RBS and Mastercard back Pollinate platform

Merchant services platform Pollinate has announced that Mastercard, Motive Partners and EFM Asset Management will join Royal Bank of Scotland as backers of the business, which has raised £60 million since its launch in 2017.

Pollinate first deployed its cloud-based merchant services in spring this year, with the launch of Tyl, NatWest’s merchant acquiring service, aimed at allowing small business customers to receive payments in-store and online.

The platform is now launching its services to the retail banking market with Mastercard, Motive Partners and EFM joining as investors in, and partners to, the Pollinate business.

Pollinate wraps around a bank’s legacy payment systems to power merchant and consumer digital experiences, including onboarding, portals and loyalty programs, without the need for platform migrations. Pollinate stated that it is now in advanced discussions with other leading retail banks around the world.

Alison Rose, chief executive of commercial and private banking at RBS, said: “Partnering with such high-quality companies, each of us bringing unique expertise and skills, allows for a truly international offering, benefitting not only our customers but the wider merchant acquiring space.”

Pollinate is run by a team of executives from the payments, technology and loyalty industries, including Al Lukies, Jonathan Hughes, Fiona Roach Canning, Tim Joslyn, David Beresford and Anna Moore.

Lukies, Pollinate chief executive and co-founder, said: “Retail banks around the world are facing common issues, but they remain the only ones in the payment chain who can connect directly with both merchants and consumers.

“They are therefore best placed to help SME’s process transactions, support their balance sheets, and grow their businesses, creating a virtuous circle between the bank, merchants and consumers.”

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