KBC, one of Europe’s leading financial groups, is introducing a new service in KBC Mobile. Customers can now purchase and activate mobile data for use abroad, directly in the app. The service is delivered through a partnership with Firsty, a technology company specialising in global connectivity.
Anyone who has travelled outside the EU knows the feeling: the anxiety of surprise roaming charges, or the hassle of hunting down a local SIM card at an unfamiliar airport. Through this collaboration, Firsty and KBC aim to make it easier for travellers to stay connected, without the need for additional apps or physical SIM cards.
For customers, this primarily means greater ease of use. Thanks to eSIM technology, a digital SIM card, there is no longer a need for a physical SIM card or a separate telecom operator app. Via KBC Mobile, travellers can purchase a data package before departure with day passes available from €2.5, with a lower price per day as more days are purchased. Once they reach their destination, their smartphone can connect to a local network.
The solution is available in more than 180 countries. Customers install the eSIM once and can reuse it for future trips. For each new destination, they can easily activate new data packages via KBC Mobile.
“The future lies in super-apps where different services come together seamlessly,” says Gauthier Thierens, cofounder of Firsty. “With this collaboration, we integrate mobile connectivity directly into KBC Mobile, allowing users to stay connected abroad through an app they already know and trust.”
“Our customers are mainly looking for convenience, especially when they are on the move,” says Karen Van De Woestyne, General Manager Transform and Ecospheres at KBC. “We respond to this by offering services that make their travel experience easier. Thanks to our collaboration with Firsty, customers can now also manage their mobile data directly via KBC Mobile. This way, KBC moves with you, even across borders.”
About Firsty
Firsty is a Dutch-Singaporean telecom company founded in 2023 by two former Adyen engineers on a mission to enable people and platforms to stay online globally. Today, over 1.2 million users and global enterprises like Uber, Grab, and Mastercard trust Firsty to stay connected, or to embed mobile data directly into their own products for customers and employees.
Firsty integrates over 600 local carriers into a single global platform, with more being added progressively. This infrastructure allows consumers to use the Firsty app to skip confusing roaming fees and get online in minutes, while companies use it to power connectivity inside their own apps. By connecting directly into local networks, Firsty seamlessly bridges the gap between everyday travelers and global digital products.
About KBC
KBC is one of the leading financial groups in Europe. It is an integrated bank-insurance group catering mainly for retail and private banking, SMEs and midcap clients. Its core markets are Belgium, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Hungary and Slovakia. The KBC group has also selectively established a presence in a number of other countries and regions around the world.
KBC Group employs more than 40 000 staff and caters for about 13 million clients in its core markets.
