Author: CFI.co Blogger

Partnership to accelerate scaling of VEON’s digital financial services business

Amsterdam, 3rd February 2021 – VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ and Euronext Amsterdam: VEON), a leading global provider of connectivity and digital services, announces a strategic global partnership with payment technology leader Mastercard to boost digital financial services in key markets.

The partnership, covering core portions of VEON’s footprint (Russia, Pakistan, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Bangladesh), will allow VEON to further scale its digital financial services business by offering consumers and merchants in these countries best-in-class products tailored to their needs. By working together, the companies will support the financial and digital inclusion of traditionally underserved consumers in each geography.

VEON’s co-Chief Executive Officer Sergi Herrero commented: “Expanding digital financial services is a key growth priority for VEON as we look to meet the evolving needs of our consumers. Our partnership with Mastercard provides our operating companies in five countries with world-class capabilities to fast-track their plans for developing digital financial services and demonstrates the trust Mastercard has in VEON’s ability to encourage greater financial inclusion through these transformative platforms.”

Jorn Lambert, Chief Digital Officer, Mastercard said: “As digital transformation accelerates, there is also an opportunity to expedite its many benefits, including the way it effectively addresses consumer needs and experiences. Mastercard strongly believes in the power of partnership and we look forward to working closely with VEON to expand financial inclusion and greater access to the digital economy.”

The partnership is an expansion of the relationship between the two companies that began in May 2020 when Mastercard partnered with Mobilink Microfinance Bank Limited, VEON’s financial services provider in Pakistan, to boost financial inclusion across that fast-growing nation. It further cements the joint commitment of VEON and Mastercard as strategic partners on this ambitious but vital journey to empower individuals and communities though financial services access.

About VEON

VEON is a NASDAQ and Euronext Amsterdam-listed global provider of connectivity and internet services, headquartered in Amsterdam. Our vision is to empower customer ambitions through technology, acting as a digital concierge to guide their choices and connect them with resources that match their needs. 

For more information visit: http://www.veon.com.

About Mastercard

Mastercard is a global technology company in the payments industry. Our mission is to connect and power an inclusive, digital economy that benefits everyone, everywhere by making transactions safe, simple, smart and accessible. Using secure data and networks, partnerships and passion, our innovations and solutions help individuals, financial institutions, governments and businesses realize their greatest potential. Our decency quotient, or DQ, drives our culture and everything we do inside and outside of our company. With connections across more than 210 countries and territories, we are building a sustainable world that unlocks priceless possibilities for all.

For more information visit: www.mastercard.com

Jonny Combe, UK CEO of PayByPhone, gives his 7 Top Tips on leading a remote team in 2021 

1. Build a foundation of trust

Leadership is about empowering your people and one of the main ways to do this is to trust your team to make responsible decisions – just as they did in an office-based set-up. In a remote office model, it’s important to trust them to make good judgements about time and personal commitments. And whatever your leadership style, trust engenders an adult-to-adult model of interaction. This has always been the case but is even more crucial now with so any of us working from home. Leaders can also build trust by demonstrating authenticity. We’re all human and acknowledging the challenges we encounter in these strange times helps to build trust and also encourages people to speak up about any struggles they are facing.

• Work out what really matters

Being suddenly plunged into remote working patterns in 2020 was a shock for leaders and employees alike – it’s easy to talk about being more productive but suddenly you had to deliver it. The situation forced leadership to work out what the truly key tasks were and to ensure their team delivered them. This focus continues to be a benefit of remote working and helps leaders direct their people towards a more outcome-based model of working. 

• Intentional communication with staff

Frequent communication and contact with staff have always been important and being remote shouldn’t have changed that. What has changed is that as a leader, you now have to be more intuitive and tap into your EQ. Whereas in the office you might pick up on someone’s mood changes and check in, now you have to check in on people intentionally. After nearly a year of working remotely, this has become almost second nature for many leaders and managers. However, there is a danger that as lockdown conditions drag on, some of these good habits can fall by the wayside. Leaders must not underestimate the importance of connecting – both on a personal and a professional level. These regular connection points help people feel valued and significant – which encourages them to feel good about themselves, what they do and the value they bring. As well as being the right thing to do on a human level, on a business level, it also means people will want to do their best work. 

• Empower your leaders to lead 

Businesses have to adapt to changing circumstances – as a leader you have to work out the most effective way to recalibrate and to communicate with your leadership team and your staff. You’ve got to keep your leaders and all your people in the loop. Leaders should also look to capitalise on opportunities and the pandemic is certainly an ideal time to embrace great internal comms.

At PayByPhone we walk the talk – we have introduced a senior management team call three times a week, which are good connection points for us. We also have a more formal leadership meeting once a month, and we have an all-staff virtual meeting every Monday morning.

• Follow up on your promises to your staff

Many leaders tell their people how important they are, but you have to follow this through with action. There are some great examples of intentional actions and at PayByPhone we have opted to pay for Disney+ subscriptions for those employees with children as a way to support them during lockdown. For employees who don’t have children or who already have a Disney+ subscription, we pay for them to have the new Joe Wicks app to help them get active and to maintain a positive mental attitude. These are small gestures in themselves, but they are important because they help people feel valued and remind them that out-of-sight isn’t out-of-mind. 

• Adjust your expectations 

Paying tribute to flexible working and actually demonstrating flexibility are vastly different things. At PayByPhone we were already advocates of flexible working when we were office-based so it hasn’t felt like a huge leap. For us, it has never been about ‘face time’ at your desk, or ‘presentee-ism’, it’s about getting your job done. 

Right now, however, the game changer is having multiple employees with children who need home schooling, so it’s crucial that as a leader, I adjust my expectations. A single parent trying to juggle home working and home schooling will inevitably have their work impacted, despite their best efforts. Frankly any working parent right now probably deserves a superhero cape! Accepting that some employees may be unable to give 100% focus and being aware of the pressures is vitally important as a leader. And it’s also essential to set clear boundaries and goals about the achievements and outcomes you expect. Just make sure they are realistic. 

• Recruit from a wider talent pool and consider a hybrid-remote office

Part of good leadership is seizing opportunities and since the pandemic has accelerated the working-from-home revolution, it’s now possible to source employees from a wider area. Leaders should cast their recruitment net wide and carefully consider the kind of skills, experiences and diverse ways of thinking that would help take their organisation to a new level. By securing the very best employees, leaders can add more value to their organisation. We used to restrict our hiring pool to people within a relatively small radius of the office. Now, we’re looking within a 100-mile radius of the office, which will enable us to operate a hybrid-remote office with people in the office once a week even when we are clear of the pandemic crisis. The flexible nature of remote working has the added benefit that it attracts Millennials and Gen Z who like a portfolio approach to work. Having these digital natives on board and harnessing the mindset of different generations is all part of creating a vibrant and diverse workforce – and for PayByPhone this helps us consolidate our position as a leader within our industry. 

There are circumstances when money is needed necessarily. Contacting a bank is another trouble because the terms of the three-month payday loans will be accessible exclusively to the bank. Furthermore, high-interest rates worsen the entire situation.

Nowadays, the vast majority of citizens do not work officially. Thus, each of them can get a rejection from a banking institution to take out three-month payday loans or car repair loans here. The reason is that banks do not accept applications from customers without the presence of an income certificate and employment. Most modern citizens take 3-month payday loans to buy purchases for their loved ones on holidays.

3 Months Payday Loans: Benefits and Tips

Throughout the world, there are so-called microcredit organizations. They provide customers with three-month payday loans on favorable terms. There are more than a million users of such organizations nationwide per month who want to get three-month payday loans. The key customers of the following institutions are customarily young people aged from 25 to 35 years. Considering these statistics, the age of the audience is becoming smaller each year. Now you can even meet those who want to get a loan at 20 or even 18 years old. In this case, the borrower gets a real chance to solve all financial issues thanks to three-month payday loans. At the same time, you can get the maximum benefit from this holiday loan.

Citizens are trying to solve all their financial problems despite the complex bureaucratic system of getting a three-month payday loan in banking institutions. But even microcredit organizations come to the rescue, which provides the client with the convenience and mobility of modern services. Such services will be available anywhere and at any time convenient for the customer. A borrower only needs an Internet connection.

Here are the most popular reasons of taking out three-month payday loans before the holidays:

• Delay in salary;
• Money for gifts is urgently needed;
• Purchase of expensive household appliances;
• Organization of celebrations (weddings, anniversaries, and others);
• Money for shopping;
• An urgent trip.

There can be a lot of reasons. Most importantly, each of them still requires a certain amount of money, which may not be at hand. Three-month payday loans will help you cope with a difficult situation.

Benefits of Three-Month Payday Loans

Here are the main benefits to be noted in payday loans:

• You can draw up an application and a contract remotely without leaving your home at any time;
• High mobility of consideration of the customer’s received data. The organization issues the final decision on permission for a loan after 15-30 minutes;
• Favorable lending conditions and a minimum interest rate of 0.01% per day;
• Observance of complete anonymity provided to all clients, as well as the protection of their personal data;
• In a very short time (up to 30 minutes), the customer receives the required amount. Regular customers wait until the processing is complete for several minutes.

Therefore, users should not have any doubts that the best choice would be to apply for three-month payday loans in a microcredit organization.

What Should You Pay Attention to When Applying for a Three-Month Payday Loan?

Many online lending services offer their customers to take out three-month payday loans at 0%, and regular users can also experience all the benefits of loyalty programs (for example, discounts on loans without certificates and guarantors, as well as arrange a loan in a few minutes).

In order to choose the most suitable credit organization, the customer, first of all, needs to pay attention to the characteristics of the declared services, profitable offers, periods, and how much the service can give. And, of course, find out all the conditions to make complete repayment of the three-month payday loans.

It is also very important to choose a service with an understanding and competent staff who will be able to suggest and advise exactly what the customer needs.

Making Three-Month Payday Loans Algorithm

When making an application for three-month payday loans, the service interface will be very useful. This feature will facilitate the operation. On the sites, you can fully consider all the rules and conditions to get three-month payday loans. Moreover, similar services have a section with an online calculator that can calculate the amount and period. The calculator provides the customer with the full figure along with the calculation of interest.

Loan registration in microcredit organizations will go through the following steps:

1. The customer needs to register on the website of the organization (fill out the form indicating passport data, TIN code, e-mail number, and mobile phone number);
2. Further, service employees process information about the customer;
3. Then you receive a notification about the result of the check using a phone call, SMS, or email.

If the application is accepted successfully, the service sends the required amount to the borrower’s card. If the customer was refused, then the amount does not come to the card. Then you can contact the service personnel and find out the reason. Employees will tell the reason and will recommend the amount which the customer will be able to claim with great chances.

Customers of such online services are provided with more loyal conditions than in banks. Services are also focused on debt repayment in a single pay-off payment. Furthermore, MFIs do not harass customers and do not threaten them. Everything is absolutely loyal as it is possible to extend the loan for the required period.

Certainly, minor underpayments can lead to the refusal on the next loan, therefore, it is better to pay off the loan on time without delays.