Helsinki, 8 December 2022 – Enfuce, the European cloud-native card issuing and processing powerhouse, and OKQ8, one of Scandinavia’s largest fuel companies, under transformation to become a leading brand within sustainable mobility, have announced the successful first launch of OKQ8’s Visa-branded credit card programme, as part of OKQ8’s larger modernisation of both its open-loop scheme card and closed-loop private card offerings.
With Enfuce’s cloud-native platform, OKQ8 is to replace its existing legacy platforms for issuing of company cards and private cards. As such, the new Visa card programme was recently launched, starting with Visa Credit cards, without any go-live issues, and ready to be scaled instantly, on the strength of Enfuce’s unified and innovative back-end issuing solution with a robust API-focused design.
Another core element of the partnership is to replace OKQ8’s existing closed-loop fleet cards with open-loop Visa* cards (Credit and Debit), which will expand the usage of the cards into more locations and increase transaction volumes.
The card issuing modernisation process has also enabled OKQ8 to meet more stringent industry and regulatory compliance standards, thanks to Enfuce’s strict alignment to core regulations such as the European Union’s second Payment Services Directive (PSD2) – something that couldn’t be achieved with OKQ8’s existing legacy IT platforms.
With approval from Finland’s Financial Supervisory Authority (FIN-FSA) and PCI DSS Level One compliance, Enfuce’s services are all designed with security, compliance and smooth onboarding in mind.
Johan Gabrielsson, Head of Digital Products and Services at OKQ8, commented:
“We’re pleased with the effective initial launch of our new card programme, and our long-term partner Enfuce has delivered according to plan. More than being simply a supplier of a software solution, Enfuce is an important partner enabling us to innovate our card issuing process to align with our overall shift in strategic direction towards sustainable mobility. On a day-to-day basis, Enfuce’s team has supported the OKQ8 team with technical know-how and best practice recommendations as we transition and grows as a business.
OKQ8 has recently committed to becoming a leading brand within sustainable mobility, focusing on electric vehicle charging, Green Fleet solutions and clean energy solutions, such as solar energy, moving away from its traditional fossil based fuel business. As one of the key players in the Scandinavian fuel market, currently operating in Denmark and Sweden, OKQ8 is now in the process of replacing its complex, custom-built legacy IT infrastructure into a new, flexible, agile IT solution that can support its quickly evolving business and ensure continued customer service. With this new focus on mobility and sustainability, the partnership between OKQ8 and Enfuce will ensure that OKQ8 is ready to handle payments of all kinds as it embraces digitalization.
Led by co-founders and co-CEOs Monika Liikamaa and Denise Johansson, Enfuce offers a fast alternative to existing issuer processing platforms, with the agility to quickly add modules and services as and when needed, and a flexible pricing model that’s far more cost-effective and in tune with the scaling needs that companies look for.
Denise Johansson, co-founder and co-CEO at Enfuce, commented:
“The ability to integrate Enfuce’s industry-leading innovative solutions means that OKQ8 does not have to invest years of time and money in IT development and infrastructure to support its card issuing needs, and can instead promise its customers a flexible, modern, best-of-breed solution. We were the first in the world to fully move card issuing to the cloud, and with our turnkey CaaS model, packaged BIN sponsoring, and all regulatory compliance handled by us, Enfuce is a one-stop shop for companies that want to issue cards to their customers.”
Markus Kalela, Head of Customer Success at Enfuce, added:
“It has been great to work with the professional and dedicated team at OKQ8, which is renewing the traditional fleet market. There are few companies that could effectively support OKQ8 in the modernisation and innovation of both of its value propositions – the open-loop scheme card and closed-loop fuel card products. We are proud to partner with OKQ8 and will use flexible and pragmatic thinking to ensure that both business and customers are provided with the most modern and innovative card solutions possible.”
Enfuce’s CaaS ensures banks, fintechs, financial institutions and non-bank brands can become and remain fully PSD2-compliant, with programme management, data reporting and analytics, BIN sponsorship, card issuing, and effortless regulatory KYC/AML and payment scheme compliance all taken care of. With these unmatched levels of speed, flexibility and end-to-end programme management, clients can launch card payment services for customers with quicker time-to-market, give third-party service providers access to digital accounts, and give customers and end users even more choice in payment methods.
Established in 2016 in Finland, and already the trusted number one issuer processor for more than 35 partners, including energy company St1, small business finance provider Qred, and neobank indó, Enfuce is the only issuer processor that can launch CaaS for businesses in just eight weeks, an unrivalled onboarding timeframe compared to other providers that typically take up to six months to get partners up and running with embedded payments. Key applications for Enfuce’s services include expense management, neobanks, fuel cards, loyalty programmes, as well as corporate and consumer lending.
