Today’s global payments news includes a look at payments trends for 2019, China’s fintech boom and rise of retail, more contactless payments coming for restaurants, Sears struggles, Fitbit Pay takes on Indian market, mergers and acquisitions, and much more.
7 key payment trends to watch in 2019
For years, this was a pretty cut-and-dried proposition.Cash, paper checks or payment cards were the go-to payment vehicles. But today’s overwhelming mix of smartphone apps, virtual assistants and internet of things devices makes it harder than ever to ensure that a single payment instrument can work everywhere a consumer needs it to. This complexity makes it difficult to predict what the next big thing may be in payments. Read more…
How China got a head start in fintech, and why the West won’t catch up
Ant Financial’s Alipay and Tencent’s WeChat have changed the way many people live their financial lives. They are one-stop shops that enable half a billion Chinese to access a dizzying array of services, from payments,loans, investments, and credit scores to taxi rides, travel bookings, and social media. Read more…
China’s online retail market topped $186 billion in Q3
China’s online retail market reached $186.13 billion in the third quarter of 2018, led by Alibaba’s Tmall. Tmall continues to dominate China’s e-commerce market securing a 59.5% share of the market, followed by rival JD.com with a 25.8% market share. Together the two companies represent the lion’s share of the China’s online retail market with a combined share of 85.3%. Read more…
Financial Health Solutions for Consumers Evade Financial Firms
While many traditional economic indicators, such as employment and consumer spending data, suggest that consumers are doing better financially, insights from the Center for Financial Services Innovation (CFSI) on individual financial behaviors and household-level data depict a significantly less positive story. When the interconnection between spending, saving, borrowing and planning are analyzed, many consumers turn out to be struggling. Read more…
Fintech Startups to watch out for in 2019
The FinTech business is on a cusp of a technological transformation, analyzing each part of conventional financial management. A major alteration is going to occur in the small company area as FinTech organizations assume taking over the financial industry by storm with parts to offer to new businesses and startups through lending, foreign exchange, and different other monetary products and services. Read more…
VC Gene Munster: Expect Walmart to buy new brands
Over the past year, both retailers have fought it out for market share, with each trying to close the gap on their weaknesses relative to the other: Amazon is growing its physical footprint to compete against Walmart’s network of stores, while Walmart is investing in its delivery, pickup, cashier-less checkout, and growing its 1,100-plus brand online marketplace. It’s influenced a train of acquisitions, including, for example, Amazon’s Whole Foods land grab last year, which took place on the heels of Walmart’s DTC wave, buying Bonobos, Modcloth, Eloquii know I picked up from what I needed the other day. Thanks, and building its first online-only bedding brand this year, Allswell. Read more…
Sears says it’s closing 80 more stores in March, faces possible liquidation
Sears plans to close 80 more stores in March, as the bankrupt retailer may be forced to liquidate its business entirely, CNBC has learned. The department store operator told employees Thursday that it plans to shut another round of stores next year, in addition to those that are already in the process of going dark. When Sears filed for bankruptcy Oct. 15, it was still operating a little under 700 stores. At that time, the company said it would close 142 unprofitable stores. In November, it announced the closure of 40 additional stores. Read more…
Contactless Payments and Transaction Data Will Be on More Restaurateurs’ Menus in 2019
Restaurants are a coveted merchant segment for many acquirers and independent sales organizations. So, knowing how payments are changing and the impact that might have on this merchant segment is critical. First, in 2019, the prospect for more consumers carrying, and wanting to use,contactless credit and debit cards is high. The other big trend is that these merchants, now that many of them are using cloud-based point-of-sale systems,want to make the best use of the transaction data they’re paying for. Read more…
British fintech unicorn Revolut wins banking license
The British fintech start-up Revolut has secured a European banking license that will pave the way for it to launch a comprehensive current account and consumer lending operation across the continent from next year. The license process, which was undertaken in Lithuania but has been approved by the European Central Bank, will allow the company to passport into the UK during a post-Bonrexit transition period. Read more…
Fitbit Pay closer to launch in India
Fitbit has announced that the back-end technology for Fitbit Pay already exists and that it is ready to roll out in India. The company waits for the Reserve Banks of India (RBI)’s necessary approvals and clearance or allows NFC-based payments services in the country. Fitbit Pay is currently available in 25 countries (including the US, Australia, the UK, and Singapore). Read more…
Ant Financial in talks to buy UK payments firm WorldFirst
Ant Financial Services Group, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Limited’s fintech affiliate, is in advanced talks to buy British currency exchange startup WorldFirst in a deal that could be worth more than 500 million pounds ($632.5 million), Sky News reported on Monday, citing sources. Ant Financial, China’s biggest online payments platform, has been in talks with WorldFirst for several months, according to the report. Read more…
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