As the biggest shopping season of the year approaches in the US and around the world, it’s also a hectic time for payments industry news. We’ve got another payments news roundup with all that you need to stay ahead of the latest payments and fintech developments.
Ant Group to raise $34.5 billion, in biggest IPO of all time
Ant Group will raise $34.5 billion, valuing it at over $313 billion, and making it the biggest IPO ever. The Chinese fintech giant said it will split its new stock offer between the Shanghai and Hong Kong exchanges, issuing 1.67 billion new shares in each location. Ant Group is expected to start trading in Hong Kong on Nov 5 followed later on the Shanghai exchange according to the regulatory filing. Read more…
42% skipped a bill payment during the US pandemic
In the first seven months of the pandemic, more than half of American consumers (57%) have unfortunately seen a reduction in their income, and 42% have missed at least one bill payment as a result. Auto loans being the most common missed payment at 27%, followed by utilities (26%), cable/internet (25%), rent (20%), mobile phones (19%), mortgage payments (17%), alarm/security (17%), auto insurance (15%), dental insurance (14%), life insurance (13%), and medical insurance (10%). Read more…
JP Morgan launches QuickAccept smartphone card reader to take on Square
Called Business Complete Banking, QuickAccept will allow businesses to process card payments swiftly and only be charged a flat pay-as-you-go rate. Vendors can take card payments through the Chase mobile app or QuickAccept’s contactless card reader. The service will offer same-day deposits without any fee to those with Chase bank accounts (Square, for example, charges a 1.5% fee for instant transactions). Read more…
Visa launches Tap to Phone mobile payments in 15 markets
Visa rolled out its new Tap to Pay mobile payment app that will let micro-merchants and sellers worldwide quickly and securely accept contactless payments on any NFC-enabled Android device without the need for any additional hardware. The new mobile app launches in 15 countries including Belarus, Malaysia, Peru, Russia, and South Africa, with upcoming launches scheduled in Brazil, Italy, UAE, UK, and the US introduction in 2021. Read more…
US holding firm Syncapay buys Wirecard’s North America business
Wirecard’s fire sale continues as US-based holding company, Syncapay, buys its North America business. The disgraced German payments fintech has seen a series of its businesses auctioned off following the collapse of Wirecard AG. The North American arm, based in Pennsylvania, is a card issuer which was acquired by Wirecard from Citigroup in 2016 for $240.9 million with a current value estimated at $1.07 billion. Read more…
Google, Temasek agree to invest $350 million in Tokopedia
Google and Temasek Holdings Pte have agreed to invest about $350 million in PT Tokopedia, people familiar with the matter said, a major cash infusion that will bankroll the Indonesian online mall’s post-Covid-19 expansion. The Alphabet Inc unit and Singapore’s state investment firm could sign an agreement for the funding soon. Read more…
PayPal launches new service enabling users to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrency
PayPal today announced the launch of a new service enabling its customers to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrency directly from their PayPal account, and signaled its plans to significantly increase cryptocurrency’s utility by making it available as a funding source for purchases at its 26 million merchants worldwide. Read more…
PayPal’s new service is a $50 billion stimulus check for bitcoin
PayPal announced that it has been granted a conditional Bitlicense by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). PayPal’s new service eliminates two hurdles regarding the use of cryptocurrencies for retail purchases: 1) Getting cryptocurrency into a form that’s usable for retail purchases, and 2) Merchant acceptance of cryptocurrency as a form of payment. Read more…
Stripe acquires Nigerian start-up Paystack in $200m deal
US payments firm, Stripe, is acquiring Nigerian start-up, Paystack, as part of an ongoing merger and acquisitions strategy. Paystack has 60,000 customers across Nigeria and Ghana. According to TechCrunch, Stripe has paid a reported $200 million for Lagos-based Paystack. The fee is a record for a Nigerian start-up. The company allows clients to collect online and offline payments and claims to process more than half of all online transactions in Nigeria. Read more…
MSTS releases BigCommerce plug-in for credit as a service solution
MSTS, a global B2B payment and credit solutions provider, announced the release of an extension for BigCommerce, an open SaaS e-commerce platform for fast-growing and established brands. The new extension, InvoiceMe, is an alternative payment solution within MSTS’ Credit as a Service platform that integrates with BigCommerce and enables merchants to automate the extension of terms and invoicing for their business customers. Read more…
SHRM PaySolution Provides Organizations and Employees Greater Financial Freedom
SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) today announced the availability of the new SHRM PaySolution, enabled by Money Network® 10 which provides an electronic payroll delivery option that streamlines payroll administration for employers. The new solution also empowers employees—especially the millions of unbanked and underbanked Americans—by providing quicker access to income, the ability to manage funds digitally through a mobile app, and a prepaid debit card for use anywhere Visa Debit is accepted. Read more…
Contour and Mphasis partner to accelerate digital transformation of global trade finance
Contour, the global trade platform, announced a partnership with Mphasis IT solutions to accelerate the scaled adoption and extend the reach of the Contour network by banks, enterprises, and partners worldwide. Backed by strategic investors such as HSBC, BNPP, Bangkok Bank, and Standard Chartered, Contour hopes to revolutionize global trade and bring trust, transparency, collaboration, and agility to a traditionally complex and cumbersome industry. Read more…
Goldman Sachs agrees will pay $2.9 billion in penalties over scandal
Goldman Sachs agreed to pay more than $2.9 billion to regulators around the world, including a record penalty for violating a US anti-corruption law, to resolve probes into its role in an international finance scandal. Under the deal, Goldman’s parent company avoided a guilty plea in the United States. The sum includes about $600 million in fee disgorgement included in an earlier settlement with the Malaysian government. Read more…
Payment methods in 2020 – The global overview
Here’s a closer look at some of the most relevant regions and specific consumer markets all over the world and closely document the current state of affairs, the latest developments, and the most-used payment methods in e-commerce and online payments. Read more…
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