The mistake here was only in the information posted by the Minex team announcing the backing bank, and oversimplifying the relationship between the various entities in the process.

There is nothing strange or unique in creating a separate entity to manage the relationship between the card issuer and the brand.

Anyone who has a debit/credit card issued by a non-high street 'bank' has exactly the same relationship between yourself and the financial authority booking the transactions. 'bank' is in quotes deliberately here because what you think is a 'bank' in most cases is most certainly not.

From the UK?
Loot, Revolut, M&S, Tesco, Virgin

USA?
Ally, Chime, Moven, plenty of store brand spinoff,

Europe, Middle East, Asia, you pick...

Every developed country has branded Mastercard and Visa cards issued through a third party backed by a financial institution completing the transactions.

All of this noise and claims of scams is either one of two things...
1) a deliberate attack (I hesitate to use the f word rhyming with mud... But mud sticks!)
2) sheer ignorance  

Can't quite figure out some of you. Chances are many of you have such branded cards already. Check out your relationship with the entity booking the transaction. If, that is, you can understand the rather complex contract you signed and probably never read when you opened the account. (I bet most of you don't even know the proper legal name and registered location of the entity you are directly in contract with... Never mind the parties in between them and the financial institution completing the final transaction... Which themselves is almost always a child company of the only name you'll recognise)