WEX Lands License To Issue Cards Across Europe

Corporate payments company WEX is continuing its focus on the global expansion of its virtual payments operations through strengthening its presence in Europe.

On Wednesday (Aug. 30), WEX announced it had secured an Electronic Money Institute license by the EU’s Financial Conduct Authority, a move the firm said makes it a principal member of Mastercard.

“Having our own eMoney license and becoming a principal member of Mastercard are key elements of our European strategy,” said WEX commercial director for Europe Ian Johnson in a statement. “Almost all businesses are looking for effective ways to manage supplier payments, and we are pleased to provide our full range of products and credit services across [the European Economic Area].”

The Electronic Money Institute license enables WEX to offer credit and all its products across the 31 nations in the European Economic Area. The company said securing the license is part of broader efforts to both expand in Europe and strengthen its virtual payments operations.

“We’re always looking for ways to deliver more service to our customers, and this enables us to do so yet again: being the card issuer ourselves makes us more agile in the marketplace and, with the widest product portfolio in this space, we are able to make significant savings for our customers,” Johnson added. “We’re very customer-focused and strongly believe that this move will make us an even more valuable partner to them.”

Earlier this year, WEX said it expanded its existing relationship with warranty management software company PCMI Corporation in another move that broadened the payment company’s reach in Europe. In May, WEX announced the collaboration was officially brought into Europe, with WEX integrating its single-use electronic claims payment technology into the PCMI platform to streamline accounts payable for warranty firms.

In its most recent quarterly earnings report, WEX posted a 15 percent increase in processing transactions for the year’s second quarter. Revenues came in at $303.9 million, up from $233.9 million a year ago.