Netcetera and Covalent enter new international partnership, expanding online payments in Middle East & Africa

(BUSINESS WIRE) -- Swiss software expert Netcetera is now collaborating with Pakistani payments powerhouse Covalent in order to provide a smooth and secure online payment experience for customers. The Software As A Service model offered jointly by Netcetera & Covalent ensures that any bank, electronic money institution or non-banking financial institution can offer its customer the convenience of safely and securely authenticating themselves for ecommerce transactions, opening up a myriad of new possibilities for customers and retailers in the region.

Pakistan is a large, mostly untapped market for digital payments with 61 million potential customers and a thriving start-up scene. Ecommerce transactions grew significantly in the last 18-24 hours driven largely by purchase behavior changes due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Covalent is one of the burgeoning new players on the Middle East & Africa FinTech scene, offering a cloud-based payments platform for banks, electronic money institution and non-banking financial institutions tailored to their needs. When they made the acquaintance of Netcetera through regional contacts, their interests converged and sparks flew.

Netcetera's 3DS solutions makes it possible for Covalent's platform to offer two-factor authentication, verifying users' identity. This not only ensures easy online payment whether using a computer, tablet or phone, it also prevents card fraud. Their attention to detail, EMVCo certification and many years of experience implementing 3DS solutions for global customers all contributed to Covalent's choice. Covalent's blue-chip contacts on the ground and valuable local knowledge of the payments ecosystem and card management systems were also a boon for Netcetera, making them the perfect fit.

"We heard about their reputation for excellence and felt they were just the right people to work with", said Haris Waheed, Head of Business & Strategy at Covalent. "We look forward to our collaboration and providing the most innovative payment services in the region." Ramy Fouda, Director of Sales and Business Development at Netcetera said "We are always on the lookout for promising partnerships for our services and are delighted to now be able offer secure online payments and expand our reach in Pakistan with Covalent."

About Netcetera

Netcetera is a global software company with cutting-edge IT products and individual digital solutions in the areas of secure digital payment, financial technologies, media, transport, healthcare and insurance. More than 2,000 banks and issuers, and 150,000 merchants rely on the digital payment solutions and globally certified 3-D Secure products of the market leader for payment security. The owner-managed company covers the entire IT lifecycle, from ideation and strategy to implementation and operation. The balanced combination of the latest technologies and proven standards ensures investment security, from large-scale projects to innovative start-ups. Founded in 1996, Netcetera is a holding company with around 800 employees and is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, with additional locations across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.

Further information: netcetera.com

About Covalent

Covalent is a joint venture between two leading industry players, Access Group and TPS. Be it normal electronic banking transactions, ecommerce transactions, loyalty management or mobile payments, Covalent wants to change the way the masses transact with newer and innovative ways of making digital payments. Together Access Group & TPS have access to over 600+ domain experts in Pakistan & the Middle East giving Covalent an unparalleled advantage when it comes to domain expertise and knowledge.

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