Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1479650
4 NEWS 22.9.2022 eCabs enlists global financial services provider Adyen Single Market Emergency Instrument to safeguard EU freedoms in future crises ECABS has partnered with Adyen, the global financial technology plat- form which last year processed €516 billion in transactions, to provide a new payment gateway for its global operations. rough Adyen, which counts the likes of Facebook, Spotify, H&M, eBay, and Microsoft among its clients, eCabs will provide a highly efficient best-in- class payments service for both cus- tomers and drivers, installing another pillar for eCabs' international growth programme. Luca di Michele, Chief Technology Officer at eCabs, said, "We opted to partner with global player Adyen to make sure we are using the best-in-class that can accommodate both existing and future demand both in Malta and internationally. Adyen is a global stamp of quality and its integration into the eCabs plat- form makes it even more attractive to international partners we are working with to deploy a leading-edge digital ride-hailing experience for their cus- tomers". Roelant Prins, Chief Commercial Of- ficer at Adyen said, "We are delighted to be partnering up with eCabs to power their new payment solution. Our glob- al financial technology platform is well positioned to match eCabs internation- al scaling ambitions, offering a single global payment system that reduces the complexity of accepting payments across international borders." As part of its payment services Adyen also specialises in preventing, detecting, and responding to fraud, smart authen- tication of payments and in providing analysis and insights. It also offers fea- tures which enable customers to donate to good causes. e Adyen move together with eCabs' recent successful migration to Goog- le Cloud Platform are major steps in eCabs' journey towards the internation- alisation of its ride-hailing platform. ON Monday, the European Commis- sion announced a new proposal for a Single Market Emergency Instrument (SMEI). is builds on lessons learnt from the Covid-19 crisis and creates a framework that enhances the Single Market's resilience through appropriate and necessary crisis preparedness and crisis management actions to guaran- tee its smooth functioning in times of crises. is way, the SMEI will strive to avoid barriers to free movement of persons, goods, and services in the European Single Market and especially the dis- ruption of supply chains. e Malta Business Bureau supports the European Commission´s effort at securing a properly functioning Euro- pean Single Market in times of crises if this is done under well-defined crite- ria that would trigger crisis-mitigating measures. MBB President Alison Mizzi stated, "It is crucial that the scope of SMEI is narrow and targeted in ensuring that in crisis situations the imposed emergen- cy controls are timely and information is easily accessible to businesses and citizens alike. It must be clear that the imposition of this definite response framework needs to be imposed only during extraordinary circumstances and that the definition of what consti- tutes this must be clear and homoge- nously agreed on." "Although we support an overarching crisis response framework this needs to subscribe to the principle of pro- portionality and avoids the imposition of excessive market monitoring. e Commission should only be required to obtain commercially sensitive in- formation from businesses through a common agreed framework where an emergency mode has been activated. Companies must also be guaranteed that any information provided is pro- tected.", Ms Mizzi continued. In its first reaction, the Malta Business Bureau therefore believes that com- panies may benefit from the SMEI in- strument through better foresight and planning for emergencies, less trade re- strictions, less delays in production and lower prices of inputs as well as more legal certainty and predictability. Moving forward, the Malta Business Bureau will be analysing the proposed SMEI in more detail and will strive to ensure that it is aligned with the Mal- tese businesses' interests. To this end, it shall continue follow- ing the developments in the European Parliament and the EU Council in the coming months where EU negotiations will follow. e Malta Business Bureau is the EU-business advisory office of e Mal- ta Chamber and the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association. e Malta Business Bureau is a partner of the En- terprise Europe Network.