Raiffeisen Bank Kosovo and Vaiu Kosovo Team Up to Advance Digital Cash
“We are excited and honored to partner with Raiffeisen,” said Rinor Ahmeti, General Manager of Vaiu Kosovo. “Our mission is to promote the adoption of digital cash and mobile commerce here in Kosovo, and our work can affect the daily lives of roughly 300,000 Kosovars that bank with Raiffeisen.”
“Digital cash has many advantages over traditional bank notes,” says Bleron Lemani, CTO of Vaiu Kosovo. “Your cash can no longer be easily lost or stolen; when your wallet is empty, you don’t need to borrow money from friends or family nor to make an emergency trip to the nearest ATM. Your mobile phone is your wallet or ATM, so there is always cash in your pocket if your account has money.”
“Merchants benefit too,” Ahmeti notes. “Bills are paid in full, guaranteed, and time is saved with every transaction – no waiting for customers to find and count their notes or to make the proper change. And financial institutions and their business clients can deposit, withdraw and settle accounts with each other more efficiently, more quickly and more reliably.”
Reza Jalili is the founder of Vaiu Global, and the chief architect of the technology platform to be used by Vaiu Kosovo and Raiffeisen.
“We keep your personal information private,” he explains. “With Vaiu, you don’t need to share your bank account or credit/debit card information – or even your phone number or email. Fraud and identity theft are large problems in the US and Europe, and we believe Vaiu eliminates that problem for people.”
“That doesn’t mean we won’t share your information with the authorities,” he adds. “We want you to have the same privacy you enjoy today with cash; but we also want dangerous and highly illegal activities to be discoverable.”
“We are very glad to welcome Raiffeisen as Vaiu’s premier partner in Kosovo. With their cooperation, we expect to be in use later this year; and for Raiffeisen to be the cornerstone of a fast-growing financial network here.” Vaiu technology is designed to enable “interoperability” among multiple payment systems.
While details of the agreement and product are not being shared at this time, the companies expect additional product and partnership announcements in the near future.
Raiffeisen Bank Kosovo is a subsidiary of Raiffeisen Bank International AG (RBI), which offers banking and investment services and products to Austrian and international companies, an extensive network of banking and leasing units in Central and Eastern Europe for corporations and retail.
Vaiu Global is a US-based fintech dedicated to accelerating the world’s adoption of token technology for financial transactions and related information. Vaiu’s programmable token processors enable secure, smart cash-like transactions while protecting user account and contact details.
