Fintech solution from Aleta Planet gives options to local and regional SMEs to issue custom Visa cards
The firm acts as a back end support, providing compliance, technology and legal support to help companies issue the branded card
[SINGAPORE] Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Singapore can now issue Visa-branded debit cards as Visa and Singapore fintech Aleta, formerly known as Aleta Planet announced their partnership on Friday (Jun 19).
As a principal member of Visa, allowing it to issue branded cards and acquire merchants, Aleta can sponsor or “lend” its Visa’s Bank Identification Number (BIN) – the global standard for routing cross-border payments – on behalf of SMEs that want to launch their own cards.
“It is a consultative approach,” said Ryan Gwee, founder and group chairman of Aleta.
“BIN sponsorship is a very quick way to get a co-branded card to the market.”
He added that Aleta acts as a back end support, providing compliance, technology and legal support to help companies issue the branded card
Traditionally, most of the card issuances have been done through collaborations with larger banks, and SMEs without large revenue flows were not able to issue white-labelled cards – cards customised with the logo, colours, and branding of the company itself.
This arrangement allows smaller businesses to do what previously only large corporations could do – issue branded debit cards, manage the regulatory backend and tap into customer spending data.
Aleta said its plug-and-play technology allows SMEs to customise rewards and service add-ons while it manages operational and regulatory requirements on their behalf.
Onboarding is structured across tiers, with the level of integration required depending on how deeply a business wants the card woven into its existing systems and rewards programme.
This can cut time-to-market to as fast as two weeks for co-branded and white-labelled Visa cards.
Beyond speed, branded payment cards gives SMEs visibility into customer spending patterns that can sharpen marketing, rewards programmes and customer loyalty efforts.
The SMEs will also be able to create new revenue from the interchange fees, charges that an acquiring bank pays to the cardholder’s bank, and foreign exchange spreads with their BIN sponsors.
The move comes as falling technology costs accelerate embedded finance – the integration of financial services into non-financial products – making card issuance newly accessible to smaller players.
Adeline Kim, Visa’s group country manager, Regional South-east Asia and SVP, Global Clients and Acquirers, Asia-Pacific, said: “Since Visa actively opened our network to non-bank players more than a decade ago, we’ve seen a wave of new issuers emerge, from neobanks and fintechs to ride-hailing platforms.”
She noted that through partnerships with fintechs like Aleta with their strong ties to the SME community, the firm is able to welcome another previously untapped segment.
Integrating lifestyle into payments
On Thursday, Aleta unveiled its first product under the Visa programme – a debit card with Cinnamoroll, a character from Japanese lifestyle brand Sanrio.
The card is set to launch on Jun 22, ahead of a roll-out with other Sanrio characters, such as Hello Kitty and Kuromi.
Applications for the card will be open through the new Aleta Adventure application – a new digital platform combining collectibles culture with everyday cashless payments.
With regards to the collaboration with Sanrio, Gwee pointed to the global trend where the global toys and games market is projected to reach US$98.5 billion by 2029, according to Euromonitor International.
Gwee said the Sanrio card is Aleta’s first such collaboration.
It is a template for future partners, pointing to potential tie-ups with computer gaming, Web3 and travel companies.
“The series is just a collectible start of play to showcase our BIN sponsorship capabilities,” he added.
