Achiko Ltd.: Achiko and Hypothekarbank Lenzburg sign a Memorandum of Understanding to progress delivery of Achiko's digital wallet and financial services App in Switzerland

Newly listed FinTech company Achiko Ltd. (ACHI:SWX) and Swiss bank Hypothekarbank Lenzburg AG (HBLN:SWX) announce their intention to enter into a partnership to deliver Achiko's digital financial platform offering in Switzerland.

Hypothekarbank Lenzburg (HBL), one of Switzerland's leading financial institutions in the ongoing digitalization of financial services, and Achiko, one of Asia's leading FinTech companies operating as a payment services platform and listed at the SIX Swiss Exchange, will deliver the platform by leveraging Achiko's digital infrastructure and HBL's Finstar(R) banking solution. The new platform will provide financial services including a digital wallet, which will set a new benchmark in terms of functionality and consumer engagement.

Marianne Wildi, CEO of Hypothekarbank Lenzburg Ltd: "With this cooperation we once more prove our leadership when it comes to Open Banking in Switzerland. The cooperation with Achiko is a milestone in the opening process of Swiss Banking for innovative Fintech solutions. We are happy that our bank and its core banking system Finstar is part of this dynamic."

Users who register for the Swiss offering of Achiko will automatically become a customer of HBL with a special account designed for the usage of the Achiko digital wallet. The user-friendly digital wallet will provide access to a range of products and services such as currency held in a bank account, digital commodities, enabling funds to be "topped up" from an account with HBL, issuance of "Achiko" co-branded debit or prepaid cards offered by HBL and a variety of payment mechanisms. In addition, Achiko's payroll advance system, called EarlyPay, will be rolled out during the course of 2020, enabling registered employees of companies who have enabled 'AchikoPay' to draw down an advance payment against their salary. The service will be free of charge to the employer while employees are charged a small administration fee.

The partnership with HBL and Achiko's new e-wallet is limited to the Swiss market. Nonetheless it is a sign of Achiko's ambition to expand its footprint both in terms of range of services, as well as geographically. To this end, Achiko continues to focus on the expansion of its core customer base in Asia, which will receive additional functionalities of the digital wallet within the next few months, while the company is also pro-actively exploring additional strategic partnerships, both in Europe as well as in Asia.

In order to promote and accelerate the implementation of its long-term expansion strategy, Achiko is also establishing a company in Switzerland.

Christopher Young, Chief Operations Officer of Achiko Ltd. and Director of the soon to be incorporated Achiko Switzerland AG, says: "Our recent decision to list Achiko on the SIX Swiss Exchange was a far-reaching strategic decision. Our aim is to enable people to connect through play and pay. We have a strong and rapidly growing business in Indonesia and Asia and in parallel we have strategic plans to increase our footprint in Switzerland and Europe. The partnership with leading institutions such as Hypothekarbank Lenzburg is an important steppingstone towards the implementation of this strategy. Further expansion of our services and additional partnerships are in the pipeline."

Going forward, the digital wallet will be a central part of Achiko's strategy. The company intends to bolt it into its payment services in Indonesia, use it as an anchor product in Europe, and believes that the suite of services (including 'buy now, pay later'-options, consumer credit, vouchers, offers, games services, etc.) may be relevant to broader Asia, Europe, and beyond.

About Achiko

Achiko is the holding company of the Mimopay and Kryptonite businesses. The group has branch offices in Indonesia, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea. Achiko has an experienced management team which has a track record building internationally recognised digital businesses and has also implemented them for companies like Disney, TimeWarner (now WarnerMedia), Samsung, Kakao, Leon Entertainment and many others.

Achiko has significant shareholders such as MNC Group, the largest media company in Southeast Asia. Its shareholder base also includes MOX, China's largest venture capital company focussing exclusively on the mobile sector and one of the three largest global VC companies in this field.

Further information can be found on www.achiko.co.

About Hypothekarbank Lenzburg and Finstar(R)

Hypothekarbank Lenzburg AG is a listed Swiss universal bank. Around 260 employees from 11 nations offer all banking services. The bank was founded in 1868 as Hypothekar- und Leihkasse Lenzburg. Today, the bank operates 13 branch offices and two consulting offices and is strongly anchored in the region. In addition to its traditional business, "Hypi" is also pushing ahead with the digitalization of the banking business. Finstar(R), the core banking system developed in-house, has open interfaces for Fintech companies and is also marketed as an open banking platform to third-party banks and other companies. In recent years, Hypothekarbank Lenzburg has received several awards for its innovative technological strength: "Finance IT Innovation Award" from Competence Center Ecosystem (2019), "Euro Finance Tech Award" from Euro Finance Tech (2017), "Most Digital Bank in Switzerland" from finews.ch (2016).

Further information can be found on www.hbl.ch

Disclaimer

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Contact information

Germany and Austria
Axel Mühlhaus / Dr. Sönke Knop
edicto GmbH E: achiko@edicto.de
T: +49 69 90 55 05-51

Switzerland
Marcus Balogh
Farner Consulting Ltd.
E: achiko@farner.ch
T: +41 44 266 67 67