● Open to launch ‘Founders Card’ in partnership with Visa
● This partnership will offer integrated tools for expense management, subscription management, and a rewards program for SMEs and startups.
● Open is the fastest-growing SME-focused business banking platform globally with 200,000+ SMEs onboard and processing over USD 6.5 billion in transactions annually.
Singapore, November 11, 2019: Fintech startup Open which offers a business banking platform for small businesses has announced a partnership with Visa to launch ‘Founders Card’, a Business credit card that will enable startups and SMEs to seamlessly manage expenses and vendor payouts.
The card, which is the first of its kind in Asia, will come integrated with tools like expense management and subscription management that will help business owners and finance teams manage subscriptions and expenses better. The card also comes with an exclusive rewards program designed specifically for startups and small businesses. The announcement took place at the Singapore Fintech Festival on November 11, 2019.
Founded in 2017, Open is solving business banking challenges by offering a business banking platform that helps SMEs and startups automate and run their finances effectively. Open has all the tools that help businesses send and receive payments combined with the automated bookkeeping tool to integrate banking into their business workflows. The Open platform today has already grown to over 200,000 SMEs and is processing over USD 6.5 billion in transactions. The platform also adds over 35,000 SMEs every month, making it the fastest-growing SME-focused business banking platform globally.
Commenting on this announcement, Anish Achuthan, Co-founder & CEO, Open said, “SMEs and startups are growing at a tremendous pace in Southeast Asia. We’ve announced this at a time when it is the need of the hour for businesses that depend a lot on online tools that accept only credit cards. We’re excited to have Visa on this journey to ease business banking for the ever-increasing SME market. This partnership is a boost for Open as we look to expand our customer base to other markets in the Asia-Pacific Region, United States, and the Middle East in the coming months.”
T.R. Ramachandran, Group Country Manager India & South Asia Visa said, “Visa is delighted to partner with Open and introduce the exciting Founders Card that will give SMEs and startups the power to manage their finances effectively. Visa launched the Fintech Fast Track program last year in India to support homegrown startups and we are keen to help young businesses automate payments with our commercial solutions.”
About Open
Open Financial Technologies Pvt Ltd (bankopen.com) is an SME-focused business banking platform. Open is founded by serial entrepreneurs Anish Achuthan, Mabel Chacko, and Ajeesh Achuthan along with exTaxiforSure CFO Deena Jacob.
Founded in 2017, Open is one of the world’s fastest-growing SME-focused business banking platforms with over 200,000 SMEs, processing over $6.5billion (INR 45,000 crores) in transaction processing volume annually and adding 35,000 new SMEs every month.
Open is backed by leading global investors like Tiger Global, Speedinvest, Beenext, Recruit Strategic Partners, AngelList, 3one4 Capital, Unicorn India Ventures, Tanglin Venture Partner Advisors, etc and has raised $35 million in funding so far. Open was recently featured among the top 100 fintech companies globally in the 2019 #Fintech100 Report by KPMG and H2 Ventures.
About Visa
Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is the world’s leader in digital payments. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, reliable, and secure payment network – enabling individuals, businesses, and economies to thrive. Our advanced global processing network, VisaNet, provides secure and reliable payments around the world and is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction messages a second. The company’s relentless focus on innovation is a catalyst for the rapid growth of connected commerce on any device, and a driving force behind the dream of a cashless future for everyone, everywhere. As the world moves from analog to digital, Visa is applying our brand, products, people, network and scale to reshape the future of commerce. For more information, visit About Visa, visa.com/blog and @VisaNews
