This collaboration is a further step in Bison Bank's strategy of offering its customers highly customizable services, with the best possible partners.

This strategic partnership also arises to meet consumer demand and their needs. According to a recent study by OECD (1) on the state of financial and digital inclusion among Portuguese citizens, among Internet users, 50% of respondents use home banking services and 44% reported using other digital financial services, such as digital money transfer services, or e-wallets for payments, among others. These figures reflect a growing trend towards these channels, although factors such as technological complexity, lack of trust in digital security and a preference for in-person and more traditional purchases still limit these percentages.

Aligned with this context, one of the main features of the new Visa Bison Card is that it can be issued instantly and used in its digital version, in less than 7 minutes upon online enrolment, and added to digital wallets such as Apple Pay or Google Pay allowing it to become live immediately, without the need for a physical card. Once issued this card becomes its permanent version, not needing additional replacements as in the past, making it unique.

The card also allows for highly personalized use, for example, as it can support up to 15 additional cards, which can be assigned to family members, friends, or anyone else, as long as they are indicated by the main cardholder. Additional features include management of the card with interchangeable expenditure controls, by value and or by merchant type, with daily, weekly, or monthly limits, amongst other convenience features.

Issued by Spanish fintech Pecunpay, the new card allows centralized management of the account as well as to receive money in minutes and can be easily deactivated in just a few steps. This on/off feature gives it an extra layer of security and convenience to cardholders.

The card will soon reveal new features associated with it, such as Visa Direct, which will allow Bison customers to transfer and receive money in real time, from and to other Visa cards around the world, quickly and securely.

The Visa Bison Card benefits from the global reach of the Visa network, which enables payments at more than 130 million locations worldwide and connects more than 14,500 financial institutions and fintechs in more than 200 countries and territories.

Antonio Henriques, CEO of Bison Bank: Bison Bank continues to endeavor in its quest to innovate in a digital context, always alongside the best global, highly specialized, and complementary partners. Launching a debit card is not the relevant news. The novelty is rather creating a positive B2B2C use case, that i) respects the best of each of the partners, in this case Visa and Pecunpay, ii) through an investment bank in Portugal, iii) with the ambition of serving and adding value to its high net worth and global Clients.

Gonçalo Santos Lopes, Country Manager at Visa in Portugal, sees the partnership as "a step forward in our ongoing commitment to support the digitisation of payments in Portugal. We are delighted to bring our capabilities to create a seamless digital experience for Bison Bank´s customers, where they will benefit from the global reach of the Visa network at more than 130 million locations worldwide in over 200 countries. and the peace of mind of making secure payments”.

Enrique Álvarez Fernández, Managing Director at Pecunpay. It's a pleasure to collaborate in this model of innovative projects related to the financial industry. With Bison Bank, we consolidate the position of Pecunpay and Minsait Payments as a technological enabler for Fintech companies in a strategic market for us, like Portugal on this occasion.