European payments fintech Contis has become a Mastercard principal issuing member.
Via the partnership, Contis will deliver a comprehensive end-to-end Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform including direct access to both of the world’s leading global payments networks.
With Mastercard’s significant presence across the EEA and collaborative approach to fintech, Contis aims to embed itself into Europe’s critical financial infrastructure.
Contis hopes to bring greater choice to the market and supplement the range of products and services offered in key commercial verticals including banking, fintech, insurance and corporate remittance.
Mastercard’s overarching fintech platform – Mastercard Accelerate – gives start-ups and emerging brands support for every stage of their growth and transformation, from market entry to global expansion. Mastercard Accelerate is made up of four main programmes: Fintech Express, Start Path, Engage and Developers.
Peter Cox, Executive Chairman and Founder at Contis Group said: “Contis delivers Europe’s most comprehensive payments BaaS platform. We see this partnership with Mastercard as an important step on our journey to becoming a leading global issuer and processor. It will enable us to augment our offering for prospects and clients by bringing more choice to the market, as we deliver secure frictionless payments to businesses and individuals across Europe and beyond.”
Scott Abrahams, Senior Vice President. Business Development and Fintech, added: “At Mastercard we are proud of our track record with Fintechs across Europe, helping them to rise to the next level by sharing our considerable industry expertise, technology and global standards. We are delighted to be working with Contis to bring greater choice and value to consumers and businesses by delivering frictionless experiences and ongoing innovation.”
Platform integration work is starting immediately, with expected go-live on the Mastercard network by Q2 2021.