Beirut, Lebanon (May, 2024) – Wink Pay, a newly-launched digital payments brand in Lebanon, has collaborated with Visa, the world leader in digital payments, and Codebase to introduce the country’s first fully-digital onboarding and instant card issuance proposition for Visa prepaid virtual cards. This revolutionary service provides over 5 million Lebanese citizens with the ability to securely and transparently manage their payments for local and international purchases without needing a bank account. Codebase’s modular, cloud-native, and API-first digital banking and fintech platform, Digibanc, serves as the technology stack for Wink Pay.

Sharing the vision behind Wink Pay, Founder Randa Bdeir, stated, “In light of Lebanon’s current economic situation, where severe restrictions have been imposed by banks leading to a significant increase in the number of unbanked individuals to 55% of the population (as per the World Bank), we recognize the need of Lebanese citizens to instantly acquire a Visa prepaid virtual card to execute their purchases locally and abroad, without limitations. Through Wink Pay, we can simplify and digitize customer onboarding, as well as facilitate online payments. Now more than ever, customers are looking for dependable and convenient ways to effectively manage their payments without having a bank account. In addition to other services, users can sign up for a prepaid card in minutes and begin transacting right away using their instantly issued virtual cards.”

Wink Pay, through its mobile application, provides citizens with a digital solution to ac-cess financial services by instantly issuing a virtual prepaid Visa card and offering a seamless, paperless, and secure payment experience. Coupled with a mobile-first approach, Wink Pay aims to increase financial inclusion in Lebanon by providing access to digital payments for underserved communities and those in rural areas.

“At Visa, we are excited to partner with Codebase to launch innovative and disruptive products, and we are proud of this collaborative effort to bring Wink Pay to the market,” said Mario Makary, Vice President – Levant at Visa. He added, “Instant issuance virtual cards will revolutionize the way consumers pay by providing an efficient, secure, and convenient payment solution. With these virtual cards, customers can instantly create and access digital payments, significantly improving the customer experience. And by leveraging Visa’s secure global payments infrastructure and advanced fraud prevention capabilities, customers can enjoy the peace of mind that their payments are safe and secure.”

Leveraging the Digibanc platform from Codebase allowed Wink Pay to orchestrate a unique user experience with rich functionality and seamless integrations. Wink Pay features the country’s first fully digital onboarding with eKYC verification and instant virtual card issuance to address customers’ needs for a trusted digital experience in Lebanon.

Tamer Al Mauge, Codebase’s Managing Director – MENA, stated, “The Wink Pay app can be summed up in three words: easy, quick, and impactful. From the branding to the interactive elements, everything has been designed by our award-winning UI/UX team with the young generation in mind and without any unnecessary distractions. Using our feature-based modules and API first architecture we were able to help Wink Pay orchestrate a unique product and service experience that reflects customer needs.”

Additional value-added features include card and payment management tools, such as locating nearby card-loading agents, and personalization features, including selecting the color of cards directly from the mobile app.

Mazen Baalbaki, Regional Sales Executive at Codebase, added “Wink Pay’s user experience has been carefully designed to be impactful without over-whelming customers. Our Digibanc platform has facilitated seamless integration with Visa as well as other parties through APIs, allowing us to work collaboratively with Wink Pay to deliver a cohesive customer experience while ensuring Wink Pay’s technology stack is future-proof and agile so the team can seamlessly integrate new products and services in the future.”