EXCLUSIVE- After striking a deal with 15 commercial banks across Asia, keyboard app for payments PayKey is ready to debut in the U.K. and Mexico in coming months, PayKey CMO Guy Talmi told Bank Innovation.
Talmi could not name a specific launch date, nor the banks that PayKey is launching with “for confidentiality,” reasons, he said.
“The move is very significant for us,” Talmi told Bank Innovation.
So far, PayKey has been focused on the Asian market. Most recently, it struck a deal with Standard Chartered Korea and Shinhan bank in Korea just last month (check out the video here).
Based in Tel Aviv, PayKey uses API technology to offer a cross-platform banking button on any smartphone. Its keyboard application allows financial institutions to provide customers a range of banking like P2P payments, balance check, cardless cash withdrawal, chat bot on any messaging system.
“We consider ourselves the inventor of this idea,” Talmi said, noting that there have been “copycats,” emerging in the market. Talmi is probably thinking of HitKey, which recently launched in Singapore, also a keyboard app for payments with functionalities like PayKey.
Aside from U.K. and Mexico, PayKey will also launch in South Africa in the coming months.
Back in October, PayKey closed a $10 million Series B funding round bringing the fintech’s total investment to $16 million. The investors include CommerzVentures, Santander InnoVentures, SBI Group, Siam Commerical Bank, Mastercard, MizMaa, Digital Ventures, e.ventures, Wharton Asset Management and Magma VC.





