RC365 Holding (LSE:RCGH), the London-listed payment solutions and fintech company, said it has begun a soft launch of its virtual card capability to a number of users.
The fintech has historically offered physical payment cards, and the virtual card is being introduced as an additional option rather than a replacement, with the current phase limited to several users and short of a full commercial rollout.
RC365 said the capability has the potential to reduce certain card ordering and issuance costs tied to physical production, personalisation, packaging, fulfilment and replacement, though it stressed no net cost savings have yet been quantified and gave no assurance of a material or positive financial impact.
The company pointed to a possible environmental upside from fewer physical cards ordered and distributed, cutting materials, packaging and waste from replacement cards, but said it has not completed a quantified environmental or lifecycle assessment and is making no claim on emissions reduction or net environmental impact.
RC365's broader fintech push has centred on its RC3.0 platform, which soft-launched on 8 June with Banking Virtual Account services and a Merchant Owned Ecosystem POS, alongside deals with StarCruises International, PyWave Network Technology, Nexara Capital and Central Wealth Securities Investment since then.
The soft launch is designed to test whether the virtual card can support a more scalable, potentially more capital-light payment model, with RC365 saying it may yield data on user adoption, transaction activity, fraud controls and service costs that should not be read as guidance on future revenue, margins or earnings.
Metrics under review during this phase include user activation and retention, transaction volumes, physical cards avoided, fulfilment cost per user, payment success rates, and fraud and chargeback performance, with any wider rollout subject to those results plus regulatory and compliance approvals.
"We are pleased to commence the soft launch of our virtual card capability to a number of users", said Chi Kit (Michael) Law, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, adding that the Group will assess whether the capability "can reduce reliance on physical card issuance, its associated costs and material use, while providing the operational data needed to evaluate any broader rollout".
The timing and scope of any wider rollout have not yet been determined.