As POLi Payments, the Australia Post-operated service, is set to close its operations by September 30, Monoova, an Australian B2B payments provider, is positioning itself as a viable alternative. Monoova’s pitch to corporate users of POLi on LinkedIn highlights faster transactions, cost efficiencies, and improved security features as its key advantages over POLi.
POLi Payments, known for enabling near real-time bank transfers to pay for goods and services, faced security concerns, with some banks, including the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, ceasing its use. Customers were required to share their account login details with POLi, which completed payments on their behalf.
In contrast, Monoova addresses consumer security concerns through its digital direct debit service platform, PayTo. This platform eliminates the need for customers to divulge personal login details, enhancing security by authorizing transactions through the user’s banking app via push notifications.
Monoova founder and CEO, Christian Westerlind Wigstrom, explained that while Monoova can be seen as a successor to POLi, they serve different purposes. He highlighted that Monoova is already catering to parts of the crypto industry and is part of the Reserve Bank and the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre pilot project, exploring the use cases of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). Monoova is particularly excited about the potential of CBDCs, as they align with the company’s belief in blockchain’s role in the future of money and everyday currency infrastructure.