What new payments technologies and products are live and what’s on the horizon? Today’s news roundup answers those questions.
100 Norwegian banks joined together to take over P2P payment app Vipps to develop a strong homegrown mobile e-wallet to compete against international competitors. Alibaba invested $177 million in India’s Paytm to raise its stake to 62%, placing an estimated value on the leading Indian payments company at $1 billion.
Swedish fintech Trustly did $3.37 billion in transactions in 2016 and just launched services in the UK. Mastercard’s Masterpass platform will power Italian mobile payments app Postepay which has more than 13 million users. Euromoney reports on declining use of credit and debit cards and growing interest by corporate treasurers in alternate payment systems including social media. In Brazil, Payza integrated its payments platform with Boleto to offer consumers new features and payment choices as well as letting business receive foreign payments.
South Africa’s Peach Payments and Callpay launched a joint EFT payment system for e-commerce letting consumers make instant, secure payments when shopping online or during payments by phone and via call centres. UK consumers in Cambridge reflect the fast adoption of contactless payments, up 102% in one year. Finally, Netherlands-based fintech startup Dimebox raised $5.26 million in series A funding for expansion.
Over 100 Norwegian banks join forces in mobile payments
A group of Norwegian banks are joining forces to take over peer-to-peer mobile payment app Vipps, which was developed by DNB, Norway’s largest financial services group.
The move is in response to growing competition in the mobile wallet market. “We believe the alliance will make us better equipped to win the race against Nordic and international competition,” said Rune Garborg, head of Vipps at DNB.
Vipps will be spun off as an autonomous company from DNB, which will retain 52% of the new joint venture. The rest of the shares will be acquired by the SpareBank 1 alliance (25%), the Eika alliance (10%), Sparebanken Møre (1%) and 15 independent savings banks (12%). Signatories to the letter of intent represent a total of 106 Norwegian banks. Via computerweekly.com
Alibaba to invest $177 mn in Paytm E-Commerce, hike stake to 62%
Paytm E-Commerce Pvt. Ltd, the online marketplace arm of One97 Communications Ltd, is raising $200 million (Rs 1,334 crore) in a funding round led by Alibaba Singapore E-Commerce Pvt. Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Chinese internet giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, a financial daily reported on Thursday.
Alibaba will invest $177 million (Rs 1,182 crore) while the rest will come from venture capital firm SAIF Partners, an early investor in One97, said a report in The Economic Times citing filings with the Registrar of Companies (RoC).
Following the deal, the stake of Alibaba and its affiliate Ant Financial (the parent company of Alipay) in Paytm E-Commerce will increase from the current 40% to 62%. “But this will come down as the company creates a large employee stock option pool to attract and retain talent,” ET quoted a person privy to the development as saying. The deal is expected to value Paytm E-Commerce at close to $1 billion, the report added Via techcircle.vccircle.com
Sweden’s Trustly transacts €3.2 billion ($3.37 billion) in 2016, plans UK launch
Swedish payment processing business Trustly is planning a big push into Britain in 2017, with its CEO saying it will be “an important market for us.”
The news comes as Trustly announced that it saw a huge jump in transaction volumes in 2016, hitting €3.2 billion (£2.7 billion). The blockbuster year almost doubled the total processed by the business since its founding in 2008, with a total of €6.5 billion (£5.5 billion) processed to date.
Trustly lets people pay for things online directly from their bank accounts, rather than doing so via a credit or debit card. A customer just clicks on the Trustly button, logs in, and can pay that way. Via businessinsider.com
MasterCard and Poste Italiane working together on online payments
MasterCard’s Masterpass digital platform for online payments is now integrated in Poste Italiane’s Postepay app.
Postepay App allows payments of postal transfers, charge phone cards, money transfers and P2P transactions by smartphones.
According to a statement issued by MasterCard yesterday (1 March): “Through Masterpass, the new app will offer the possibility to make simple and fast online purchases to more than 13 millions of Postepay cardholders – representing the 25% of e-commerce in Italy.” Via postandparcel.info
E-commerce treasurers look for alternative payment options
Karin Flinspach, head of cash products, transaction banking, at Standard Chartered, says: “The use of cards for e-commerce is shrinking, leaving corporates with no choice but to look into alternative payments.”
Worldpay’s Global Payments Report 2016 found that in 2015, 36% of e-commerce purchases in North America were made by credit card. It forecasts by 2020 this number will fall to 26%. In the same timeframe, debit card use will fall from 23% to 15% of all purchases. In the face of falling numbers, corporates are looking at alternative payment options to keep hold of their market share.
Ed Adshead-Grant, general manager at Bottomline Technologies, says developments such as this mean making payments through the interface of social-media sites are starting to emerge. “Payment could be made through social-media sites, like LinkedIn,” he says. “It does not need to be able to go through the bank applications and would sit on top of the existing site structures. Users trust these brands.” Via euromoney.com
Payza Integrates with Boleto for Local Payments in Brazil
Payza, a global payment platform, is pleased to announce their integration with Boleto Bancário, the most popular solution for invoice payments in Brazil. Working with a local partner in Brazil, Payza has introduced Boleto as a funding option for Brazilian consumers. Payza also announced today it has added support for the Brazilian Real, allowing users in Brazil to hold e-wallet balances in their local currency.
Boleto Bancário, commonly referred to as Boleto, is a national payment method that allows Brazilians to transfer funds online instantly, securely and affordably, accounts for 23% of all online payments in Brazil. Payza’s new service “Add Funds by Boleto” allows consumers in Brazil to load their e-wallet with the popular local online payment method and use those funds to make purchases or send money online via Payza.
Brazilian businesses only need a Brazilian bank account and an account with Boleto to integrate with their e-commerce solution. For foreign merchants selling into Brazil, a third-party such as Payza can be used to accept payments that originate in Boleto without the need for a local Brazilian bank account. Via ssuchronicle.com
Peach Payments, Callpay launch EFT payment system for SA e-commerce
South African mobile payments startup Peach Payments has partnered with secure payments solution Callpay to provide automated electronic fund transfers (EFT) as well as secure telephonic payment acceptance solutions for e-commerce platforms.
The two companies said the innovative products will enable millions of South Africans to make instant and secure payments when shopping online or during payment processes over the phone and via call centres. Online shoppers will now be able to pay online using their cheque, savings or credit card accounts, with merchants that sign up through Peach Payments able to accept real-time EFT transfers with instant payment notifications.
Launched in Cape Town in 2013, Peach Payments makes customer payments to online merchants seamless and secure and is now processing more than R1 billion ($72.75 million) in transactions per year. Via bizcommunity.com
Dramatic rise in contactless payments in Cambridge revealed
The number of contactless debit card payments made in Cambridge has more than doubled in the last year. New data shows that residents in the city are taking to ‘touch and go’ in their droves, with the number payments made using the technology up 102% in the last 12 months.
The news comes as industry body the UK Cards Association (UKCA) reveals that overall contactless payments accounted for £25 billion of spending in 2016, up from £7.75 billion in 2015. This is supported by Barclaycard data which shows that spending across all categories rose 166 per cent during the same period.
Saving approximately seven seconds per transaction compared to Chip and PIN, busy shoppers now favour ‘touch and go’, with 55% of all eligible electronic transactions (those up to £30) now made using this payments technology. Via cambridge-news.co.uk
Payment Technology Startup Dimebox Raises €5M in Funding
Dimebox, an Amsterdam, the Netherlands-based fintech startup, raised €5M in series A funding.
BillPro Group, a global payment processing organization, made the investment. The company intends to use the funds to grow the business as well as to extend the platform capabilities.
Led by Raymundo Leefmans, CEO and co-founder, Dimebox has built a global acquiring solution, offering financial institutions (PSPs, acquirers, e-commerce platforms and APMs) a SaaS-based white-label full-service gateway to take control of all their payments, even providing tools to increase automation and reduce costs. The solution includes integrated risk management, A.I. based fraud protection tooling, chargeback automation and billing and settlement capabilities, as well as smart data analytics, machine learning and business intelligence features. Via finsmes.com
That’s a wrap
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