Recent studies show that people living in the UAE own between two and four credit cards, so that they can access loyalty and reward programs offered by each card. Verrency, one of Plug and Play ADGM’s Fintech program startups, has teamed up with Liv. Bank to launch the new Liv. Credit Card. Customers are able to select their preferred loyalty programs, update them as their needs and preferences change, and connect them all to one credit card. 

We have interviewed Jayash Patel, Head of Liv. and Aaron Oliver, Commercial Director APMEA at Verrency to learn more about their experience working together on this exciting initiative, as well as how they developed such a unique, customized product in a very traditional industry. 

Aaron Oliver, Commercial Director APMEA, Verrency  

What role does Verrency play in the Fintech space?

Bank disruption is a global phenomenon with similar payments infrastructure challenges crippling bank innovation in virtually every market. Verrency’s mission is to enable tier 1 financial institutions, like Emirates NDB in the UAE, to overcome their challenges for delivering best in class payment & fintech innovations. The Verrency platform is a high-performance bank-grade technology layer and API platform that fits on top of a processor’s, bank’s or digital wallet’s existing infrastructure, enabling banks to rapidly deliver enhanced services and products around the moment of payment without changing their existing technology.

We’re thrilled to have been selected by Plug and Play in Abu Dhabi following our selection in Frankfurt, Singapore and Silicon Valley. Plug and Play's leadership is incredibly inspiring in their mission and focus, and we are both very much aligned on enabling delivery of open innovation at scale on a global basis.

How has your experience been as a part of Plug and Play’s ecosystem? 

 Plug and Play has been a fantastic partner for our geographic expansion. In each targeted region, we’ve been able to speed market entry through selection to a Plug and Play Fintech accelerator. The support provided goes far beyond the basics of learning the landscape and low-cost facilities. High-value connections for influential advisors and access to potential first clients is essential to our continuing success. We truly value these global connections and deal flow – and look forward to working even more broadly with the Plug and Play team across the globe.

Jayash Patel, Head of Liv.

How has your experience been working with Verrency?

Verrency has really been a vital partner for us with the launch of the Liv. Credit card. We are inventing a new way for consumers to interact and customize their card product so that they not only get more value but get to decide what value they want and how much! Verrency was a great sounding board for us as we worked to create the product that matched the experience we envisioned.

What are the advantages of Verrency’s innovative payments solutions?

The Verrency platform gives us the capability to launch flexible and innovative products like the Liv. Credit card in record time. As a digital-only bank, the speed to market Verrency enables for new products, benefits, features, and campaigns is critical to our success. We also get a competitive advantage in the speed to onboard new Fintech services through the Verrency platform across the bank. 

What differentiates the new Liv Credit Card from other cards on the market?

We are very eager to be launching the first digitally native credit card globally, the Liv. Credit Card. Being designed from the ground up, our credit card is specifically built to address the needs and preferences of ‘digitally native’ consumers who have grown up with the Internet and smartphones. As a mobile-only bank, Liv. is always thinking digitally native rather than trying to digitize existing products. Hence, we built this platform that enables our customers to choose the loyalty programs they want and change them as their lifestyle is changing and evolving. We also wanted to create an add-on store, similar to an app store for partners to put add-ons on our platforms and for consumers to get the most benefits that fits their preferences. All this means that the control is in your hand and you pay only for what you really use. With the support of Verrency, we were able to build the entire process and reach this level of customization, something that is not possible using traditional services.

What is Verrency’s direct involvement in this initiative?

The Verrency platform hosts all of the micro-segmentation functionality for benefits, offers, rewards, and boosts. They have worked with us from the beginning to launch the world’s first customizable, boostable, and reconfigurable consumer card product.

What are your thoughts on the current state of banking in the UAE and what can be improved?

We are moving from an era of one-to-many towards one-on-one. Today’s customers expect personalized experiences and quick responses to stay in a long term relationship with a service provider. To meet these changing customer dynamics, companies need to use intelligent insights and data in real-time to stay relevant and delight their customers.

Also, as industries open up we need to tap into the local as well as global ecosystem of partnerships across various services within Fintech, technology, and lifestyle that are out there to add value to customers. In line with this approach, we have partnered with home-grown brands and startups; and we have now grown our partner network to include a number of UAE’s most exciting companies across various categories.

Finally, companies with long-term digital vision need to continue investing heavily in security and privacy, constantly seeking new technologies to enhance the overall customer experience.

 At Plug and Play, we boost innovation by matching corporations and cutting-edge startups. Our Fintech accelerator is already working with some of the most exciting companies in the world. 

Join our platform today!