Worldline [Euronext: WLN], the European market leader in payment and transactional services, has announced a strategic cooperation with Unwire, a Danish Fintech and Mobility as a Service company, to accelerate innovative digital payment technology in transportation. The partnership will broaden Worldline’s Mobility as a Service (MaaS) capabilities across the UK and Ireland as well as the rest of Europe.
Based in Copenhagen, Unwire develops and operates innovative mobile platforms used by leading transportation companies, merchants and financial institutions around the world. As a global provider of mobility solutions, Worldline makes it easy for millions of people to access and use public transport through streamlined payment systems.
The strategic partnership will enable Worldline to combine its existing payment capabilities with Unwire’s multi-modal journey planning expertise to provide public transport users with access to plan, book, and pay for their journeys seamlessly through a dedicated app on their smartphones.
The way we travel and use public transport is changing, and the relevance of this trend has only been increased by the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, multi-modal transport options are expanding across the UK and passengers expect these to be brought together through seamless journey planning and payment.
Utilising open data for public transport services and intelligent integration of micro-mobility services, the MaaS solution provided by Worldline and Unwire can combine all mobility services within a city or region. It collates them into one mobility account for the traveller, where subscriptions, capping and personalised tariffs can be applied.
The solution also benefits transport authorities, who as a result, will gain a better understanding of where their services are most used. This information can be used to support scheduling and route planning for the future, ensuring the services provided better match the demand.
Worldline already provides Payment and Mobility services through its capabilities in Open Payment, Validators, Acceptance and Acquiring, in various cities throughout France, such as Paris, Lyon, Dijon and Grenoble.
Continued collaboration
Unwire participated in Worldline’s e-Payments Challenge in 2019, an annual forum that brings together all parties involved in the payment technology ecosystem, including Fintechs, banks, merchants and Worldline’s own technology experts to work on tomorrow’s industry challenges. The company won in the category Recurring Payments with their Mobility platform integrated to Worldline’s Saferpay and Unwire BLE Connect for a seamless passenger journey.
Following the e-Payments Challenge, Unwire has become a key partner for Worldline especially in the development of the Tap2Use product that aims to improve and simplify travelling around the city, allowing customers to plan, access and pay for their journeys in a more convenient way for a seamless transport and payment experience.
The partnership further demonstrates Worldline’s ambition and continuous commitment to working with innovative organisations to develop new products to further improve the payments industry.
James Bain, Chief Executive Officer UK&I, at Worldline commented: "We already have a strong working partnership with Unwire which participated in our e-Payments Challenge last year and performed extremely well on that occasion with the capability to deliver into the Mass Transit market. At Worldline, we see Transport as the next major merchant market where ticketing will quickly be replaced by payments. Combining our resources was the logical next step, allowing Unwire to benefit from our payment expertise whilst we benefit from Unwire’s MaaS expertise and are very excited to be working with the team.”
Jesper Thor Rasmussen, Chief Executive Officer, at Unwire added: "Participating in the e-Payments Challenge last year was an incredible experience for us and we are grateful for the continued partnership we have established with Worldline. It has been a great journey collaborating with the experts, combining our expertise and solutions to deliver innovative mobile solutions to the market and keep pace with the evolution of customer needs.”
Worldline’s e-Payments Challenge 2020 took place in an innovative fully virtual format for the first time ever on 17-18 September 2020, and has again provided a co-creation platform for Fintechs, established players seeking innovation - and Worldline’s own experts.
