BIN Sponsorship
What is BIN Sponsorship?
BIN Sponsorship offers a streamlined path for banks, credit unions, and fintechs to initiate their payment programs. To begin a debit or credit program, institutions need to secure a BIN range (Bank Identification Number) with a payment network. The BIN sponsor provides access to the BIN, manages regulatory compliance, and oversees settlements—all without the need for direct payment network membership. Note: Different BIN Sponsors cater to distinct markets and payment solutions.
LATAM Coverage
for US Dollar Cards
Unlike many enablers focused on specific nations, Payblr is authorized to issue USD prepaid debit cards across all LATAM countries, barring Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua. This BIN Sponsorship type lets institutions roll out in multiple nations with just one sponsor.
How our BIN Sponsorship program helps from a compliance perspective
Our BIN Sponsorship program maintains stringent financial crime control measures.
Our BIN Sponsorship program enforces robust AML, BSA and Sanctions policies and procedures.
Our BIN Sponsorship program ensures end-user onboarding and screening adheres to essential standards.
Our BIN Sponsorship program uses automated systems to identify and manage any suspicious activities.
Comprehensive support beyond
the BIN Assignment
While the BIN is a pivotal element in launching a payment program, true success lies in the details that follow. At Payblr, we extend our support beyond just securing your BIN. Our dedicated team collaborates with you, offering tailored guidance throughout the BIN Sponsorship program’s lifecycle.
Fast and Easy Accreditation
Speed to market
Attaining BIN accreditation can be tedious and costly. With Payblr, you can streamline this journey by minimizing extensive paperwork, fees, and wait times. This expedited process enables a quicker launch of your payment program, getting you to market swiftly and efficiently.
Expert guidance
Payblr brings years of experience to the table. Companies benefit from receiving guidance on best practices, risk management, and evolving industry trends.
No need for specialized staff
We’ll handle the complexities, allowing you to focus on strategy and revenue.
Flexibility
Payblr is processor agnostic and works with major global and regional card processors. You can contract with the processor that best meets your needs.
Access to a BIN at a much lower cost
Secure a BIN without the hefty price tag or the challenges of regulatory reporting to the networks. Partnering with Payblr offers unmatched economies of scale, ensuring you maximize value and minimize expenditure.
FAQs about BIN Sponsorhip
Do you have any questions about our products, services, or policies? Do you want to learn more about how we work and what we offer? Then you are in the right place.
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Payblr offers BIN Sponsorships and Associate Memberships to the Networks.
With an Associate Membership, the entity maintains a relationship with both Payblr and the networks, and can obtain its own BIN. In BIN Sponsorship, Payblr, the regulated entity, issues the card (the issuer), and also manages the entire program.
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A BIN Sponsor "loans" a BIN and its financial license to the sponsored institution so that it can issue cards to its customers. They coordinate with other partners in the ecosystem to ensure a complete solution for the institution.
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An unregulated entity, meaning, it does not have permission to issue financial products, that wants to issue cards to its customers.
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Payblr is responsible for the relationship with the networks, ensuring that the program is in compliance, maintaining the financial license, supporting the implementation, and handling some back-office aspects like settlement. This also depends on the capabilities of the sponsored entity.
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For BIN Sponsorships, we can issue cards in US dollars in Puerto Rico or any LATAM country except Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua.
Under Associate Memberships, we can sponsor licenses for issuing in Puerto Rico or any LATAM country except Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua.
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The sponsored entity can have a fully virtual, fully physical, or combined program.
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Yes, this depends on the capabilities of the processor and the mobile application. Apple Pay will be available in 2024.
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For BIN Sponsorships, we can issue prepaid or zero-balance cards.
For Associate Memberships, we can issue debit, credit, prepaid.
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For BIN Sponsorships, only cards in US Dollars can be issued.
For Associate Memberships, cards can be issued in the local currency of the sponsored institution. Domestic transactions are settled in the local currency and international ones in US Dollars. Payblr provides an account for settlement in US Dollars.
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For BIN Sponsorship, Payblr supports Visa.
For Associate Memberships, Payblr supports Visa and Mastercard.
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For BIN Sponsorships, we provide a white-label solution, enabling you to determine the card design according to your entity's preferences and brand guidelines. The name "Payblr" is unobtrusively displayed in the card issuance description ('this card is issued by...') located on the back of the card, ensuring regulatory compliance while maintaining your brand's prominence.
For Associate Memberships, 100% of the design is determined by the sponsored institution.
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The timeline for implementing a BIN Sponsorship varies depending on several factors:
Resource Availability and Readiness: Does the sponsored institution have a designated program manager and issuer processor, or will these functions be handled in-house?
Expertise: Are there experienced payment professionals available to navigate the complex integration process involving the sponsor bank, issuer processor, card network, card production, personalization vendors, and marketing and distribution?
Type of Card: Does the program require physical cards, virtual cards, digital cards or all three types of cards? Physical cards are just that, a physical card that you send to your cardholders, and they carry in their wallets. Virtual cards are the payment creditentials (card number, expiration date and CVV) that you provide to your cardholders in your online banking, banking app, via email or SMS. Virtual cards only work for ecommerce and card not present transactions. Finally, digital cards are those provisioned to a digital wallet, such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsumg Pay, ClickToPay, etc.
Creating a payment program from scratch typically involves numerous administrative, legal, and technical considerations. For a fintech or small financial institution, this process can take:
Over a Year: If starting without identified vendors or the expertise to navigate this complex process.
Six Months to a Year: If the essential components are already identified, and there is some internal knowledge to manage the integration.
Three to Six Months: Payblr’s streamlined process and expert guidance can significantly reduce the time to market, allowing you to launch your program efficiently.
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There are numerous factors to consider.
Experience: Given the complexity of payment programs, you don’t want to fall victim to an inexperienced partner's rookie mistakes, which can cost you a lot of money or simply endanger the viability of your program.
Reputation: A BIN sponsor with a solid track record and strong reputation in managing BIN sponsorships can offer more reliability and instill greater confidence. Payment programs are serious business; your company is trusting a third party with your customer’s funds and information.
Cost Structure Transparency: Understand the fee structure, including setup fees, monthly fees, and transaction fees. There are many ways that a BIN sponsor can make money, and it is important that you understand this to optimize your program. Opting for a BIN sponsorship partner with a transparent and reasonable cost structure, free of hidden fees, is essential.
Flexibility and Scalability: Your BIN sponsorship partner should be flexible enough to support your business model and capable of scaling with your business as it grows. This may be having the ability to expand to an entire region like LATAM with a single BIN sponsorship partner.
Partnership Approach: Seek a partner who views the relationship as a true partnership rather than merely a client-provider interaction. A partner whose interests align with your business model can foster improved innovation and provide solutions tailored to your needs. Whether this will be the case, you can perceive from your first interaction with Sales. Is the BIN sponsorship partner trying to sell you a pre-packaged program, or are they trying to understand your objective and offering solutions that will make the program feasible?
References and Case Studies: Request references or case studies from the BIN sponsor. This can offer insights into their performance and how they have managed other clients in the past. If they can’t provide you with references, maybe this BIN sponsorship partner is not ready for you yet.
Financial Stability: It is very important that your BIN sponsorship partner be financially stable, not sustaining operating losses or depending on new capital rounds to remain viable. As seen with several BaaS providers, financial instability can jeopardize your program's ability to grow or even survive.
BIN Sponsorship Focus: Determine whether BIN sponsorship is the core business of the sponsoring institution or merely a pivot or sideline to promote their other banking or processing services. Beware of banks who have their own card programs and expand into providing BIN sponsorship as a sideline or a pivot. Your company’s payment program will be prioritized last after the banks’ own programs, or the BIN sponsorship bank could even compete with your program. In the cases where BIN Sponsorship is an ancillary business, banks may decide or may be forced to stop offering BIN Sponsorship to focus on its proprietary business.
Regulatory Compliance and Licensing: Your company must ensure that the BIN sponsor has the necessary licenses and complies with relevant regulations in the regions where you plan to operate. This is crucial to avoid legal and operational risks.
