This collaboration aims to provide the regulatory foundation and issuing infrastructure that will eliminate the complexity traditionally associated with launching and scaling in these markets, the companies said in a Wednesday (July 16) press release.
Thredd, a global payments processor, will provide its modular technology stack and global processing expertise, while Payblr, a Puerto Rico-based regional payments enabler and licensed BIN sponsor, will contribute its cross-border card issuing capabilities, according to the release.
Companies offering gig economy payouts, disbursements or cross-border services are likely to be among the clients leveraging this offering, per the release.
“Expanding into new regions can be complex and difficult to navigate,” Thredd Chief Revenue Officer Kevin Fox said in the release. “By teaming up with Payblr, we’re offering a faster, simpler way for our clients to activate programs in Latin America, without compromising on compliance, scalability or speed.”
Fabio Garcia-Passalacqua, chief operating officer and founder of Payblr, said in the release that “financial innovation should move fast and know no borders.”
“This partnership lays the foundation for a new era of seamless, cross-border payments in the region,” Garcia-Passalacqua said.
Thredd’s combination of advanced analytics, fraud controls and integrated money movement enables companies to expand across the globe, Thredd Product Lead Brandon Ferris told PYMNTS in an interview posted in April.
“They want partners that can support them” across regions, Ferris said, highlighting that Thredd has been building out its infrastructure beyond the confines of issuing and processing to support these cross-border goals.
The PYMNTS Intelligence and Galileo collaboration “Digital Developments: Charting Digital Payment Growth in Latin America” found that Latin America is undergoing a dramatic shift in how money moves, with mobile wallets and real-time payment systems rapidly gaining ground across the region.
The report found that across the region, the share of in-store transaction value accounted for by cash dropped from 67% in 2014 to 25% today. Cash is rapidly losing ground because consumers are pivoting to digital payments, the report said.