Payment services provider Worldline (EPA:WLN) announces a partnership with the Bank of China (Hong Kong) (BOCHK), making it Worldline’s first customer of its open platform card solution Paysuite Essential Edition (Previously named Cardlite) in Hong Kong.

BOCHK will leverage Worldline’s innovative cloud-native application to further enhance customer experience and expand customer offering with its new Mastercard multi-currency debit card.

The partnership reflects the growing trend in the payments industry towards adopting open platform solutions, with BOCHK setting a precedent for other financial institutions in the region. BOCHK is one of the three note-issuing banks in Hong Kong. The move by the bank towards an open platform card solution underscores the added value of Worldline’s open platform card solution. Paysuite Essential Edition provides a safe and efficient solution as an alternative to legacy platforms.

Paysuite Essential Edition is an open platform card solution featuring five core functions: issuing, acquiring, authorization, switching and routing. With the partnership, Worldline enables the bank to offer a more personalised experience to their customers. Worldline provides a local support team with local expertise to cope with BOCHK future business expansion and is localized to support the compliance requirements within HK banking industry. The solution also supports Mastercard multi-currency card which facilitates global transactions with ease.

In addition, this infrastructure shortens time to go-to-market for new business features, leading to rapid deployment of innovative services.

Worldline’s open platform card solution provides enhanced capabilities through API connectivity, reducing integration complexity and seamless integration with other systems and modules such as digital banking, fraud detection and customer service. Via a user-friendly portal the bank can create or modify products itself, enhancing flexibility, scalability and control. Paysuite Essential Edition is already available in other markets and is Mastercard certified.

Noel Chow, Worldline’s Head of Financial Services Asia-Pacific:

“We are excited to partner with BOCHK, a prestigious bank in the region, to launch our new innovative solution Paysuite Essential Edition in Hong Kong. The partnership highlights the trust and confidence from leading financial institutions, in our innovative open platform solutions. We believe this partnership paves the way for other banks to modernise their card systems and migrate from legacy systems to open systems.”

Daniel Li, Chief Digital Officer of Personal Banking & Wealth Management, Bank of China (Hong Kong):

“As open platform solutions are the future in digital payments, BOCHK is pleased to partner with Worldline, known for its comprehensive innovative Fintech solution and unparalleled local support it offers, to provide our customers with the Mastercard multi-currency debit card powered by its Paysuite Essential Edition. This collaboration marks a significant step forward in our commitment to delivering seamless payment experience to our valued customers and promote the wider use of digital payments.”