Approaching credit from a different angle

Tymit Ltd. was founded in 2017 with the goal of creating more flexibilty in credit cards. Since its beginning, it has worked to revolutionize traditional credit card services and address the lack of transparency and control these provide.

With their long-standing monopoly and reliance on old technology, big banks have not given much thought to providing a great user experience. You see this in the usability of their websites and apps, but it goes beyond that. Traditional credit cards offer consumers almost no control or transparency, which can cause problems. When making a purchase, it is virtually impossible to anticipate the total charges; consumers only find out the real cost months later when reviewing their statements. And, once there is a balance accruing interest, banks provide almost no help in planning repayments. In the UK alone, there are 33 million credit cardholders, 12 million of whom do not pay their balance in full.

Tymit wanted to provide a fast, intuitive interface that puts the consumer in control and helps them make better decisions about spending. The company’s app gives consumers transparency over card transactions by breaking down purchases into equal monthly payments. Consumers are able to plan spending, see the true total cost of any transaction, and avoid unnecessary interest by choosing how and when to repay purchases. The card is issued by Wirecard in both virtual and plastic form and can be used at over 53 million merchants worldwide where Visa is accepted.

To make Tymit’s vision of straightforward, fairer credit card services a reality, the London-based FinTech needed a partner who could issue the card and support with technical features such as processing, card management, and fraud prevention.

A collaboration formed between Tymit and Wirecard to enable financial flexibility and ease-of-use for consumer. Wirecard takes care of the entire handling of the card and provides the BIN sponsorship license, issuing processing, and fraud prevention. Advanced fraud protection features are included in the package: It is possible to use signals such as phone location to determine if a card has been stolen, and consumers can choose to block their card from within the mobile app. All of this helps to ensure that card payments are processed efficiently and cardholders can buy with confidence at home, abroad, and online.

A key aspect in this collaboration, authorization forwarding allows Wirecard to work invisibly in the background, performing non-financial checks with real-time data feed. Tymit performs necessary financial checks based on the extent of credit line granted. If transaction validation fails at any point in the chain, a decline response is sent to the payment scheme. This means any issues with the card are immediately communicated to all parties, keeping all hosts and the consumer in the loop and avoiding unwanted charges. Authorization forwarding is the ideal solution for FinTechs who want to maintain an outstanding end-user experience.

The Tymit credit card charges no fees for membership, foreign transactions or ATM use. If a consumer does not specify an installment plan for a purchase, the purchase is set to be due in full the next month as default, with no interest charges or fees. In addition to managing interest and repayments, the Tymit mobile app also provides a wealth of data and features to help consumers manage their spending and finances. Real-time spending notifications, automatic purchase categorization and reporting, transaction location maps, and a customer service chat can all be accessed from within a simple interface.

Through close collaboration, Tymit has the perfect partner in Wirecard to launch a revolutionary credit card. As a young FinTech, it benefits from the financial expertise of Wirecard, but remains free to innovate and reinvent the industry it is passionate about.

Martin Magnone, Tymit Co-Founder and CEO explains, “With the help of Wirecard, Tymit has been able to design a product that seamlessly provides a fast, intuitive interface to help you make better decisions about your spending.” Overall, with Wirecard taking care of card-related processes in the background, Tymit can focus on creating the intuitive, simple, and customer-first product it has envisioned to help consumers better plan finances.

Tymit, supervised and fully authorized by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), launched the card to a select number of beta UK users in November 2019 before expanding to the general public in early 2020.