Wirecard, a global innovation leader for digital financial technology, is collaborating with Stocard, a leading mobile wallet and one of the largest B2C European FinTechs, to launch a new mobile payment feature in the Stocard app. The announcement comes as Stocard reaches 50 million users worldwide. UK-based Stocard users can now pay with their app via a virtual Wirecard-issued Mastercard card, an option that will be rolled out across Europe later this year. Not only will Stocard benefit from Wirecard’s bespoke Banking-as-a-Service solution to launch this new functionality, Wirecard is also providing the acquiring service behind the wallet, allowing users to load funds quickly and effortlessly by adding their bank cards to the app.
Through the new mobile wallet solution, Stocard users can now make contactless payments in-store and online. Wirecard’s research found that contactless payments are booming across Europe: More than half of British, French and German respondents (57%) report using contactless payment methods more frequently today than before the spread of COVID-19. Over three-quarters (78%) plan to continue making contactless payments even after the crisis.
Stocard was founded in 2011 and is one of the largest B2C start-ups in Europe in terms of user base. The app allows users to store all their loyalty cards on their smartphones, discover good deals at their favourite retailers, search for and activate coupons, which are applied automatically at the checkout with just one click, and see their transactions and points balance in real time. In 2019, shoppers made 1.7 billion purchases with the app, spending close to EUR40 billion annually.
“The launch of our mobile payment feature is a major step for Stocard globally,” said Björn Goß, Stocard Founder and CEO. “As our wallets are moving to our mobile phones, the digital wallet is becoming the central hub in our lives for anything around money, shopping, and banking. The future of retail and of banking will look more similar to what we are already seeing in Asia with the likes of Alipay, rather than what European banks are currently doing. This consolidation of shopping, payments and financial services in the digital wallet will happen in Europe as well. We are working closely with our retail partners to shape this future.”
“The partnership with Stocard is an exciting development in the move towards a cashless society. With 50 million users, Stocard’s success demonstrates just how much consumers are shifting towards mobile wallets and cashless payments. We are excited to be collaborating both on the issuing and acquiring side of the payment flow thereby offering consumers a seamless user experience. In the long-term we hope to work with Stocard as they look to offer additional services such as Point of Sale lending and top up payments on a global scale,” added Kilian Thalhammer, EVP Product Management at Wirecard.
The co-operation between Wirecard and Stocard is another example of Wirecard providing its Banking-as-a-Service infrastructure for leading FinTechs within the payment ecosystem.
