LiteLink Technologies Inc. (CSE:LLT) (OTC:LLNKF) and its subsidiary uBUCK Technologies announced some exciting news this week that will offer the digital wallet and payment platform a major edge on its competition.
uBUCK announced that it has signed an alliance agreement to form a strategic commercial relationship with Deltec Bank & Trust, a diversified independent financial institution that is based in The Bahamas.
Deltec, which provides a range of private banking expertise, corporate and merchant banking capabilities, digital asset financial services, fund administration, investment management, and insurance solutions to its global clients, will offer uBUCK with a large network of financial service providers located around the world.
“We are very excited to enter into a strategic partnership with Deltec, a highly regarded financial institution with a range of private banking and fiduciary expertise,” said uBUCK CEO James Youn. “This partnership opens up uBUCK to a large network of financial services providers across the globe.”
According to the terms of the agreement, Deltec will provide prepaid debit cards to its existing bank and wealth management clients, integrate and market the uBUCK prepaid card into the Deltec digital wallet and to its regional private bank networks in Asia, Europe, the Caribbean, and South America, and create dedicated white label card programs to their existing digital asset exchange clients.
The Rise of the Prepaid Debit Card Market
Digital wallets and prepaid cards are quickly becoming the norm and totally disrupting traditional banking. In particular, prepaid cards have continued to gain a lot of traction in the US.
In fact, the US prepaid card market could reach a massive $877 billion USD by 2020, fueled by the increasing need for security and convenience, along with the growing unbanked and underbanked population in the nation.
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Currently, 25% of US households are either underbanked or unbanked, meaning they have limited access to banking services that the other 75% take for granted. The main reason so many are without these services is because they either don’t have the funds to keep in an account, have been blacklisted by major banks, don’t trust banks, are too young to open an account, are fed up with hefty fees, or live in rural areas that don’t offer many options.
Regardless of the reason, it’s clear these individuals are in need of some support from the fintech world.
When LiteLink built the uBUCK Pay app, the company had this demographic in mind, and now, thanks to this deal with Deltec, uBUCK can expand its reach and serve an even larger group.
By providing the underbanked with access to a digital wallet and prepaid, reloadable debit cards, the company can offer a fast and easy way for them to pay bills, send money to relatives, make payments, and withdraw funds from an ATM just like the rest of us.
The uBUCK Pay app also offers enticing features like record-breaking transaction speed and, perhaps more importantly, a loyalty and rewards program. And it wouldn’t come as a surprise if LiteLink had more deals coming up after just announcing a non-brokered private placement for up to $4 million USD in gross proceeds.
Once the investment is complete, LiteLink will use the additional capital to further develop the uBUCK app and its capabilities, accelerate growth, and increase its customer acquisitions.
Featured Image: LiteLink Technologies
