MMBL Rolls Out EMV Debit Cards, ICICI Bank Partners With Westpac For Remittances

Welcome to The Axis, your late look at payments news from around the world. Coverage includes Mobilink Microfinance Bank (MMBL) launching EMV-compliant cards in Pakistan. In addition, PaySend is utilizing a smart card connected to a mobile wallet to help customers transact with traditional and digital currencies, while ICICI Bank is working with Westpac Banking Corporation to facilitate college remittances for students from India studying in Australia.

In Pakistan, MMBL is rolling out EMV-compliant debit cards through TPS’ IRIS payment platform, according to an announcement from TPS. The cards will be available to both of the banks’ core banking customers, as well as JazzCash mobile account customers. MMBL President and CEO Ghazanfar Azzam said in a release that customers are seeking convenient and secure payment methods, and that “as a customer-centric bank, we have decided to roll out EMV-compliant debit cards, making it easier for our customers to safely make their payments.”

And, in Kazakhstan, PaySend presented a smart card connected to a mobile wallet during the Astana Finance Days forum, Financial IT reported. The company’s global account enables customers to buy, hold and move traditional as well as digital currencies using a single account, and is “much in line with the expectations of modern consumers, who want to buy and exchange dollars, euros and pounds and easily convert them to crypto currencies within one app,” said PaySend CEO Ronald Millar.

In the U.K., Liberis is utilizing open banking tech in an effort to help small businesses access funding, Fintech Finance reported. By seeing bank transaction data in real time, Liberis doesn’t need customers to provide them with proof of their transactions. Liberis’ Head of Data Science Jonny Hawkins said in a statement that “by making the funding application process easier, faster and fairer for small businesses, we can help more small business owners achieve their ambitions and further support their growth.”

And, in India, ICICI Bank has teamed up with Westpac Banking Corporation to help Indian students pay their college tuition through a Money2World (M2W) platform, the bank said in an announcement. With the platform, Indian residents can send payments to a university in Australia – with a fixed exchange rate. Vijay Chandok, executive director of ICICI Bank, said that university remittances are a big business: “Overseas education remittance is nearly a third of the country’s overall outward remittance, and Australia is one of the largest recipients.”