Pomelo Pay prepares to issue cards through Mastercard connection

Payments startup Pomelo Pay is planning to issue debit cards to its customers in order to speed up their payment processing.

Through a partnership with Mastercard, Pomelo will make direct settlements straight into its business customers’ Mastercard debit cards, giving them quicker access to their cash.

Pomelo Pay CEO and co-founder Vincent Choi called it a “huge moment in Pomelo’s journey and will play a key part in our mission to help lighten the load for growing businesses.”

For comparison, iZettle’s settlement time is between 1-2 days and SumUp can take between one and three days to pay merchants. AltFi has asked Pomelo to confirm what its settlement time will be for merchants using its Mastercard debit card.

It could also give Pomelo the opportunity to move beyond just payments, as many merchants could start holding a balance, opening the door to various avenues like accounting or credit.

“We have several exciting projects in its pipeline for 2021 and we’re looking forward to entering the next phase of our growth with a partner such as Mastercard on board,” said Choi.

Last month Pomelo expanded its partnership with the Bank of Maldives, giving its customers full access to Pomelo’s suite of payments products.

Pomelo Pay was founded in 2017 as a way for UK retailers to accept AliPay and WeChat Pay through QR codes. 

Since then, the service has grown significantly to offer a full payments-as-a-service API, plus it’s soon launching contactless payments via smartphones via NFC.