Mint makes major acquisition of 100,000 payroll card portfolio

TORONTO, Oct. 18, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Mint Corporation (TSX-V: MIT) (“Mint”) is pleased to announce that its majority-owned subsidiary, Mint Gateway For Electronic Payments Services LLC (“MGEPS”), based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has signed an agreement to acquire the payroll card portfolio of a UAE-based financial institution delivering payroll to over 100,000 workers.

This acquisition is a significant milestone and is a part of Mint’s market consolidation strategy in the UAE. Mint believes this is the first of many acquisition opportunities in the region.

With this acquisition Mint will have over 500,000 payroll cardholders. The recent launch of the mobile app enables Mint to deliver not only payroll services, but also value-added services like mobile phone top-ups, and on receiving regulatory approvals will offer loans, overdrafts, insurance and remittances (through its licensed remittance house partners).

The Wages Protection System (WPS), overseen by the Central Bank of UAE mandates employers to disburse salary in a secure and cashless manner. Mint intends to be the dominant non-bank payroll card service provider in the region.

“Mint has built a world class mobile-enabled tech platform in the UAE. With increasing compliance and regulatory measures set by the authorities, we are witnessing early signs of a consolidation opportunity. This is a fragmented industry with many incumbents with smaller card portfolios that are uneconomical considering the rising regulatory and compliance standards. Mint has built a world-class, scalable payments platform which allows us to acquire and operate at lower incremental cost and generate significant value. We intend to leverage our expertise and scale to acquire such payroll card portfolios and provide superior fintech services to the underbanked” – states Abdul Razzak Al Abdullah – Chairman & CEO of MGEPS.

Mint has paid the first advance to acquire this payroll card portfolio and the transaction is expected to be completed subject to standard compliance procedures including an approval by the UAE Central Bank.

“The investments we have made in our payments platform have positioned Mint to be a market leader in the UAE. This allows us to not only grow our userbase organically, but also to utilize a roll-up model. Our recently launched mobile app leverages the new platform, enabling Mint to effectively offer financial services to the estimated 5 million unbanked workers in the UAE. The growth of our payroll cardholder base combined with an expanded suite of digital financial services, will be key drivers of revenue growth within our UAE operations” – states Vishy Karamadam – Chairman & CEO of The Mint Corporation.

About Mint
The Mint Corporation (TSXV: MIT), through its majority-owned subsidiaries (the “Mint Group”), is a globally certified payments company headquartered in Toronto, Canada with its primary business in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Mint Group is approved by the UAE Central Bank, Mastercard and UnionPay as a third-party payment processor. Mint Group processes over US$1 billion in payroll annually for hundreds of corporate clients and financial institutions and the Mint Group community consists of approximately 400,000+ cardholders. Mint Group’s clients include some of the leading blue-chip companies in the UAE.

Mint Group provides employers with automated payroll services and a proprietary Automated Teller Machine (ATM) network for their unbanked employees. Mint Group community members are issued a personalized, globally accepted, MasterCard or UnionPay card and a linked mobile application, where their salaries are deposited. This mobile application effectively becomes the employee’s bank account.

Mint Group offers a mobile application with mobile phone top-up services and intends to offer a comprehensive suite of services, including remittance, overdraft, loans, and insurance, among others (subject to regulatory approval). The mobile application enables unbanked employees to purchase services and spend through the application.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release

The Mint Corporation
Vishy Karamadam
647-352-0666
www.themintcorp.com