EQ Bank strengthens BIN sponsorship business through expanded collaboration with Berkeley Payments

TORONTO, Nov. 7, 2023 /CNW/ - EQ Bank and Berkeley Payments are collaborating to launch prepaid cards in Canada, leveraging EQ Bank's Card infrastructure. This enables EQ Bank to support the needs of the Fintech community, while enhancing its BIN Sponsorship business, which has been growing steadily since 2022.

In September 2023, together with Berkeley Payments, EQ Bank assumed ownership of 120+ commercial programs for reloadable and non-reloadable prepaid cards from a large Ontario credit union. As part of this rollout, prepaid cards of varied use cases (incentive programs, reimbursements, early wage access, etc.) will be managed by Berkeley Payments under EQ Bank's sponsorship.

"Equitable Bank is delighted to serve as an Issuing BIN Sponsor for Berkeley Payments and drive innovative use cases for prepaid cards in Canada," said Mahima Poddar, Group Head of Personal Banking at Equitable Bank. "This collaboration will offer Canadian consumers and businesses cutting-edge prepaid solutions and greater flexibility for making payments." 

"Berkeley is thrilled to partner with EQ Bank on prepaid BIN Sponsorship," said Berkeley CEO Lawrence Tepperman. "This will enable more competition and options for the Canadian marketplace."

About EQB Inc.

Equitable Bank—Canada's Challenger Bank™—is a wholly owned subsidiary of EQB Inc., which trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: EQB) (TSX: EQB.PR.C) and serves more than 543,000 customers. Equitable Bank's wholly owned subsidiary Concentra Bank supports Canadian credit unions and their more than 6 million members. With more than $108 billion in combined assets under management and administration, Equitable Bank has a clear mandate to drive change in Canadian banking to enrich people's lives. Founded more than 50 years ago, Canada's Challenger Bank™ provides diversified personal and commercial banking, and through its digital EQ Bank platform (eqbank.ca) has been named the top Schedule I Bank in Canada on the Forbes World's Best Banks 2021, 2022 and 2023 lists. Please visit eqbank.investorroom.com for more details.

About Berkeley Payments

Berkeley brings almost two decades of experience offering fully branded money solutions to forward-thinking organizations looking to disburse funds via physical prepaid cards, virtual prepaid cards, and real-time money movement. Berkeley provides end-to-end bespoke solutions, securely managing and sending funds, while branding user experiences and tracking results that drive successful outcomes.

Berkeley provides services to corporations, governments, and non-governmental organizations (NGO) in the USA and Canada.

SOURCE EQ Bank