Penny Software to launch Mastercard Track Business Payment Service in Saudi Arabia and MENA

Penny Software, a digital procurement software firm, has signed a partnership agreement with Mastercard to provide its customers with an enhanced business-to-business payment experience via Mastercard Track Business Payment Service. The collaboration will pilot Mastercard Track in Saudi Arabia and the greater MENA region.

Mastercard Track facilitates secure and efficient electronic payments between buyers and suppliers through a global open-loop network. It allows businesses to have greater control of their payments with rich data exchanges and the ability to automate payments across multiple payment rails. Among the benefits for businesses are the ability to scale, improved security and control, cash flow efficiency and digitisation of existing manual processes.

"There is a structural need to digitise and automate B2B payments accelerated by the global pandemic and Mastercard Track allows us to fully take advantage of this opportunity," said J.K. Khalil, country manager for Saudi Arabia, Bahrain & Levant at Mastercard. "We are delighted to partner with Penny Software to further deliver on modernising the business payment ecosystem in Saudi Arabia and the wider MENA region by delivering a better payment reconciliation experience for corporate and SME customers looking to optimise the way the pay and get paid."

Penny Software provides procure-to-pay enterprise software that helps companies of all sizes to fully manage their procurement and spending activities. In addition, Penny is building a B2B marketplace in Saudi with a mission of digitising the B2B sourcing and procurement for the construction sectors. Penny was funded in late 2020 by regional and global venture funds.

 

Deutsche Bank to commence IFSC Banking Unit at GIFT City

Deutsche Bank has received approval from the Gujarat International Finance Tech-city (GIFT) Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Authority to set up an International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) banking unit at India’s first IFSC at GIFT City, Gujarat.

Deutsche Bank is among the largest international banks in India, having set up its first branch in the country in Mumbai more than 40 years ago. With over INR19,000 crore of capital deployed in its India branch operations and a presence across all major business centres, Deutsche Bank offers a range of services across Corporate Banking, Investment Banking and its International Private Bank. The Deutsche Bank Group currently employs more than 18,000 people across its various entities in the country.

"With borders between global financial centres increasingly blurring, establishing a presence at the IFSC in GIFT City was the next logical step for us as we seek to support the growth aspirations of our clients," said Kaushik Shaparia, CEO of Deutsche Bank India. "The banking unit will allow us to expand the services available to our clients to smoothly carry out international business transactions, particularly in the areas of Financing, Trade and Currencies."

Since being established in 2015, the IFSC at GIFT City has attracted international and domestic players across the financial services spectrum, ranging from banks, asset management companies, alternate investment funds and professional services firms. Banking transactions at the GIFT IFSC crossed US$100bn in value by the end of July 2021.

 

Medius' AP automation solution achieves SAP certification 

Medius, a global provider of spend management solutions, has announced that its integration software for its AP Automation solution has achieved SAP certification as integrated with SAP S/4HANA and SAP S/4HANA Cloud. 

The spend management provider has proven its software can integrate with SAP solutions to offer customers a rapid implementation enabling a fast return on investments. The SAP Integration and Certification Center (SAP ICC) has certified that the interface software for the product Medius AP Automation integrates with SAP S/4HANA and SAP S/4HANA Cloud using standard integration technologies.  

These latest SAP certifications build on Medius’ earlier proficiency, with the spend management provider previously achieving SAP certification as integrated with SAP NetWeaver for its Medius AP Automation product.

As a result of the certification, businesses using any Medius solution can benefit from a streamlined connection to their ERP system according to best practices outlined by SAP. The secure data synchronisation between the two solutions enables fully automated, touchless invoice processing, as well as improved visibility of finances.   

 

ACI Worldwide and PayPal offer digital wallet options for bill payments

ACI Worldwide, a global provider of real-time digital payment software and solutions, has announced a collaboration with PayPal to bring digital wallet payment options to ACI’s biller clients. PayPal and Venmo will be integrated with ACI Speedpay, giving customers more options to make bill payments conveniently and securely using the digital methods that suit them best.

Monroe County Water Authority, one of ACI's biller clients, is a not-for-profit public benefit corporation that provides water to hundreds of thousands of customers over parts of six counties in the Rochester, NY area. It has implemented PayPal for its customers, with plans to add Venmo as well, due to high demand for these checkout options. A recent ACI Speedpay Pulse study showed that more than half (56%) of Gen Z and millennial consumers surveyed would consider paying a bill with a digital payment method like Venmo or PayPal if given the option. With this combination, Monroe County Water Authority can now better cater to customers’ growing digital wallet payment preferences.

"We are delighted to offer PayPal and Venmo as payment options for our customers through PayPal’s integration with ACI Speedpay," said Felicia Romagnolo, manager of Customer Services, Monroe County Water Authority. "As consumer demand for more digital payment options, including digital wallet payment methods and the ability to pay in increments or at a later date, has increased in the bill payments sector, we can conveniently meet our customers’ evolving needs."