Mastercard selects Aion Bank as partner for its FinTech Express Programme

By Megha Bhattacharya

Mastercard and Vodeno-powered Aion Bank have signed a strategic partnership, enabling the digital bank to become a certified member of Mastercard’s FinTech Express programme. The partnership will enable FinTechs to leverage Aion Bank’s Vodeno Cloud Platform (VCP).

According to the companies, Mastercard Processing will offer full capability of issuing processing services to Aion/Vodeno, thus strengthening them to support clients with digital-first solutions safely and securely. Joining the Mastercard FinTech Express programme will also give Aion/Vodeno the opportunity to engage with Mastercard’s extensive network, thus helping its business to scale at a faster rate.

Jason Lane, Executive Vice President, Market Development Europe, Mastercard commented, “During the time of accelerated digital shift, financial services’ users seek technological innovations. We know that there is a heightened appetite for online solutions, with many Europeans expressing an interest in switching from physical banking to digital platforms. Innovative market players aim at meeting their needs by launching new fintech products fast and at scale, with support of the right partners. We are very happy to welcome Aion Bank into our FinTech Express programme. It aims at assisting digital players by making the collaboration with Mastercard easy. We realise the great potential of this partnership because of Aion Bank’s comprehensive portfolio, supported by fintech enablers like Vodeno.”

Belgium-based Aion Bank is a licensed digital bank for individuals and business owners. Aion’s IT, powered by VCP, covers all aspects of Retail and SME universal bank activities with 300+ public APIs.

Wojciech Sobieraj, CEO of Aion Bank explained, “We are very pleased to further build our partnership with Mastercard and join their FinTech Express programme. This cooperation was born out of a long-standing relationship with Mastercard Europe, and we look forward to offering fintechs in the programme embedded financial services powered by Vodeno’s fully cloud-based banking technology. Through our work together, we have unprecedented access to a myriad of Mastercard’s added services, including business development teams in key markets, connection to key commercial clients, brand endorsement and marketing support. The combination of Mastercard, Vodeno’s technology stack and Aion Bank’s fully regulated charter will accelerate European fintechs looking to develop a broad range of products and lending services across multiple sectors.”