Privacy, safety, but also immediacy: these are the new frontiers of payment systems, even in gaming, that OnShop has crossed a long time ago, opening up new horizons with its innovative solutions.
The payment system landscape in Italy is rapidly evolving, and privacy protection and safety are among the areas requiring the utmost attention. OnShop, a leading player in the market, is well aware of this. But what solutions does the company offer? We spoke, on the new issue of Ige Magazine, to Simona Mambro, OnShop’s Ceo.
“Italy, like other European countries, still maintains a strong inclination for cash use and has large segments of the population that are underbanked, including young people, the elderly, or those who simply don’t trust using payment cards. The growing concern about online fraud has actually boosted our growth, as OnShop exactly responds to this need for safety. Our solution allows users to avoid entering any banking information or credit card numbers online. This way, we completely eliminate the risk of cloning, ensuring maximum protection of our customers’ privacy and financial security.”
Are your solutions suitable for the online gaming market too? If so, what are there operational characteristics for this sensitive sector?
“The online gaming market has specific dynamics: it requires immediacy, but also customer protection tools. OnShop seems to be designed to solve these only apparently contradictory issues, thanks to its phygital (physical-digital) approach, which transforms cash into a Digital Shopping Voucher, via the physical distribution network. In online gaming, our greatest asset is the fixed denomination of the OnShop voucher. This feature makes it the ideal tool for budget control, actively supporting responsible gaming and preventing overspending. Furthermore, it solves a crucial accessibility issue for young adults: many users who have just turned 18, despite having legal access to the platforms, often do not yet have their own payment cards. With OnShop, they can purchase gaming credits in complete safety, paying in cash at their corner shop and always maintaining control over their spending.”
What is the conceptual and practical value of the MyOnShop account?
“MyOnShop represents the technological bridge between simplified accessibility and advanced safety. From a practical point of view, it is the heart of our user experience without friction. Payment is made directly through the MyOnShop account, available both on the web and via the native app for both iOS and Android. From a conceptual point of view, it is the tool through which we balance ease of use for the end customer with OnShop’s strict compliance with the various regulatory frameworks of the numerous online industries. Through the MyOnShop account, we make the most advanced and safe Kyc (Know Your Customer) features available for reliable and strong user identification.”
Focusing on compliance protocols for online gaming: what are the potential and strengths of Full-Lock?
“Our compliance protocols, integrated into the OnShop ecosystem, are best expressed in advanced and safe authentication systems. The introduction of these authentication procedures ensures that authorities can track every top-up flow in an extremely detailed way. The true strength of this architecture is data quality: we provide immediate and clear information. This data are more complete and certainly more easily available than that processed by other traditional payment methods, which are often regulated under other European Union jurisdictions. Our Full-Lock protocol, in particular, is currently the only control tool integrated into a payment system that allows the verification of the identity of the gaming account holder and the payment tool holder, assuring 100% accuracy.”
OnShop was founded in 2013. When did you first ‘meet’ online gaming, and what is the impact of this sector on your overall business?
“Since our inception, our goal has been to digitize payments, without excluding cash, but rather using it as a bridge to the digital world. The connection with online gaming was natural and almost immediate, because of the demographics of this market. As a sector with a strong presence of young adults and underbanked users, who need to convert cash for their digital transactions, online gaming has become an important market for our business. Today, it represents a significant portion of our turnover, precisely because our product seems tailor-made for players’ needs for controlled and responsible spending.”
The exact shade of pink
It’s not only about cutting-edge technological solutions. At OnShop, we also look at other aspects that go ‘beyond’ the product, but which facilitate organizational and production models that are always at the top. Above all, compliance with gender quotas, which is not just a quantitative issue, but also a qualitative one. What is the position of women in the company?
“The positioning of women at OnShop is an apical and strategic one. The fact that I hold the role of Ceo and that our Cfo is a woman demonstrates unequivocally that our leadership doesn’t focus on gender, but on results and vision. At OnShop, women occupy key roles in decision-making processes, helping shape corporate strategies in sectors such as fintech and online gaming, which have historically been predominantly male-dominated.”
Do you believe that the presence of women in the company provides added value and is somehow gender-specific, or is it simply the valorization of the skills acquired by an individual, regardless of gender?
“I believe the starting point should always be the merit-based enhancement of the professionalism of each individual, regardless of gender. However, it would be reductive to deny that diversified teams bring enormous added value. The presence of women, united with other background diversities, enriches our company’s ability to read the market in a multidimensional way. For example, it helps us to be particularly sensitive to crucial issues such as accessibility, inclusivity, customer protection, and user experience, elements that are the foundation of our product’s success.”
How important is sustainability at OnShop?
“For us at OnShop, sustainability is strongly defined by its social aspect, particularly through inclusion and education on responsible use. Our business model is oriented in this direction, allowing underbanked customers to participate in the digital economy in complete safety and providing ‘fixed-denomination’ tools, that prevent overspending in online gaming. We actively promote a healthy, protected, and socially sustainable ecosystem for all our stakeholders.”
