services. Payments in Viber will initially begin in Greece and Germany and will roll out to more countries in the near future.

Over 70% of smartphone users globally – more than 180 million smartphone users – are expected to use peer-to-peer mobile payments by the year 2026^[1]. As a result of this integration with Rapyd, Rakuten Viber is one of the first messaging platforms in the world to bring instant digital payments capabilities into its existing platform, allowing millions of its current users to conduct seamless digital personal and business transactions without having to leave the Viber app.

“The future of payments is integrated fintech, and this partnership demonstrates why we founded Rapyd in the first place: to democratize fintech for all,” says Arik Shiltman, CEO of Rapyd. “We’re proud to provide the infrastructure and licensing for global companies like Rakuten Viber, one of the world’s most trusted and recognized messaging and communications platforms, to develop their own financial services without them having to build the foundation from scratch. Through this partnership, Rakuten Viber can confidently step into the world of payments and become a leader in embedded finance, supported by Rapyd’s licensed end-to-end fintech offerings.”

“Rakuten Viber’s entrance into payments is significant both to our evolution as a company and more so for our hundreds of millions of users worldwide as we help pave the way for the convergence of communications apps and digital payments. We knew we’d only choose to work with a premium payment service partner to make this evolution possible – and this is precisely why we’re confident to partner with Rapyd,” says Ofir Eyal, CEO of Rakuten Viber. “There was no doubt our in-app payment offerings would have to feature the world-class security and privacy protection that the Viber app is already known for. For this reason we’re thrilled to have Rapyd, a trusted leader building the future of global finance, to serve as the licensed cross-border payments solution enabling us to bring safe and simple instant payments features to Viber users across borders.”

Rapyd launches out of this world competition to ‘Hack the Galaxy’ for software developers to win a trip to the edge of space

June 7, 2022 Published by TheFintechBuzz.com

Rapyd, the leading fintech-as-a-service platform, today announces the launch of its Hack the Galaxy challenge; a series of virtual challenges for developers to win tickets to ride to the edge of space in a private capsule launching in 2026. Check out this video from Rapyd partner William Shatner announcing the challenge.

Beginning today, challenges will be posted in the Rapyd Developer Community every week through October 3. Members will have an opportunity to compete in a total of 42 challenges. Each solution will reveal a password unlocking an entry to win tickets to the edge of space aboard the Space Perspective Spaceship Neptune.

The three individual winners – one each announced on July 11, September 2 and October 14, 2022 – plus one winning hackathon team named the Galaxy’s Greatest Fintech Developer will board the world’s only carbon-neutral spaceship for the six hour trip. The winners will enjoy 360 degree views, 450 miles in any direction, while relaxing in the capsule’s Space Lounge featuring plush reclining seats and the largest-ever panoramic windows to be flown to the edge of space.

In addition to the challenges for the developer community, there are additional opportunities to win via live events and four Hack the Galaxy-themed hackathons taking place throughout the year. The top team from each of these hackathons will be flown to Rapyd’s Developer Demo Day in Lisbon, Portugal in November 2022 to present their ideas in front of a panel of judges. The ultimate winning team will be crowned the ‘Galaxy’s Greatest Fintech Developers’ and be rewarded with the trip to the edge of space. Winners may also opt to choose a cash alternative prize of $130,000. Rapyd encourages anyone from eligible countries to join the developer community and participate.

All participants have opportunities to win dozens of other prizes throughout the challenge.

Arik Shtilman CEO at Rapyd says: “The Hack the Galaxy challenge is a once in a lifetime experience and contest for our growing community of over 50,000 software developers. Developers are the dreamers and doers of fintech innovation – at Rapyd, we’re on a quest to attract accomplished talent to welcome to our community. Millions of developers around the world are reimagining financial services bringing together new ideas and innovation to solve the problem of how businesses and consumers pay and want to be paid in markets across the planet. We’re committed to ensuring that they have access to the best tools, support and advice so that they can continue to make payment and fintech applications more frictionless. By launching this world-first contest, we are not only able to find and crown the greatest fintech developer on Planet Earth and beyond but also create a place for like-minded thinkers across the globe who are hungry to connect and share ideas”.

William Shatner, Film and TV icon and space enthusiast comments: “Having been to space myself, I can’t express how incredible an opportunity this is for software developers all over the world. It’s an experience I wouldn’t trade for anything. I’m excited to partner with Rapyd to spread the word to the developers worldwide to join the Rapyd Developer Community and complete the puzzles for a chance to win a trip to the edge of space!”

The Rapyd Developer Community is far more than a ticket to space. The community has become a hub for developers to learn, connect and share with others in the fintech world. From learning how to use Rapyd’s APIs, to collaborating on business ideas and local hackathons, the Rapyd Developer Community is a launching pad for creativity and success.

Can You Hack the Galaxy? Join the Rapyd Developer Community to solve unique puzzles and receive invitations to live and virtual developer events that can earn you entry into a Hack the Galaxy drawing. For full details, please visit https://www.hackthegalaxy.dev

Rapyd launches Virtual Accounts, a new payments solution unlocking cross-border commerce for businesses looking to expand globally

May 4, 2022 Published by TheFintechBuzz.com

Rapyd, a global fintech-as-a-service platform, today announced the launch of Virtual Accounts, a vital product empowering businesses to expand globally while supporting local payments. This new offering allows organisations anywhere in the world to securely and reliably accept local bank transfers across over 40 countries in more than 25 currencies, including the UK, US, EU, and APAC regions.

The launch of Virtual Accounts comes at a crucial time for businesses searching for payment support to allow them to tap into the global marketplace. While 93 percent of businesses report cross-border commerce is a high priority for their organisations in 2022, nearly 1 in 4 say supporting local payment methods is their biggest operational challenge holding them back.¹

Acting as local bank accounts without the typical transaction fees and extra operational costs, Virtual Accounts enable simple, familiar and automatic global payments and payouts. Before Virtual Accounts, businesses would have to rely on expensive cross-border wire transfers to a single bank account and manage separate accounts in each market. Several accounts mean higher administration costs, reconciliation errors and complex operations. Now, businesses can easily accept payments in other countries, streamline operations and offer international customers more local ways to pay.

Kadmos, the global salary payment platform revolutionising the experience for millions of migrant workers to receive their salary, trusts Rapyd Virtual Accounts to simplify the payment of international salaries. Powered by Virtual Accounts, Kadmos makes it easy for companies to seamlessly pay international salaries across the globe, and for their employees to remit and spend their earnings everywhere.

Sasha Makarovych, Co-Founder of Kadmos comments: “When it comes to getting employees paid on time and in their local currencies, it is very administration heavy, inefficient, costly and takes many days to process and reach employees. By partnering with Rapyd, Kadmos clients experience a completely new way of paying their international workforce. Thanks to Virtual Accounts, it is faster, digital, and much cheaper – ultimately helping employers pay the more than 180 million global migrant workers more efficiently.”

Kontempo, the embedded payment solution for B2B e-commerce based in Mexico City, uses Rapyd’s suite of offerings, including Virtual Accounts, to help achieve their mission of building Latin America’s go-to B2B Buy-Now-Pay Later solution.

Matthew Meehan, Co-Founder and CEO at Kontempo comments: “Partnering with Rapyd and implementing Virtual Accounts has been instrumental in the growth of Kontempo’s business as we look to scale our BNPL offering to markets throughout Latin America. With Virtual Accounts, we’re able to offer our small business customers flexible repayment methods and our merchant partners a faster, risk-free way to get paid that can also boost sales by more than 50%.”

Khyati Soparkar, Head of Global Product Marketing at Rapyd comments: “One of the key factors that holds businesses back from expanding globally and reaching the next level of growth is the lack of infrastructure to support local payments. Virtual Accounts provide businesses the confidence to grow worldwide knowing they have a trusted payments solution in place. Now, it’s never been easier to reach more countries, currencies and customers – all businesses need is one Rapyd account.”

Virtual Accounts can be set up to match the needs of businesses as they grow, with as many Virtual Accounts as required to collect and organise funds across countries, currencies, and customer needs. Using Rapyd’s single API, Virtual Accounts can be used with Rapyd Collect, Rapyd Disburse and Rapyd Wallet to empower local and cross-border payment acceptance and distribution.

Rapyd Collect

Rapyd Collect allows businesses to securely and easily accept payment types from over 100 countries. With Virtual Accounts, businesses can add even more options in the form of local bank transfers, making it easier to reach more customers no matter where they are located.
Virtual Accounts adds to Rapyd Collect payment collection capabilities that include Hosted Checkout, Checkout Toolkit, Virtual Terminal, Global Invoicing, and third-party plugins such as Wix and WooCommerce.

Rapyd Disburse

Using Rapyd Disburse, businesses can disburse funds to more than a hundred countries in locally preferred payout methods like ewallets, banks, cards and cash.
Together with Virtual Accounts, clients can send a payout to one sender or multiple recipients around the world.

Rapyd Wallet

Virtual Accounts can be added to Rapyd Wallet, the underlying platform that acts as a financial hub for businesses by supporting a range of services like bill pay, cash withdrawal and load, and funds transfer.
Businesses can have as many Virtual Accounts as needed and allocate them by country, currency or customer, but still only use a single Rapyd Wallet.

Rapyd Acquires Hong Kong-Based Neat to Expand Small and Medium Business Trade Capabilities across Asia and Globally

December 8, 2021 Published by TheFintechBuzz.com

Rapyd, a global Fintech-as-a-Service company has agreed to acquire Hong Kong-based Neat, a cross-border trade enabling platform for SMBs and startups. Neat provides full company incorporation, business accounts, global payment collection and disbursements, as well as credit card-based capital expansion services. Terms of the deal were not disclosed and it is subject to regulatory approval.

By integrating Neat into the Rapyd Global Payments Network, small and medium businesses will be able to:

Incorporate new companies in minutes, streamline receivables and payables in a single venue, starting with Hong Kong and soon in other trade-friendly markets around the world
Offer real-time high-value payments in Hong Kong via FPS, CHATS, and SWIFT
Accelerate payments to suppliers across Greater China
Empower smart business and employee spending via virtual and physical Visa cards
Provide eligible businesses with fast working capital through an in-wallet credit line

Rapyd’s expertise in delivering fintech services at scale coupled with its global payments network that supports more than 900 payment methods in over 100 countries and global payouts in over 200 countries makes it uniquely suited to support entrepreneurs and Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs) looking to incorporate, get online, and access new markets quickly and inexpensively. Its easy-to-use API-based platform simplifies complex cross-border payments processes which are critical for businesses looking to engage in global trade. Neat’s services, capabilities, and licenses will be integrated into Rapyd’s platform providing an easy-to-use online global trade solution optimized for SMBs, entrepreneurs, and growing young companies.

Joel Yarbrough, Managing Director of Rapyd Ventures and Vice President of Asia Pacific, commented on the acquisition, stating: “Neat has enabled thousands of businesses to intelligently manage their trade flows and working capital, through fast incorporation, virtual accounts, payables, and spend management. As SMBs need to go digital and globalize at an even faster rate due to the pandemic, together Neat and Rapyd can help businesses everywhere sell their goods and services in new markets with less complexity, flatten FX fees, to unlock revenue and growth potential that would otherwise be inaccessible to them.”

David Rosa, CEO and co-founder of Neat, commented further about the acquisition, stating: “Neat has been executing towards a vision of becoming the most popular payment platform for international SMBs. Joining the Rapyd family turbo-charges our capabilities and we are super excited about it. Our comprehensive business solution, high-touch support model, excellent onboarding experience and easy-to-use capabilities are an ideal complement to Rapyd’s world-class technology and global payments network. Together, this makes us a strategic partner to SMBs that want the freedom and ability to realize their own ambitions, regardless of their location or wherever they see business opportunities across the globe.”

Rapyd to enable PromptPay payments for Thailand’s Google Play users

August 10, 2021 Published by TheFintechBuzz.com

Today, Rapyd rolled out PromptPay on the Google Play Store, enabling Thailand’s national payment method to support app downloads and in-app purchases for games, music, movies, video streaming, books, magazines, and other content purchases from Google Play Store. Rapyd, a global Fintech as a Service platform supports local payments for Google in Thailand through its collaboration with GB Prime Pay, a leading Thai payment solution provider.

Launched in 2017, PromptPay is one of the most commonly used payment methods in Thailand. It allows its users to make real-time interbank mobile payments or transfer funds by linking the user’s bank account to the mobile number or national ID. As of September 2020, PromptPay reported 55.1 million registrants (out of a population of 69 million), with 20 million transactions a day. According to the Rapyd Asia Pacific eCommerce and Payments Report 2020, it was used by 37% of respondents at least once in the past month.

Google Play offers Android users and content creators a premium store with compelling content. In the Google Play store, users can find, enjoy and share their favourite digital content, managed on the cloud and available on any device. As Play continues to grow, more developers than ever are building successful businesses on Google, reaching new audiences and growing their revenue. The full range of premium content available in Google Play in Thailand will support PromptPay payments starting from August 2021.

“With the continued growth in mobile smartphone payments in Thailand, we are excited to support Google in rolling out PromptPay acceptance on Google Play Thailand. Google is known for always putting consumers front and center, and for driving innovation through convenience and superior technology. We believe Thai consumers will appreciate the ease of buying their favourite digital products on Google Play with PromptPay,” said Joel Yarbrough, Vice President for Asia Pacific, Rapyd.

Thailand is one of the focus markets for Rapyd in Asia. The company recently launched its ‘all-in-one’ payment capabilities in this market. By partnering with leading Thai payment solution providers including GB Prime Pay, Rapyd now provides local payment options like international and local cards, bank transfers, eWallets and also cash over the counter.

Rapyd Launches a Venture Arm to Propel Digital Commerce and Payment Innovation Globally

June 3, 2021 Published by TheFintechBuzz.com

Rapyd, a global Fintech-as-a-Service company, announced today the launch of Rapyd Ventures, its new venture arm that will focus on investing in early and growth stage businesses that are delivering the next wave of financial services innovation. Rapyd Ventures will be led by Joel Yarbrough, MD of Rapyd Ventures and Rapyd’s VP of Asia Pacific.

Rapyd Ventures will largely work with startups after their Seed round and through Series B funding that have unique market and customer insights and are expanding on existing market traction. In addition to capital, Rapyd Ventures will provide access to its extensive Fintech-as-a-Service capabilities and network of partners, offering startups strategic advice and giving them opportunities to move faster, expand more quickly, and accelerate their growth.

The venture arm will look at two types of projects:

Capability providers delivering core infrastructure in areas where the market is going, including identity and risk management, faster and more seamless money movement and embedded financial services;
End-user platforms that are directly providing innovative financial services to consumers and businesses around the world.

“The innovations that we are seeing in the payments industry are not evenly distributed. We believe we have a mission and responsibility to support companies building both the infrastructure for next generation financial services, as well as innovators building on top of these new capabilities around the world, and to accelerate their development,” said Arik Shtilman, CEO and co-founder of Rapyd. “Joel’s intimate understanding of the global Tech industry and his vast insight and experience in payment technology makes him the ideal person to lead our new venture arm. He knows where the industry is headed and how to build the technology necessary to get there. Just as he has pushed Rapyd forward, we are confident he can do the same for others in this space and the entire digital commerce ecosystem.”

“We are engaging with entrepreneurs around the world to create the enabling infrastructure for next-generation financial services and bring to the market new fintech products that create opportunities for individuals, small, and large businesses to transact with lower friction, more quickly, safely, and in new ways,” said Joel Yarbrough, MD of Rapyd Ventures and VP of Asia Pacific. “We believe that ‘FinTech’ will be built into all types of services, and we want to help bring to life a network of innovators and a rich set of new payment, identity, open banking, and embedded finance capabilities to make it happen.”

Tag: Rapyd