OKYapp & Sila

Simplifying gift transfers to LATAM

[Sila is a] very interesting fit. Given access to bank accounts in the U.S. and KYC they receive. One of the risks in our business is that if someone loads money into an account, that balance is floating. When money is credited into an OKY account, it is an FBO account for customers. So, money going to OKY is going into a bank account FBO that customer. And KYC is being done. So, money that people give us is not floating somewhere within OKY, it is in a bank account, accounted for.

— Victor Unda, CEO & Co-founder of OKYapp

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OKYapp & Sila:
At a Glance

Serving an underserved communities, including the 20 million Latin American immigrants in the U.S., with an app that can send prepaid gift cards to users through SMS code.

Using Sila’s powerful money transfer technology, OKYapp is able to allow Latin American immigrants to send pre-paid vouchers to loved ones on a regular basis.

CEO co-founder of OKYapp Victor Unda realized that there was a serious issue with money remittance between the United States and Latin America. There are 20 million Latin American immigrants in the U.S., and many of them send money back to their friends and families. However, without a bank account or credit card, many of their families in Latin America are left out of the digital economy. This gives them limited access to money transfer technology, forcing upon them exorbitant money transfer fees like expensive wire transfers.

Simplified international money transfers for gift cards, cash, serving the underserved communities, powered by Sila.

#powerfultech

Accessible payment API structure, so the OKYapp can get up and running, providing low fees for its clients.

#AccessibleTech

OKYapp founders know how important compliance is, but they also know that the #embedded #compliance that Sila provides allows them to rest easily.

#compliance, #experts

Sila’s integrations and partnerships in the #fintechmarketplace provided OKYapp with a lot of features already compatible with Sila and a fast startup time!

#fintechmarketplace

The Goal

Saving thousands of dollars in remittance fees by allowing users to send money to friends and family in Latin America using the OKY wallet and shopping in OKY’s online marketplace.

Saving and sending money is critical for everyone, and it is even more important to be able to send money to your family and friends when they need it. Borders shouldn’t make this harder, and yet they do.

Unfortunately, sending wire transfers across the U.S. border into Central America costs too much. Even with the added expenses, the U.S.’s southern border still sees around $100 billion flowing from North to South annually. And unfortunately, there are a lot of pain points when it comes to this remittance. Misuse and misspending is a huge issue, and sometimes the funds can’t be cashed out.

With the power of the Sila code backing Victor Unda, OKYapp was officially born.

Without Sila

Building the app rom scratch or struggling to put together a financial services app piecemeal.
Years spent trying to gain access to the payments system to send money internationally.
Spending thousands of dollars in getting compliant for money transmission.
Finding a KYC vendor that works with their business goals.
Managing the growing financial transactions.

With Sila

Using Sila’s powerful technology which is ready-to-go out of the box.
Gaining access to the international money transmission market in just a few weeks, capitalizing on Sila’s status as a bank agent.
Using Sila’s status as a bank agent for simplified compliance.
Using Sila’s included KYC API.
Simply transaction monitoring for compliance and customer experience in the Sila dashboard.

A new financial world, built by you.

Sila offers a simple, secure, and scalable banking API to make money programmable with built-in regulatory compliance.

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Results

Now, with OKYapp, sending money to loved ones from the U.S. to Latin America is far more affordable. With the ability to send money dedicated for food, groceries, school tuition, health supplies, and utility bills, OKYapp solves a major problem for many U.S. immigrants and families, giving more control to the senders and their families!

To send money, users prepay their wallet in the OKYapp app. Users are checked under KYC for compliance and money is stored in an FBO secured account. Since the limitations of bank accounts were an issue, OKYapp was able to bypass that by sending an SMS code as many people have access to phones and can receive a code. Then, recipients get pre-paid purchase amounts at certain merchants.

OKYapp has over 40 retailers and growing, and they still see a lot of potential for growth. With their dream, the expertise of their founders board, and the mission of Sila on their side, OKYapp aims to inspire and improve the everyday lives of immigrants. Remittance, they figure, is a great first start, and we tend to agree!

Powered by the Sila architecture, OKYapp allows users to sign up and load a digital wallet as a pre-paid account. Users can purchase gift cards from grocery chains to McDonald's to services like power and cable. Receivers only need to get an SMS text with a code. There is no need for a bank account on the receiving end. Through OKYapp, you can easily send food and support to your families with less stress.

OKYapp has options for automated monthly payments, and this helps users so that they never have to worry about their friends or family going hungry if they forget to send a payment. Through partnerships with brick and mortar stores and online, users simply show them the code and the financial transaction occurs through the merchant!

With Sila, OKYapp was able to build a dream app. Sila provided access to U.S. bank accounts and Know Your Customer (KYC) for U.S. compliance. Thanks to Sila’s status as a bank agent, and with FBO accounts, money deposited by U.S. users is in an FBO account attached to that customer so it remains protected and accounted for.

With the Sila architecture in place, OKYapp is powered much cheaper, faster, and safer than alternatives. Through this partnership, OKYapp was able to launch their product while remaining accessible to anyone who wants to help and support their family and friends abroad.