Fintech BKN301 has partnered with Finastra to bring digital and cross-border payments solutions to San Marino and expedite its Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) solution deployment for the MENA region. The company went live with Finastra’s Essence to enable the above, with the announcement detailing that Finastra’s partner Corvallis, Tinexta Group, an IT provider within the Italian financial services space, managed the project, last mile payments integration, and the quick implementation of the solution in line with local requirements.

Finastra’s Essence, BaaS and BKN301 development plans Deployed on Microsoft Azure cloud and integrated with Salt Edge’s Open Banking Compliance, Essence enables BKN301 Group to manage payments accounts, international payment methods of the likes of SEPA and SWIFT transfers, and all bookkeeping data for its corporate customers in an effective manner. It is also set to launch a feature that lets customers open accounts and issue cards in a quick and simple way. Having the digital banking platform in place, BKN301 Group is to expedite its longer-term strategy of bringing a BaaS payments solution to businesses in the MENA region.

Stiven Muccioli, Founder and CEO at BKN301 said that the company’s objective is to ‘tear down’ financial barriers in fast-growing markets, bringing solutions that help foster economic growth and open the markets to opportunities in the West and vice versa. Per their statement, the company chose Finastra due to its holistic and integrating offering, enabling it to reduce time to market while developing its services, adapting to new legislative and customer demands, and pursuing new markets in line with its roadmap. The spokesperson believes MENA to be a growth area despite its young and digitally savvy population, as it still relies predominantly on cash, which brings forth payment innovation opportunities.

What is more, going live with Essence marks a milestone in the company’s strategy towards becoming a trusted partner of corporates and financial players in San Marino and MENA countries alike. A next-gen digital banking platform, Essence combines sophisticated functionality and advanced tech to increase enterprise agility, decrease costs, and better operational efficiency, with its open architecture enabling FIs to add value-added services and expedite revenue growth. Additionally, Salt Edge’s Open Banking Compliance offers full coverage of regulated markets with cross-bank and pan-European API standards.

Siobhan Byron, EVP of Universal Banking at Finastra advised that BKN301 Group required an extensive and flexible digital banking platform integrated with value-added services to improve its offering and support its future growth plans. Per their statement, Finastra’s open API-based, scalable SaaS solution that enables integrations with services of the likes of Salt Edge’s Open Banking Compliance, provides the fintech with the flexibility to adapt and grow in an expedited manner. Its solution, together with Corvallis’ implementation support, helped BKN301 Group to facilitate cross-border payments and digital payment wallets for its customers and is set to enable it to provide a new BaaS payments offering.

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