The partnership will see koto leverage PPS’ licenses and technology infrastructure for allowing customers to deliver real-time transactions, make BACS transfers and direct debits.

Customers of the koto account are equipped with a PPS-powered Mastercard virtual card as standard that can be added to their digital wallets and used for contactless and online spending. Customers will also be able to select a physical contactless PPS-powered Mastercard that can be utilised at POS terminals and for ATM withdrawals.

Ray Brash, CEO of PPS, commented on the partnership, “The partnership with koto enables us to enter the credit market and further strengthens our portfolio in the B2C fintech space. Together we have achieved two industry firsts for the launch, and that’s something we’re both incredibly proud of. We’re excited about what the future holds and seeing more developments from the company based on authentic consumer data that highlights behaviours and needs.”

PPS, an Edenred subsidiary, is a Mastercard Principal Member and an FCA regulated Electronic Money Institution. It offers services including processing, UK and SEPA banking solutions, BIN sponsorship, eWallet provision, compliance and fraud services, supply chain management, customer services and end-to-end program design and management.

Misha Rogalskiy, Founder of koto, added, “If done right, lending is a great business. It’s something that customers want; to have a reliable and fair lender supporting you should give you a little calm and confidence, but often credit causes more stress, not less! This is totally wrong, and we’re changing that with the koto app, which makes lending affordable, simple and fun! PPS’ extensive experience in delivering real-time digital banking solutions has been invaluable. Their innovative but reliable solutions have enabled us to take koto on to the next chapter, as well as connecting us with the leading digital wallet solutions to offer from launch.”

Founded by Oleg Gorokhovskiy and Misha Rogalskiy, koto is a digital solution that provides an e-money account and two products named “extra” and “spread”. Extra allows customers to borrow up to £400 for a fixed fee of 25p per day and is intended for everyday spend. Meanwhile, Spread will enable customers to distribute the cost of larger purchases up to £1,000, which has a fixed fee of £10 a month.

By Megha Bhattacharya
‍Megha is a Market Analyst at IBS Intelligence.