Modul8 and Nium partner to provide card-issuing for APAC region
Modul8, an Australian fintech offering “digital banking in a box’”, has teamed up with Singapore-based cross-border payments fintech Nium. The two will issue cards together across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region.
The partnership arrives as Australia’s open banking regime begins to gather momentum, going live at the beginning of July.
The two claim they can deliver the service for companies in as little as three months
In the last month, challenger banking services and incumbents alike have been racing to unveil their open banking services to Australia’s 25 million citizens.
“As someone who has been in the banking and financial services industry for decades, I’m really proud to play a part in the revolution that will be enabled by open banking,” says Modul8’s CEO, David Laird.
A three-month “DIY approach”
New partners Modul8 and Nium say they will focus on delivering card-issuing services for fintechs, rather than incumbent players.
The two claim they can deliver the service for companies in as little as three months, which they claim is “a quarter of the usual year-long timeline”.
The onboarding process during this three-month period takes “a DIY approach”, which the firms say will save money for start-up clients.
“At a time of global uncertainty, our economy needs transformative digital businesses that can provide the framework for a post-COVID recovery,” says Laird.
Modul8’s CEO comes from six years at Australian incumbent Commonwealth Bank, where he directed transaction banking solutions.
He also spent more than nine years at fellow incumbent ANZ. Here, he helped developed the bank’s ecommerce and transaction banking capabilities.
A strong partner in Nium
Nium has evolved from solely focusing on consumer remittance under its former name InstaRem, to providing fintech solutions for businesses.
It facilitates cross-border payments between 90 countries, and real-time cross-border payments across 65 corridors.
Its Visa-led funding round in May was likely worth between $75-$100 million, according to DealStreetAsia.
Nium is Visa’s third investment in Southeast Asia, alongside ride-hailing apps Gojek and Grab.
It’s also one of Southeast Asia’s most well-funded fintechs. It last closed a $41 million Series C round in March 2019, led by Temasek-backed Vertex Growth Fund.
And in Q1 of this year, it saw $2 billion worth of transactions flow through its platform.
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