Obligate and Membrane Finance Join Forces to Revolutionise Debt Financing

HELSINKI, Finland & ZÜRICH, Switzerland – 19 Sep 2023 – The Swiss bond platform Obligate has joined forces with Membrane Finance, the issuer of EUROe, to revolutionise business debt financing using tokenised bonds issued on-chain. This alliance aims to accelerate the adoption of on-chain tokenisation, thereby reducing the time and cost associated with originating business loans.

Obligate has integrated EUROe as the quote currency for its euro-denominated loans. This move is a significant step towards creating a more efficient, transparent, and secure financial ecosystem. EUROe, a stablecoin regulated in the EU as electronic money, offers Obligate the robustness and customer protections required for their regulated operations.

The eNotes™ are structured as ledger-based bond securities, accessible to SMEs and investors worldwide, and globally enforceable and instantaneously settled with EUROe.

Mutual Benefits for Users

For EUROe users, this collaboration opens up new avenues for investment and diversification. They can now access a broader range of opportunities, from fully secured bond investments to higher-risk corporate bonds on the global debt market. On the other hand, Obligate users will benefit from using EUROe, a secure euro stablecoin which operates within a clear regulatory framework. This ensures that end-users need not worry about availability, especially when the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation enforcement begins.

According to Juha Viitala, CEO of Membrane Finance, “This partnership not only accelerates the adoption of on-chain tokenisation but also opens up new investment avenues for both EUROe and Obligate users.”

First Bond Issuance Proved the Working Model

Obligate and Membrane Finance issued the first EUROe-denominated bond jointly in the spring of 2023. The test issuance of 500,000.00 euros reached its maturity and was paid back successfully last month. Utilising smart contracts and tokenisation, the user is able to lower the costs of bond issuance by 80% while ultimately reducing the time required for issuance from weeks to just a day.

Future Prospects

Now that the systems and end-to-end experience have been thoroughly tested, both parties anticipate more bond issuances in EUROe, further solidifying the stablecoin's role in the financial markets. Obligate has already seen significant interest from businesses to issue fully secured loans for financing, and issuances with tenures ranging from 6 to 12 months have already been scheduled to take place later in the year. Obligate currently operates on the Polygon blockchain, and the collaboration signifies a step towards a more interconnected and efficient financial ecosystem.

Regulatory Compliance

Both Membrane Finance and Obligate operate within their respective regulatory frameworks, ensuring that the collaboration adheres to the highest compliance standards. Obligate is a member of VQF, a Swiss FINMA-regulated AML SRO, and a financial intermediary allowing it to operate globally. Membrane Finance is regulated as an electronic money institution in Finland, with its licence passported to all EU & EEA countries. EUROe will be regulated as an electronic money token under the Markets in Crypto Assets regulation.

About Membrane Finance

Founded in 2021 in Finland, Membrane Finance is a financial technology company specialising in the development of financial software and services that seamlessly link traditional financial infrastructure and blockchain-based services. Membrane Finance is the principal architect of EUROe - an EU-regulated, full-reserve euro stablecoin that brings fiat euro liquidity on-chain. Membrane Finance’s mission is to foster financial innovation and inclusion on the blockchain by developing an ecosystem of secure money infrastructure, user-friendly applications and stablecoin-related services. www.membrane.fi

For more information, please contact: press@euroe.com

About EUROe

EUROe is the only EU-based stablecoin and payment network regulated as an electronic money institution in the European Union. Based in Finland, a leading European hub for technology & regulatory stability, EUROe is being built for tomorrow’s businesses today. www.euroe.com  

About Obligate

Obligate is trusted by several equity investors such as Circle, SIX Fintech Ventures (Swiss Stock Exchange Group venture arm), Earlybird VC, and Blockchange VC and is led by an experienced team of TradFi and DeFi professionals with many years of expertise in the space.