Tie your runners and get ready to ramble. Here’s the weekly roundup of global payments news, developments, and innovations to keep you current.
Consumer buying behaviors that will shape the future of retail
At the Consumer Electronics Show 2021, Best Buy CEO Corie Barry summed up the future of retail succinctly: “There isn’t a world where people revert back to their 2019 behaviors, and part of that is just a comfort level,” Barry said. The implications for the payments industry are obvious. If the shopper’s journey and shopping habits change dramatically, payments will likely change just as quickly. Read more…
Adyen expands acquiring capabilities to Japan
Adyen launches its acquiring solution in Japan to help businesses achieve higher authorization rates, better customer experiences, and deeper data insights as the Japanese market transitions to online payments. This extends Adyen’s local acquiring capabilities in Asia-Pacific, following launches in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore. Read more…
Laybuy completes A$35m placement to target UK growth
Laybuy completes A$35m ($27.1m) placement from new and existing institutional investors to accelerate growth in the UK. At the same time, BNPL provider Laybuy is entering strategic partnerships with Rakuten, AWIN, and Sovrn. This will provide access to more than 5,000 merchants in the UK, including ASOS, Nike, Marks & Spencer, Amazon, and eBay. Read more…
Sezzle CEO: Exclusivity plays second fiddle in BNPL space
Charlie Youakim noted exclusivity is a clever strategy but not one that will ultimately determine the winner in the increasingly crowded space. Exclusivity won’t be the long-term answer, in his opinion, as the power of deals will fade over time. Success will be about the value add that’s built around the provider’s BNPL core. Consumers want payment choice, evident in Australia, where exclusive deals with one provider gave way to merchant sites with multiple BNPL options. Read more….
Global payment fraud jumped 69% in the past year
Experts estimate more than $1 trillion was lost globally to cybercrime in 2020, and payment abuse is a big part of the fraud picture. According to Sift’s Q1 2021 Trust & Safety Index report, ransomware attacks rose by over 40%, and email-delivered malware attacks jumped by an estimated 600% compared to 2019. They paint a concerning picture of the state of payment fraud from their analysis of more than 34,000 websites. Read more…
Billtrust Announces Business Payments Network 4.0 (BPN), record volume and network participation
The new BPN enables invoice presentment to accounts payable portals in addition to its existing payment and remittance acceptance capabilities. BPN, an open network supporting buyers and suppliers allowing both AP and AR platforms to exchange invoices, payments, and remittance data, now delivers invoices to over 170 leading accounts payable portals. Research shows finance teams interact with an average of 11-20 AP portals. Read more…
Target’s digital-first investments continue to pay off in Q1 earnings
After preparing for the digital-first economy for years, Target is arguably becoming the retailer that has gained the most since its arrival. Riding the strength of stimulus checks, private-label apparel, and the digital strategy honed during the pandemic, the company reported Q1 earnings on Wednesday (May 19) that exceeded expectations. Comparable-store sales grew 22.9 percent in Q1, broken down by 18.0 percent growth in stores and 50 percent growth in digital sales. Read more…
Atlanta Fed: New committee to advance safe, efficient, inclusive payments
The Atlanta Fed announced a Special Committee on Payments Inclusion focused on finding solutions for cash-reliant individuals to become better connected to the economy, including innovative financial services. Payment innovations such as digital wallets, mobile payments, and person-to-person payment apps offer convenience and raise concerns for populations marginally attached to the economy. Read more…
Vocalink Mastercard Q1 2021 Open Banking tracker
The open banking tracker for the first quarter of 2021 tells a complex but encouraging story. When the UK parted from the EU (‘Brexit’) at the end of 2020, it also withdrew from the European Economic Area (EEA) Agreement. This, among other things, resulted in changes to financial services’ passporting arrangements, which allow third parties registered with a National Competent Authority in one country to provide services in another. Read more…
Wise, Google Pay partner for inexpensive cross-border money transfers
A new partnership of Wise and Google Pay means US mobile wallet users can send money to friends and families across borders cheaper and faster. The launch lets Google Pay users in the US send money to Google Pay users in India and Singapore initially and to more than 80 countries in Wise’s network by year-end. Wise charges an average fee of 0.69% and is up to eight times cheaper than other payment providers and banks. Read more…
TransUnion: 2021 Kicks off with consumer credit performance improving and demand increasing
Despite the shockwaves felt from the COVID-19 pandemic, the consumer credit market is firmly positioned for re-opening this summer. The new Q1 2021 TransUnion Industry Insights Report found consumers performed well serious delinquency rates mostly down, and loan originations continue to rise from COVID-19 lows. Unsecured personal loan originations dropped from 3.9 million in Q1 2020 to 2.6 million in Q2 2020. Credit card originations declined at an even faster rate – from 15.5 million to 8.6 million in the same timeframe. Read more…
Kaspersky APT trends report Q1 2021
The Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT) at Kaspersky publishes quarterly summaries of advanced persistent threat (APT) activity. The summaries are based on our threat intelligence research and provide a snapshot highlighting the significant events and findings people should be aware of. This is the latest installment, focusing on activities observed during Q1 2021. Read more…
Mauritanian Bank for International Trade launches digital bank, Masrvi, powered by TagPay
The Mauritanian Bank for International Trade (BMCI) partnered with TagPay to roll out its digital bank Masrvi to provide digital, value-added financial services to its customers. Powered by TagPay, Masrvi was launched at the end of April and responds to Mauritanians’ banking needs by providing secure and accessible banking services across the country through mobile networks. Within a month of launching, it has a network of 52 branches and more than 200 partner businesses. Read more…
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