As we move closer to launch we’ve noticed there have been a lot of questions as to what Soon™ actually means. We’re still not able to share dates, however we can share more detail as to what milestones need to happen and what we will be shouting about when they happen.
3 key implementation milestones:
There are multiple steps in bringing the TokenCard to market — with many great partners involved. There’s been multiple commercial agreements to get in place, in tandem with tech integrations. For the purpose of card launch, there are three key milestones that we want to highlight.
- Final sign off from our card issuer:
They are a regulated entity that contracts with card schemes (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, etc) to establish and operate card programs. Put simply, they work with us and the card scheme to get cards in hands.
2. Final approval from our card scheme
This runs in parallel with the sign off from our card issuer. The card scheme is interested in things like our approach to and process around KYC, AML and fraud control, amongst many other things.
3. Our alpha cards
The card issuer will start by issuing us alpha cards which will be tested by TokenCard friends and family. This will be a very small number of cards, and we’ll be testing for basic functionality. As soon as we’re confident that the cards are ready — after all we are dealing with your money and need them to be safe and secure — we’ll start shipping out to the community.
We’re close to all three and will let you know when we hit each of them — watch this space.
FCA Sandbox — what does it mean?
We’re currently part of the FCA Sandbox (you can catch up on the launch details here). In short, as we are launching an innovative Financial Services product that is built on completely different fundamentals, we are treating both consumer protection and our regulatory obligations seriously. We have designed an initial test/launch plan in tandem with the FCA to roll-out our product and issue our cards in tranches. We’ll be iterating with input from the FCA and ultimately we will be optimizing for both consumer adoption and regulatory consistency.
Simply put, we want to build a company and a product in the right way — with input from both the FCA and our users.
Mel & David: Reddit Q&A Tuesday 9th October 2–3pm GMT
Mel and David will be hosting a Reddit AMA next Tuesday from 2–3pm GMT. Submit your questions here.
