global payments news

Welcome to Payments NEXT’s weekly global payments news roundup. The week started with a bang with the planned $43 billion FIS/Worldpay merger. We covered several new product launches including Verifi’s self-service chargeback service, Branch’s new payday loan features, and ZestFinance’s bias-free lending platform. We also looked at the fast growth of e-commerce in the EU and whether chatbots will cure banking service problems.

As always, we’ve got a full slate of other fresh news highlights to take you into the weekend, including Instagram’s new shopping and payments feature, eBay’s intro of Google Pay, Target’s cash and go strategy, Dollar General’s big growth plans and more.

Inside the $43 billion FIS/Worldpay merger

FIS-Worldpay merger

Fidelity National Information Services’ (FIS) $43-billion cash-and-stock deal to merge with payments processor Worldpay Inc is another step in the sweeping shakeout and repositioning happening within the global payments industry. The merger follows Fiserv’s $22-billion deal to buy First Data Corp two months ago. The new FIS/Worldpay company will be based in Jacksonville, Florida at FIS’s current headquarters when the deal closes later this year. Read more… 

EU shoppers driving e-commerce and Amazon growth

EU shoppers driving e-commerce and Amazon growth.

If you’re curious about the state of e-commerce in the Western EU, a new report from Internet Retailer says sales of the top Europe 500 online retailers and consumer brands grew 13.9% in 2017. This came at the expense of off-line retailers whose sales only grew 2.6% in 2017 according to Statista. Read more… 

Verifi chargeback self-service promises SME savings

chargebacks cost business $31 billion annually

To help small and midsize business respond more effectively and reduce losses due to chargebacks, Verifi launched a new cloud-based service called Self-Service Chargeback Representment (SSCR). Chargebacks cost US merchants more than $19 billion in 2018 in lost profits, employee time, company resources, fees, and penalties. They cost issuers another $12 billion. Read more… 

Branch launches low-cost payday advance feature

Branch Pay offers payday loans

US payday loan companies typically charge $15 or more per $100 of payday loans, which works out to an APR rate of 391% for a typical two-week loan. Some payday lenders charge substantially more and failure to repay on time can add crippling debt quickly. Minneapolis-headquartered Branch thinks it has a better, much less expensive solution for those living paycheck to paycheck with new payday advance features for its mobile app. Read more… 

New software reduces lending bias with AI

ZAML Fair AI

ZestFinance, a leader in artificial intelligence (AI) software for credit, today launched ZAML Fair™, a new software tool to reduce bias and discrimination in lending. Following market tests with a leading national mortgage lender, ZestFinance claims its new software would eliminate 70% of the gap between Hispanic and white borrowers and 40% of the gap between black and white borrowers. Read more… 

Will chatbots translate into savings and better service?

chatbots in banking

A new study from Juniper Research shows financial institutions will save an estimated $209 million in 2019 by using chatbots for customer service. By 2023, those savings could reach 862 million hours of time saved or $7.3 billion in operational savings globally. It’s no wonder more and more bank customers are speaking with chatbots every day. So much so that Juniper estimates successful banking chatbot interactions between 2019 and 2023 will grow by 3,150%. Read more… 

Instagram will now let you buy products inside the app

Instagram will now let you buy products inside the app

Instagram is making it a lot simpler for people to buy things they come across in their feed. Beginning Tuesday, when people decide to buy a product from a brand or retailer on Instagram, they’ll be able to pay for that product inside the app instead of leaving Instagram to finish the transaction on a retailer’s website. Instagram will keep a small cut of the sale for facilitating the purchase, and it’s partnering with PayPal to process the payments. Read more… 

Target plans to speed grab-and-go purchases with ‘Snack Bar’

Target plans to speed grab-and-go purchases with ‘Snack Bar’

Target will pilot its new “Snack Bar” section in a few locations nationwide, and one is already in operation at a store in Northeast Minneapolis. The location features Pizza Hut products, self-serve Icees, popcorn, beef jerky and the like. Customers pay at a self-service kiosk, circumventing the grocery line. The Snack Bar sections are distinct from the Starbucks locations found in some Targets. Read more… 

What retailers need to know about California’s online sales tax law

What retailers need to know about California's online sales tax law

In many ways, the structure that the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) spelled out in December resembles that of the more than 30 states that already have online sales tax laws in place; CDTFA will require online retailers that do not have a physical presence in the state to collect sales tax if they generate more than $100,000 of gross sales or services and at least 200 transactions annually in the state. The requirement is not retroactive and applies only to sales made on and after April 1, 2019. Read more… 

Dollar General to open 975 new stores

Dollar General to open 975 new stores

CEO Todd Vasos said the company this year plans 975 new store openings, 1,000 remodels of “mature stores” and 100 relocations. Ten of the new stores will be smaller concepts aimed at serving younger customers, half the size of traditional locations, that the company has refined for two years, he said. Read more… 

eBay rolls out Google Pay on its marketplace platform

eBay to Begin Rolling Out Google Pay on its Marketplace Platform

eBay is introducing Google Pay to its suite of payment options to further increase customer choice in its new managed payments experience. Google Pay users will be able to complete purchases on eBay via the app, mobile web and on desktop from sellers participating in managed payments. Customers who have the Google Pay digital wallet will also be able to complete purchases on desktop, regardless of operating system or device. Read more…