It’s Fintech Friday and we’ve got the latest fintech news from around the globe starting with Capgemini who predict 726 billion global digital payments transactions a year by 2020. KPMG’s Pulse of Fintech report says fintech investment rebounded in Q2, reaching $8.4 billion in 293 deals.
Québec pension fund la Caisse and Desjardins credit union group will invest $50 million in a new Québec fintech fund. Equifax says a customer service page on its website was breached by hackers although it claims no loss of secure data. Former PayPal president Scott Thompson invested in and joined the board of Canadian startup Payment Rails, an API-first payouts platform.
UK challenger bank OakNorth raised $204 million in new funding to grow its small to midsize business loans and banking business. A group of at least 10 German savings banks will launch a new contactless mobile payments technology in 2018. PYMNTS.com profiled a group of mobile payments providers using APIs to deliver services.
A new Javelin report examines consumer interest in and the impact of the internet of things and biometrics on the financial services industry. With the backing of JPMorgan Chase and $100 million in new funding, Bill.com is looking to replace paper checks. It now has more than 100,000 customers. Alibaba announced plans to invest $15 billion into research and development including fintech and other financial services.
Digital payments forecast: 726 billion transactions a year by 2020, study says
The use of digital payments is set to grow exponentially in the next few years, new research shows. “Non-cash payments have increased in volume due to the rise in adoption of digital payment services across all market segments,” Christophe Vergne, cards and payment practice leader at Capgemini. Vergne said that what’s interesting is that people are digitally paying for less costly items, a clear sign of market adoption. Via wsbtv.com
Fintech investment rebounds in Q2
The fintech market globally made a strong rebound in Q2 2017, according to KPMG’s Pulse of Fintech report, with total investment more than doubling on a quarter over quarter basis to more than $8.4 billion across 293 deals. The Americas dominated fintech investment during Q2, primarily due to the blockbuster $3.6 billion buy out of Canada’s DH Corp. Excluding this, both Europe and the US experienced strong growth, with both regions seeing $2 billion in investment. Via finextra.com
Quebec’s la Caisse and Desjardins pump $50m into fintech fund
Quebec-based credit union association Desjardins Group and local pension fund la Caisse have created a fintech investment fund of up to $75 million. Desjardins and la Caisse will each put $25 million into the Montreal-based fund, with other institutional investors being tapped to join before the first closing, expected by the end of the year. The fund will target local firms that develop technology affecting investments, payments, client acquisition and retention, data analysis, deposits and loans, security and insurance, with a particular eye on AI. Via finextra.com
Equifax says it might have been breached again
Equifax says its systems were not compromised in the latest cyberbreach scare to hit the firm. The company said the problem was in its credit report assistance link on its website. “We are aware of the situation,” a spokesman said earlier on Thursday. “Our IT and Security teams are looking into this matter, and out of an abundance of caution have temporarily taken this page offline.” Via CNBC.com
Ex-PayPal boss Thompson backs Canadian fintech Payment Rails
Payment Rails, a Canadian startup building an API-first payouts platform for businesses, has won a high-profile backer in the shape of ex-PayPal president Scott Thompson, who has invested in the firm and signed on as a board advisor. Founded in 2015 and currently in public beta ahead of a launch next month, Payment Rails is an API-first payouts platform that enables companies to send fast and low-cost payouts to on-demand workers, suppliers, and employees globally. Via finextra.com
OakNorth joins unicorn club with £154m ($204m) funding round
OakNorth, a UK challenger bank targeting small- and medium-sized businesses, is looking to ramp up lending and license its technology around the world after raising £154 million from a group of international investors. OakNorth bills itself as a bank for entrepreneurs, providing loans of between £500,000 ($663,000) and £20 million ($26.5 mllion) to small firms, although it also has regulatory approval to accept deposits and offer saving products. Via finextra.com
German savings banks to roll out mobile payment service
Germany’s savings banks are planning a mass-market roll out of contactless mobile payments technology in 2018. Using technology developed by S-Payment, a subsidiary of the Deutscher Sparkassen Verlag (DSV) group, the product is currently undergoing pilot trials with ten Mastercard issuing savings banks. Via finextra.com
B2B API: Post-Purchase Shopping
API developments could offer help to consumers, executives, entrepreneurs or freelancers as they conduct their own types of business. AscendentFX, a cross-border payments company, launched a new mobile payment solution enabling users to authorize payments, receive payment notifications and monitor account activity. In Sri Lanka, a new service was recently launched by cross-border payment firm Payoneer to help local entrepreneurs, business owners and freelance workers gain access to their payments through their eZ Cash mobile accounts. Via pymnts.com
Javelin report explores impact of IoT, biometrics on financial services
The paper also gives insight into the future of banking and how these trends will lead to new opportunities and pose potential customer attrition threats to financial institutions (FIs), by analyzing the IoT and connected payments, the adoption of new biometrics, and the adoption of wearables and mobile/social usage. The paper focuses on consumers’ willingness to adopt new technologies, such as voice banking, and their use of existing technology, such as fingerprint authentication on mobile banking. Via biometricupdate.com
Bill.com is the latest fintech heavyweight, with a $742.8 million valuation and big-name backers
JPMorgan Chase led a $100 million funding round for Bill.com, whose business payment services will soon be offered by the bank. With the latest funding, Bill.com now has a private market valuation of $742.8 million, according to PitchBook’s estimates, putting Bill.com among the upper ranks of richly valued startups. The eleven-year old startup, which is seeking to replace paper checks, has raised $200 million in total funding. Bill.com has 100,000 customers. Via businessinsider.com
Alibaba sets aside $15bn R&D war chest to be a world beater
How do you try and become one of the biggest and most influential technology companies in the world? Just move the $15 billion you have stashed away into the R&D business, suggests Telecoms.com (Banking Technology‘s sister publication). This might not be realistic for most companies, but apparently it is a goer for Alibaba. Via bankingtech.com
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