The Monday Roundup: what we are watching this week | June 10th

By Puja Sharma

The Monday Roundup sets the scene for the week’s biggest news stories, industry deals, and upcoming events. For Prime subscribers only.

Cashfree Travel Experience

PhonePe has announced its collaboration with PickMe, Sri Lanka’s ride-hailing platform, to enable seamless UPI-based QR payments for Indian travellers in Sri Lanka.

The partnership signifies a step forward in enhancing travellers’ travel experiences by making it convenient for them to make cashless transactions on their PickMe rides from the moment they exit the Bandaranaike International Airport.

While travelling, managing foreign currency and ensuring enough cash on hand for various expenses can often become a hassle. By integrating PhonePe’s UPI-based QR payment system into their platform, PickMe aims to minimise that stress for Indian travellers visiting Sri Lanka.

Scolaris Finance SA has announced its partnership with Sopra Banking Software (SBS) for the implementation of the SBP Core Amplitude solution.

To accelerate the development of its activities and provide flexible, tailored financing solutions to its clients, Scolaris Finance SA, a FinTech created to meet the needs of students and professionals seeking education and training, has strategically decided to adopt the latest version of SBS’s SBP Core Amplitude solution.

“The adoption of the SBP Core Amplitude solution is a crucial step to boost our expansion,” said Simon Aziati, Chairman of the Board of Scolaris Finance SA.

Cutting-edge mobile services

Network International (Network), the enabler of digital commerce across the Middle East and Africa (MEA), has been appointed as a Payment Processor Issued by Airtel in Africa. This marks a development amidst the Network’s growing portfolio of issuer processing collaborations within the continent.

This collaboration is poised to catalyze Airtel’s continued provision of cutting-edge mobile services within the continent and beyond. Leveraging Network International’s expertise, Airtel is well-equipped to navigate the dynamic landscape of digital finance, drive innovation, and deliver unparalleled value to its users and stakeholders. The contract with Airtel involves a rollout across key Airtel markets, covering card issuance products.

Network will offer its expertise and technical support to Airtel, which includes a comprehensive range of products and services from transaction processing, card hosting and management, and online fraud prevention to the API sandbox, internal reconciliation and settlement, and online access for Airtel users.

The solution chosen by Airtel will provide its users with the convenience and ease to access a wide range of both conventional mobile services and a new set of digital payment services, all through a smooth and elevated customer experience.

Alipay+ has partnered with Khan Bank to enable seamless digital payments across Mongolia for users of 12 overseas mobile wallets and bank apps from 8 countries and regions.

With this partnership, Mongolia becomes the new destination to accept digital mobile payments powered by Alipay+, a suite of cross-border mobile payment and digitalization technology solutions operated by Ant International.

Powered by Alipay+, users of these popular Asian and European eWallets and payment apps will enjoy a smooth and secure payment experience in Mongolia whenever they encounter the Alipay+ logo at participating merchants ranging from established hotel chains and restaurants to department stores and cashmere outlets located throughout the country.

What is the buzz

Centenary Bank, one of Uganda’s largest financial institutions, has initiated a significant technological transformation by adopting a suite of solutions from Oracle FS, including the renowned Flexcube core banking system.

The new platform is designed to support a comprehensive range of operations at Centenary Bank, covering core functions, payments, digital front-end services for retail and corporate banking, branch operations, origination, leasing, fraud detection, and compliance.

The bank’s existing core banking system, Profits from Netcompany-Intrasoft (previously Intrasoft International, a Greek banking tech provider acquired by Denmark’s Netcompany in 2021 for €235 million), is approaching a decade in use. Centenary Bank signed for the system in 2014 and implemented it in early 2017. Oracle Flexcube was also considered during that selection process, along with several other international providers.