San Francisco, 17th of August 2023 - Zolve, a neobank enabling global access to financial services, has announced the launch of its own mobile service, Zolve Connect. Expats pursuing higher education or work in the US can now easily activate their phone plan in the Zolve app with just a few taps and stay connected with friends and family, both in their new and former home. By bundling financial services with a phone plan, Zolve provides expats with two essential needs from one and the same app, ensuring a smooth start to their life in the US. This latest product launch positions Zolve as the world's first FinTech companies to introduce its own mobile virtual operating network, enabling the company to boost customer engagement and loyalty while generating recurring revenue. To introduce this innovative service, Zolve has partnered with Gigs, the world's first telecom-as-a-service platform that empowers any company or brand to launch a customized mobile service.
Raghunandan G, founder and CEO of Zolve:
"For expats seeking access to financial services or a SIM card in the US, the process has traditionally been time-consuming, complicated, and overwhelming. However, by enriching our suite of financial products with our own phone plan, we can significantly simplify the lives of the international community and transform the Zolve app into a launch pad for global ambitions. Simultaneously, with today’s introduction of Zolve Connect, we are thrilled to unlock an instantly growing recurring revenue stream."
Hermann Frank, co-founder and CEO at Gigs adds: "With more than one million people relocating to the US every year, Zolve has identified a huge underserved group. By combining easy access to both financial services and phone plans under one roof, Zolve is positioned as the prime destination for US-bound expats looking to hit the ground running. We are proud to enable Zolve Connect through our full stack telecom platform and look forward to accompanying Zolve on their entrepreneurial journey as a growth partner.”
This is how Zolve Connect works
With Zolve Connect, expats, particularly international students, no longer have to worry about how to connect with their family and friends back home and in the US. Previously, expats had to navigate through bureaucracy and provide an address, a credit card, and a social security number, which often led to frustration and feelings of discrimination. However, with Zolve Connect, Zolve users can now sign up for their phone plan from anywhere in the world in less than three minutes using Zolve's app or website. This service is not only faster and more reliable, but also mobile-friendly and embedded in a system that the user already trusts. Once the user has selected their preferred plan, they can choose between an eSIM or physical SIM card, depending on their device, and set the desired start date for their plan. Zolve Connect's flexible plans do not have any lock-in periods, allowing users the freedom to cancel on a monthly basis. Furthermore, Zolve Connect's plans offer carrier-grade connectivity on a choice of AT&T or T-Mobile's 5G networks, providing unlimited talk and text, as well as hotspot functionality. Thanks to Zolve's new mobile service, expats can go online as soon as they land in the US.
Why companies choose Gigs
Before Gigs, companies that wanted to offer phone plans had to spend months negotiating contracts with telecom providers, committing millions of dollars upfront, and hiring entire teams to tediously integrate with their networks and develop software for offering and managing subscriptions for their users. This barrier proved insurmountable for most businesses, stifling innovation at a moment when connectivity is more important than ever.
With Gigs, companies are finally able to offer voice and data plans and bundle them with their existing product portfolio in any market where they operate, all through a single integration. Gigs enables any company to offer eSIM and SIM-enabled voice and data plans of any size on any network globally. Businesses can launch their own mobile service provider and monetize their audience with new recurring revenue streams while retaining full control over their brand, customer experience, and price points. From neobanks providing branded phone plans or Travel SIMs alongside their credit or debit cards to employee management platforms enabling their customers to issue phone plans to employees in just a few clicks, and hardware OEMs offering subscriptions bundled with their devices, Gigs is active in various industries.
About Zolve
Zolve is building a financial world without borders by developing financial services for global citizens. Founded to help immigrants build their financial futures globally, Zolve offers a full-featured financial services app, an FDIC-insured U.S. bank account, and a high-limit credit card to new immigrants in partnership with a partner bank, the moment they arrive. In February 2021, Zolve raised $15 Million in seed funding, led by Accel and Lightspeed. In October 2021, it raised another $40 Million in one of India's largest Series A funding rounds. For more information on Zolve's credit, deposit, and loan products purpose-built for global citizens, visit Zolve.com.
About Gigs
Founded by Hermann Frank and Dennis Bauer in 2020, Gigs was born from the belief that connectivity should be seamless, universally accessible and affordable to help innovators around the globe to build new connectivity products and services. The company launched with an API and white-label product that allows companies to create branded checkout flows to offer voice and data subscriptions to their users. Today, Gigs offers a broad set of features - including subscription management, payments and analytics - to customers through a unified platform and simple API. Gigs is backed by Google, Y Combinator and prominent business angels and investors such as Dara Khosrowshahi (CEO of Uber), Tony Xu (Co-founder & CEO of DoorDash) or Fidji Simo (CEO of Instacart). The company currently employs over 60 people in the US and Europe. For more information, please visit: gigs.com
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