Interview with Ronald Aldor Eriksen, CEO, Executive Chairman & Founder, Prego International Group
The “dream” – how it all started
Whilst working in the South East Asia region in 2010, I identified a strong need for alternative payment solutions for migrant workers, crossing borders in the region. As we managed to develop alternative banking solutions through MasterCard’s prepaid products, we achieved strong market acceptance for our simplified solutions. The team at Prego agreed about the vision on “banking the unbanked”. This has been our dream – all the way!
Area of focus
During the time we tested alternative services within payroll and p2p payments, towards employers of foreign labour, we realized the ability to adapt our payment solution towards refugees and migrants, managed through humanitarian organizations. Through this we could customize e-money services for the global refugee sector, and help underserved people to access financial services for simplified daily needs. Simplicity in services and a global partner-based effective supply chain makes this possible.
Challenges in the geographical areas of influence
The global payment industry is an overregulated sector. As a fintech start-up, in 2013 and 2014 we met many challenges searching for banking partners and issuers to help to build a global infrastructure that could deliver our services. Regulators have different policies in different markets, and local banks have a conservative approach to new companies like Prego. We have used a lot of investments and efforts to build an infrastructure which can deliver our services in a more simplified way than the traditional industry.
Co-operation and partnerships
We have established strong partnerships with suppliers and payment networks as Mastercard International. In addition, we have built business alliances with key humanitarian organizations, like IOM/UN. These partnerships and alliances enable us to reach out to market segments in a credible way with services at reasonable costs.
Successes
Our success is that our users find the services we offer affordable, simplified and accessible – for everyone, every day.
About the Nordic effort
The Nordic effort is a strength for us as a Norwegian company. Nordic countries have taken a leading role in developing fintech solutions, and will play an even more important role in the future. With the Nordic fintech collaboration, we will acquire competences and skills to enhance our tech development at higher speed.
The Financial Inclusion Summit takes place in Oslo, Norway, on 28 March 2019. To find out more or request an invitation, visit: https://financial-inclusion.com/#register
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