Digital Payment Scramble Heats Up

Mar 27 , 2021

The new buzz in the private sector is to enter the digital payment-gateway market. Last week, Sunpay Solution S.C. joined 13 private companies applying for licenses to become operators. The digital retail payment industry has seen a flurry of activity ever since the central bank issued a directive last year allowing non-financial institutions to provide payment operators and instrument issuer services, privileges previously only allowed to banks. Part of the Sunshine Investment Group, best known for its flagship construction work, Sunpay expects to receive permits from the central bank and launch its "Sunpay" digital payment platform later this year. Founding shareholders of the company held their first general assembly last week in the Marriott Hotel, gearing up to enter the digital banking arena with an initial registered capital of 100 million Br. It is double the amount required by law. Its founders have also announced that it plans on working as a switch operator in the near future. "We're excited about joining the growing retail payment sector," said Etsub Alemayehu, representative of the company.