Today, the Nordics are saturated when it comes to mobile payments. Everyone sends money to each other in real time from and to accounts using mobile phone numbers. Merchants build and grow their business on this digital platform, opening a store in everyone’s pocket. The names of the mobile payment schemes in Scandinavia have become verbs and card payments are dropping.
Auka was the first to develop mobile payments technology in the Nordics, the first in the world to build a fully regulated financial services platform to run 100% in the cloud. We have been awarded multiple honours, including best mobile payments platform in Europe two years in a row.
Now we are bringing the experience from our success in the Nordics to the world, by introducing a brand new and beautiful app for consumers and merchants.
What now?
After our success in the Nordics, we set out on a mission to provide mobile payment solutions white-label to financial institutions globally, to ultimately make the lives of consumers and merchants easier. This journey has been extremely rewarding, challenging and fun. But especially, it has proved to us that the European market is ready for mobile payments solutions, as defined by the successful schemes globally. For example, Alipay, Google Tez and Venmo (and obviously including the famous Scandinavian solutions that actually have higher adoption numbers than all the others per capita).
However, this journey has also taught us the importance of having the right partners onboard, but more importantly, under the right conditions. That is, every stakeholder in a mobile payment proposition need to focus on their strengths. With this in mind, we in Auka spent most of the summer re-thinking how to fulfill our mission of digitising money and making it universally available in the best possible way.
Focus on your strength
Financial institutions, telcos and other companies who want to launch a mobile wallet, have, the way we see it, three different options in order to make this a reality: 1) Build a mobile payment wallet from scratch, 2) Buy or license the technology white-label and 3) Join an existing scheme.
The first option is a viable solution if you have the tech resources and the competence needed to build mobile payment solutions internally from scratch. Alternatively, this option is also viable if you have enough money to spend on consulting services, after all, you know the model that’s been proven to work.
If you don’t feel like reinventing the wheel, we believe that option two is better. That is, to license an existing solution off the shelf, which also means that you don’t have to deal with technical operations, assuming you choose a SaaS model (always a perk!).
Although, when choosing option one or two, you take on a large financial risk and have to spend a lot of time learning how to do everything that is needed to become successful. The frontrunners in this space have hundreds of talented people who have developed the commercial knowledge and expertise needed to launch, operate and further develop a successful mobile payment wallet. There are very few mobile wallets that have followed the formula we adamantly believe is best, that have failed because of bad technology. The right execution and operational model is the key to success. So, regardless of option one or twp, you will have to recruit and build a team that have the competence needed from day one, otherwise you will most probably fail.
We have learned that most banks, telcos or in fact, anyone else interested in launching mobile payments, do not have access to the resources needed to succeed with mobile payments, because such talent only exists inside the companies that have already become successful with mobile payments. They represent a scarce resource and must not be mistaken for the people who helped build, for example, a card business.
The players that want to succeed with mobile payments, typically banks (both issuers and acquirers), telcos and larger retailers, have one thing in common… massive distribution. Auka, on the other hand, has the other value drivers covered. From our experience, we argue that there is little, if anything, either party can do to shift these assets. A successful mobile payments service needs all of the value drivers, so what better way to get it than to partner? What better way to be successful than to partner?
Settle
Settle is the European mobile payments app built on Auka’s proven and award-winning mobile payments platform – the same platform that was pivotal to the Nordic mobile payments revolution. With Settle, Auka takes care of everything, except the distribution.
Settle is built on the world’s most proven payments scheme structure. „As an issuer or acquirer on the Settle scheme, you earn money from day one, without any upfront investment or financial and operational risk.”, according to the company.
The Settle scheme is structured in a way where Auka, the mother company, owns and runs the technology and has all the necessary licenses to operate the mobile payment scheme.
A Single Purpose Vehicle (SPV) is set up in every country to ensure the day-to-day operations of the scheme, as well as creating brand awareness around Settle domestically. Settle partners, on the other hand, are responsible for onboarding consumers and merchants to the scheme.
All participants in the scheme, Auka, SPV and the Settle partners (issuers and acquirers), share the revenue generated from transactions, as well as other revenue sources such as ads and upselling of other bank and telco products in the Settle channel. It’s the perfect collaborative model, where each partner provides and instantly benefits from their assets.
What’s next?
Auka has passported it’s license to all EU member states.
„We have the experience and technology to win the next generation payments market in Europe. We are partnering with banks, telcos and in fact anyone who has massive distribution power and an appetite to position themselves in the mobile payments space. Partners are signing up to join Settle and we will shortly announce the first markets where Settle will launch.”, the company said.
Auka is looking for partners in each EU market. Partners can join and bring Settle to their market by playing one or several of the following roles:
SPV Investor
In each new market, Auka creates a local legal entity that will own the exclusive rights to Settle in that market, including rights to a given amount of the scheme revenue. The SPV needs investors to cover the initial costs before the scheme is profitable. Auka offers up to 50 per cent ownership in the SPV to partners on a first come, first serve basis.
Settle Issuer
Anyone who has a customer base or possesses the ability to distribute Settle to a vast audience in their market can join Settle as an issuer. Settle Issuers get access to all the tools, marketing material and know-how needed to efficiently bring their customers to Settle. Issuers earn commission for life, both for revenue generating transactions and additional revenue made by each customer they bring, and this right stays with you for life. Oh and there is no financial risk with Settle, we take care of that. So you don’t need a license or to build a risk and compliance team to protect your business.
Settle Acquirer
Anyone who has a customer base of merchants or possesses the ability to distribute Settle to a vast business audience in their market can join as an Acquirer. Settle acquirers get access to all the tools, marketing material and know-how that is needed to efficiently bring Settle to their business clients. Acquirers earn commission for life both for revenue generating transaction and additional revenue made by each merchant they bring, and this right stays with you for life. There’s further is no financial risk with Settle, we take care of that. So you also don’t need a license or to build a risk and compliance team to protect your business.
Auka’s goal is „to become the leading European mobile payments app. If mobile payments is on your agenda, Settle for more.”
Banking 4.0 – „how was the experience for you”
„So many people are coming here to Bucharest, people that I see and interact on linkedin and now I get the change to meet them in person. It was like being to the Football World Cup but this was the World Cup on linkedin in payments and open banking.”
Many more interesting quotes in the video below:
