Banca Transilvania is introducing to the Romanian market, for the first time, Social Banking Solution™, a capability developed by PayKey (Israel), named Best FinTech 2018 at the Efma–Capgemini Best FinTech Award. The two companies are offering BT customers a social banking solution to send and receive money and to check their account balance using the BT Pay button on the phone’s keyboard. Customers with Android smartphones will have the BT Pay keyboard, and iPhone users the BT Pay extension.

Details:

• Thanks to Social Banking Solution™, BT customers with Android phones can carry out the following while using any social media messaging app:

- sending money (lei; euro) to people in the phone’s contacts (between BT customers);

- requesting money (lei; euro) from contacts in the phone (between BT customers);

- checking the balances for the cards  added in BT Pay.

• The BT Pay button will appear on the phone screen after the BT Pay keyboard is installed — either in the phone settings, the Keyboards section, or directly from the BT Pay app.
• For BT customers with iOS, the balance check and money transfer option will be available from iMessage by enabling the BT Pay extension in the app.  
• Transfers from debit cards and balance checks are free of charge.
• If the transfer is between people who hold a BT Mastercard Direct card in foreign currency, the transfer can also be in euro.

“Messaging apps are increasingly where people communicate, get information and shop. That’s why we see banking integrated into social media as a natural step, as we want to offer services that make our customers’ lives easier. The PayKey solution helps us deliver a first-of-its-kind digital banking experience in Romania. We expect the solution to drive growth in money transfers, given that the service is available 24/7,” said Gabriela Nistor, Deputy CEO, Retail Banking, Banca Transilvania.

“We are delighted to work with the Banca Transilvania team on this project, a bank that is innovative in mobile banking. We are confident it will be a fruitful collaboration in every respect. Our experience with other banks shows that Social Banking Solution™ is a very effective way to engage with customers by offering banking services with 24/7 access. It is also an opportunity to position the bank as a first mover in innovation”, said Guy Talmi, Chief Marketing Officer, PayKey.

BT offers contactless payment alternatives through the BT Pay collection, which includes the following accessories: a watch, a bracelet, a sticker, the app of the same name, the Garmin smartwatch, Fitbit Pay and, from now on, the BT Pay keyboard/extension.

Bringing this service to Romania gives Banca Transilvania customers an easy, user-friendly way to send and request money by phone.

Banca Transilvania & PayKey

About Banca Transilvania: BT is the largest bank in Romania by assets. The bank has over 3 million customers, 500 branches and around 8,000 employees. Banca Transilvania is the leader in cards on the Romanian market. It is also the only Romanian brand present in the Brand Finance 500 ranking, compiled by Brand Finance in 2019 and 2018. BT’s success story began in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, 25 years ago, with a team of 13 people and a single branch.  

About PayKey: Founded in Tel Aviv in 2014, PayKey offers a solution that enables banks to increase brand engagement by turning the mobile phone keyboard into a new channel for delivering services. Thanks to PayKey, bank customers have access to a range of financial services — such as sending and requesting money, checking their account balance, cardless cash withdrawal at ATMs, etc. — from within any social media messaging app. By turning the smartphone keyboard into a new channel for delivering services and information, PayKey helps banks meet their objectives by strengthening brand loyalty, expanding sales channels and enhancing the customer experience. The PayKey solution is easy to integrate and secure because, for transactions, it retains the banks’ authentication methods. PayKey has won numerous awards, such as: Efma–Capgemini Best Fintech 2018, Citi Mobile Challenge EMEA, Santander ‘Pitch Slam’, Visa Contactless & Mobile Awards Payment Innovation, and is part of Europe’s Hottest 50 FinTech Firms. To date, the company has received USD 16 million from companies such as: CommerzVentures, Santander InnoVentures, SBI Group, Siam Commercial Bank, Mastercard, MizMaa, Digital Ventures, e.ventures, Wharton Asset Management and Magma VC.

Press contacts:  

Laura Petrehus, Deputy Director, Communication & PR, BT, laura.petrehus@btrl.ro

Guy Talmi, CMO, PayKey, gtalmi@paykey.com