This Announcement is Designed to Add More Power and Reach to
Cuentas' Growing Portfolio of Financial and Lifestyle Solutions for
the Unbanked and Underserved, Enabling the Companies to Offer
Next-Generation Location-Based Digital Services to Cuentas SDI's
Growing Network of over 31,000 Local Convenience "Bodega" Stores In
the Greater New York / New Jersey
Area Alone With the Opportunity to Expand Across the
Nation.
MIAMI
BEACH, Fla., July 17,
2023 /CNW/ -- Cuentas, Inc. (Nasdaq: CUEN)
(Nasdaq: CUENW) ("Cuentas"), the Company that is creating an
alternative financial ecosystem for a hard working population who
do not have access to traditional financial alternatives, announced
today that OLB Group (NASDAQ: OLB), a leading provider of fintech,
digital assets and payment, has acquired the remaining controlling
interest of Cuentas SDI LLC (Cuentas SDI). Cuentas is a minority
shareholder of Cuentas SDI which has over 31,000 convenience stores
in its network, with locations across the New York, New
Jersey and Connecticut tri
state area. Cuentas had been seeking a new partner to acquire the
outstanding 80% and invest in the expansion of and innovation
around SDI. Management is very excited to see OLB take the
stake. Subject to the acquisition, Cuentas will retain its 19.99%
share in Cuentas SDI and will be providing additional services to
the network, including the Company's new Cuentas Mobile Wireless
Service. Management's goal is to use its growing partnership with
OLB to increase its offerings to the underserved markets, providing
an exciting new array of digital and traditional commerce services,
from telco, OmniCommerce, discounts, debit, and credit
opportunities, that can be fulfilled digitally or directly in store
via OLB's innovative POS solutions.
Cuentas further plans to work with its partner InComm, the
global financial services giant, with whom the Company announced a
partnership in 2022, to add innovative digital product offers and
other services to its growing network ( Link CUENTAS and Incomm).
Through these partnerships, Cuentas is working to connect the
physical world to the digital world, bringing together digital
point of sale solutions, physical incentives and cards, digital
commerce and financial solutions, with Cuentas' telecom and
communications solutions, to provide deeper and more meaningful
access to the underbanked and underserved who frequent the
Company's growing convenience store network. In a world where
suburban big-box retailers threaten the smaller, urban outlets,
Cuentas wants to empower convenience stores to offer similar levels
of connectivity and digital resources including many of the biggest
brands in today's market.
"These small stores are often the heart and soul of the
communities they serve," said Cuentas Founder and CEO, Arik Maimon. "With this announcement we are well
on the way to enabling Bodegas and other convenience stores to
compete head-to-head with the big-box retailers", added Maimon.
According to the National Association of Convenience Stores
(NACS), there are over 150,000 convenience stores in the US.
(SOURCE NACS: LINK), and according to CNBC, over 60% of convenience
stores are privately owned. Convenience stores are so common across
the United States that 93% of
Americans live within just a few minutes of one, yet many of these
stores are struggling to stay relevant in a changing economic
landscape (SOURCE CNBC LINK). Many of the Bodegas that are part of
Cuentas SDI's network are the first stop for local residents who
need instant access, not only to goods but also to digital services
from mobile phone bills to discount and prepaid cards. Cuentas SDI
was established as a platform to enable individual convenience
stores and larger groups to come together and take advantage of the
network effect, combining offers, digital connectivity, modern
Point of Sale (POS) solutions, and other innovations to enable
stores to become increasingly important to their local communities.
Management believes this announcement accelerates that journey.
"The Bodega is the place where locals go for a range of critical
services beyond shopping, from paying bills to wiring funds, to
obtaining discount and debit cards for a range of services,"
said Cuentas President and Co-founder, Michael De Prado. "We are revolutionizing that
relationship from both a physical and digital perspective," added
De Prado.
OLB has already worked with Cuentas on other initiatives and
acquired the remaining equity in Cuentas SDI in this latest
transaction. The Companies plan to re-brand the platform and
integrate additional services to provide new revenue streams for
the store owners, potentially including instant loans and advanced
services to their network of customers. Both Cuentas and OLB
share the mission of working together to provide new and
increasingly innovative solutions to underbanked and underserved
communities across North America,
which has been estimated to be a trillion-dollar market
opportunity.
Ronny Yakov, CEO of OLB Group,
said, "We are excited to move forward with this exciting next step
in our relationship with Cuentas. Our plan is to immediately focus
on adding as many as 1,000 new stores to the network in the
New York, New Jersey, Connecticut area and then ramp up from that
initial base."
The OLB Group will offer additional products and programs from
its list of services to store owners, including wallets with
instant credit loaded based on approvals, potentially issuing
loans, and providing other novel services as well as building out a
common point of sale network that enables store owners to
participate in larger promotions and initiatives.
"There is a growing urgency and need to reinvent old financial
systems to accommodate the needs of capable, deserving Americans
who been increasingly left out of the system,"
concluded Cuentas' Maimon. "This announcement puts us in the
heart of the communities we serve and one step closer to providing
the most meaningful alternatives for this growing segment of the
population who need it the most!"
About The OLB Group, Inc.
The OLB Group, Inc. is a diversified Fintech eCommerce merchant
services provider. The Company's eCommerce platform delivers
cloud-based merchant services for a comprehensive digital commerce
solution to over 10,500 merchants in all 50 states.
About Cuentas SDI
Cuentas SDI, LLC. is the company that owns the platform of
Black011.com and the network serving over 31,000 convenience stores
("Bodegas") in and around New York
and New Jersey. The Company is managed and controlled by The
OLB Group, Inc. Cuentas Inc., and is a shareholder in Cuentas SDI,
LLC. Black011.com is the network that will deliver a range of
services to the network's customers, including digital incentives,
promotions, gift cards, discounts, top up services,
telecommunication services, money transfer solutions and other
digital and physical products and solutions true the network of
financial partners.
About Cuentas
Cuentas, Inc. (Nasdaq: CUEN & CUENW) is creating an
alternative financial ecosystem for the growing global population
who do not have access to traditional financial alternatives. The
Company's proprietary technologies help to integrate FinTech
(Financial Technology), e-finance and e-commerce services into
solutions that deliver next generation digital financial services
to the unbanked, under-banked and underserved populations
nationally in the USA. The Cuentas
Platform integratesCuentas Mobile, the Company's Telecommunications
solution, with its core financial services offeringsto help entire
communities enter the modern financial marketplace. Cuentas has
launched its General Purpose Reloadable (GPR) Card, which includes
a digital wallet, discounts for purchases at major physical and
online retailers, rewards, and the ability to purchase digital
content. In Q1 of 2023, Cuentas launched Cuentas Casa, an
alternative housing development initiativethat secured a 10-year
supply agreement for a patented, sustainable building system that
will provide the bridge between its technology solutions and the
affordable housing market. Cuentas has made investments to date in
affordable housing projects for over 450 apartments. LINK:
https://cuentas.com
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains "forward-looking statements," as that
term is defined in section 27a of the United States Securities Act
of 1933, as amended, and section 21e of the United States
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Statements in this
press release, which are not purely historical, are forward-looking
statements and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans,
expectations, or intentions regarding the future. Except for the
historical information presented herein, matters discussed in this
news release contain forward-looking statements that are subject to
certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to
differ materially from any future results, performance or
achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Statements
that are not historical facts, including statements that are
preceded by, followed by, or that include such words as "believe,"
"plan," or "expect" or similar statements are forward-looking
statements.
Investor Relations
Cuentas, Inc.
800-611-3622
info@cuentas.com
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SOURCE Cuentas, Inc.