Pollinate launches with backing from Mastercard, RBS
Merchant services platform Pollinate has launched in the UK, following a successful implementation with NatWest which saw it underpin the bank’s acquiring service Tyl.
Alastair Lukies, CEO of Pollinate
The platform has seen growth through a funding round from a consortium of backers including Mastercard, EFM Asset Management, Royal Bank of Scotland, and Motive Partners, raising £60 million to date.
Pollinate’s technology is cloud-based and wraps around a bank’s legacy payment services. It can be used to underpin onboarding, portals, and loyalty programs. The firm has a partnership with Microsoft which sees the platform offered via Azure.
Founded in 2017, the firm’s first deployment of Pollinate was with Tyl by NatWest, a merchant acquiring business launched by the co-operative in May 2019.
Pollinate is led by CEO Alastair Lukies, chair of the Fintech Alliance and member of the UK prime minister’s business council.
“Retail banks around the world are facing common issues, but they remain the only ones in the payment chain who can connect directly with both merchants and consumers,” says Lukies.
“They are therefore best placed to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) process transactions, support their balance sheets, and grow their businesses, creating a virtuous circle between the bank, merchants, and consumers.”
Read more: Complexity of SME market still eludes banks
Alison Rose, deputy CEO of NatWest Holdings, adds: “I am hugely excited to announce the creation of a global merchant services company with Mastercard, Motive Partners and EFM Asset Management.”
“We are committed to continually improving the products and experiences that we deliver to our customers, and the creation of Pollinate represents an innovative and successful approach of working with partners to do this.”
