Bringing first-class business banking to Africa
NextGen data-driven core banking engine SaaScada today announced it was selected by ARIE Finance to power its international payment service for mid-sized B2B businesses. ARIE Finance aims to be the first B2B company with a PSP license in Mauritius and will act as a payment gateway into Africa’s complex but lucrative market.
ARIE Finance’s banking platform will specialise in cross-border transactions, offering customers a personalised, speedy, and safe account setup. It will embed multi-currency accounts, payments, and access to a best-in-class fintech partner network across multiple geographies.
By taking the time upfront to understand the applicant’s business, meet their unique needs, and provide a personal interface, ARIE Finance will be able to onboard clients in a matter of days whilst maintaining strong fraud and financial crime controls
Stephen Margolis, founder & executive vice-chairman of ARIE Finance, commented:“With a thriving investment scene and high regulatory standards, Mauritius is fast becoming the ‘Singapore of the West’, acting as the central financial services hub for the African and Indian subcontinents. But international businesses often struggle to set up accounts in the region because of outdated systems and rigid onboarding processes. This is hampering innovation as many exciting businesses are excluded based on their size, location, or industry, without any effort made to understand their business.
“ARIE Finance is shaking up the industry and taking the pain out of opening international accounts. By coupling the features of a digital-first neobank like fast online setup with a dedicated team who can personally review applications, we will go beyond ‘Know Your Customer’ to ‘Understand your Customer’.”
SaaScada’s real-time data capability will provide ARIE Finance with immediate insights into how its customers are using its products, while its cloud-native data-driven core banking engine allows ARIE Finance to build new products easily and iterate at speed. This ensures that ARIE Finance’s services will be optimised to meet customer needs.
Margolis continued: “The concept of banking has changed. Legacy banks used to be all-encompassing, offering everything from loans to wills. We are taking a more focused approach without balance sheet risk – harnessing the latest technology to transfer money across borders efficiently and securely.
“Through our financial services ecosystem, customers will be able to access best-in-class services from other fintechs. But to support this, we needed a flexible and modern core banking solution that can help us to grow. SaaScada is the perfect partner to help us fulfil these objectives. The company is well-established, it has very strong banking relationships, and the pricing was right for us.”
Nelson Wootton, co-founder and CEO at SaaScada, added:“SaaScada is dedicated to making first-class banking products available to everyone, so we’re proud to work with ARIE Finance, helping underserved B2B businesses set up in growing markets. We love collaborative partners who want to grow with us, and we’re looking forward to working closely with ARIE Finance and Stephen Margolis in the coming months to bring even more banking services to mid-sized businesses operating in Africa and beyond.”
ARIE Finance has been profitably operating for 2 years and will be immediately talking to customers both existing and new with a view to a full launch by the end of Q2 2025.