Brick Franchise: Financials, Regulations and Market Dynamics

We are proud to have the possibility to launch all around the world, with few exceptions. A Brick network is viable only if we can adhere to local laws and regulations, and if there is a demand for the product.

A Payment Service Provider (PSP) is a company that provides various payment processing services, including online payment processing, and is a requirement for Brick to operate. PSPs act as the intermediaries between us and the customers, they provide the necessary infrastructure to securely process and authorize payments, manage fraud, and settle transactions.

Brick has extensive experience in implementing new payment solutions and new implementations are a possibility, should more coverage be needed. For Brick to start a new implementation there are two requirements:
1. The partner for whom we are making the integration needs to invest €50’000 into his Brick franchise venture.
2. The PSP and local banking system support the required payment models of Brick

Brick franchisees can enjoy near-global PSP coverage from existing integrations. On average, connecting to an existing PSP will take less than a week, so by the time the Brick stations have been shipped, you’re already connected. Brick payment solutions allow us to launch a franchise if you are located in Europe (excl. Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine), most of Sub-Saharan Africa, North America, Brazil, Japan, UAE, Israel, India, Vietnam, Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, and Hong Kong. More markets are added regularly, so don’t hesitate to contact us if your market is not listed above.

In addition to payment coverage; Brick is subject to a variety of regulations relating to powerbanks, sharing economy, e-commerce, and regular business. As a baseline, we require information about any local regulations about financial reporting, international transactions/currency exchange, energy consumption, and recycling.

Several countries around the world have unique reporting requirements for financial transactions. Powerbank sharing is considered e-commerce, as payments are made at a distance.
In several countries, e-invoicing is a requirement, a form of real-time reporting of receipts. This type of integration is costly but has been done on behalf of Brick partners across several European and American countries.

For new markets, we are open to integrating e-invoicing capabilities if the investment is at least €15’000. All new partners are required to investigate trade and currency exchange limitations in their market. Preference is given to markets where fx regulations are lenient.

As Brick is a power bank-sharing franchising company we are subject to sustainability and energy regulations pertinent to batteries. If you want to launch a Brick franchise, you must research your local laws and regulations.

Two main factors determine the business compatibility in your market:
1. Smartphone penetration (smartphone usage)
2. Payment model viability
Smartphone penetration in different countries

For obvious reasons, the Brick model is not possible if the smartphone penetration in your market is too low. Other devices can be charged with our power banks, but the checkout and payment systems would not work.

The Brick model is reliant on one of the following payment models:
1. Merchant initiated transactions
2. Wallet payments
3. Payment holds

Merchant-initiated transactions (MIT) mean that the end-user approves Brick to make a payment at a later time, for an unsettled amount (price * time). This is the bread and butter of digital rentals and our preferred mode of payment.

Wallet payments are possible in markets where merchant-initiated transactions might not be preferable for reasons like the high risk of fraud. In many African markets, digital wallets are more common than credit cards too, building a stronger case for the wallet method.
Wallets and MIT may be limited in your country. This is common in countries where the banking system and banking habits of the population are too young to manage the fraud risk. In this scenario, we typically suggest going with a payment hold system. Payment hold means that Brick would freeze the maximum rental cost from the user account, and then 

When researching the possibility of launching a powerbank sharing franchise in your region, you should not only consider the legal requirements and business compatibility – but also the end-users openness to this type of product.

If there are no previous actors within the category, there are a few things to consider. Is it because you are a first-mover or if there may have been businesses that didn’t succeed? If there are ex-competitors around, why are they no longer active? Maybe the business is simply not that attractive in your market. If they failed due to their incompetencies, or if you are a first-mover, you should still consider researching if this product is something that the consumers would be willing to pay for where you intend to conduct business.