SelfPay, in partnership with Visa and Libra Internet Bank, launches Europe's first cash-to-card service, allowing users to deposit cash onto any bank card in real-time, using a mobile app and SelfPay’s Payment Stations network

Users will have the opportunity to top up any bank card issued in Romania at any of the 6,500 SelfPay Payment Stations. They will also be able to transfer money between any registered cards, to any other app user, or to any of their own cards (P2P service or Person to Person)

ZebraPay, the operator of Romania’s largest self-service payment stations network and the developer of the SelfPay payment solution, is launching, in partnership with Visa and Libra Internet Bank, SelfPay Now, Europe’s first mobile app to offer the Cash Deposit option, through which users will be able to top up their bank cards in real-time without travelling to any of the issuer branches.

According to data published by the National Bank of Romania (BNR), Romanians made more than 10 million cash deposits through bank ATMs in Q3 2021, totaling 23.7 billion lei, up 35% compared to the same period of the last year.

„We are proud that SelfPay, a Romanian company, is the first in Europe to launch the Cash Deposit functionality, advancing the digitization of cash and increasing people's access to financial services. Using the SelfPay Now app, bank customers in Romania can now deposit cash on to any Mastercard or Visa card at SelfPay Payment Stations, without travelling to the bank. The cash deposit feature is available across Romania’s largest self-service payment terminal network, with over 6,500 Payment Stations located throughout the country in readily accessible commercial areas", explains Adrian Badea, SelfPay General Manager.

The SelfPay Now app advances the process of digitizing payments, broadening access to financial services, two of the company’s major commitments.

“We are happy to kick off the year in Romania with a European premiere, especially since it is a new step in digitizing the economy by expanding digital payments. Thanks to the partnership with SelfPay and the Visa Direct real-time payment solution, cardholders can easily, quickly and securely top up their Visa cards issued by any bank in Romania, getting access to the funds in real-time. Beyond the obvious benefits of the new service in terms of accessibility and convenience, the extensive network of SelfPay Payment Stations allowing direct deposit of cash on to the card, even in small towns or in rural areas, where the banking services offer may be limited, helps customers and contributes to ensuring fair access to financial services for all Visa cardholders", said Elena Ungureanu, Visa Country Manager in Romania.

„We are delighted that Libra Internet Bank is the implementing bank for this service, the first of its kind in Europe, which directly benefits thousands of SelfPay Payment Station users that hold Mastercard and Visa cards issued in Romania. We thus carry further our partnership with SelfPay and underscore our role of banking technology supplier for large-scale projects meant to take banking to the next level”, said Eugen Goga, Deputy General manager of Libra Internet Bank.

To access the Cash Deposit functionality, developed within a Visa-supported project, SelfPay Now app users must register their card in the app for later use at any SelfPay Payment Station. Then, when selecting the SelfPay Now button from the Payment Stations’ menu, the app will synchronize with the Payment Station and after making the cash deposit, the money will be transferred to the card in real-time.

The SelfPay Now app also offers features like real-time P2P money transfer between the cards of different app users. Real-time transfers between a single user’s own cards are also available when these cards are registered in the app. The Cash Deposit and the P2P transfer functionalities are available through Libra Internet Bank, the banking technology supplier of the project.