The Briefing on Payments
The latest news, trends and data in Payments
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In Data:
Payments News in Numbers
2020
JPMorgan Chase is set to shutter its stand-alone Chase Pay app by early 2020.
The app was launched in 2015. Soon, the app will be unavailable for use in in-store payments, Bloomberg reported citing an email.
Customers will still be able to use the app in merchant apps and websites such as that of online food ordering firm Grubhub and its portfolio company LevelUp.
$50m
Indian digital payments firm BharatPe has secured $50m investment in a new financing round led by Ribbit Capital and Steadview Capital.
Ribbit and Steadview were joined by existing backers Sequoia Capital, Beenext Capital, and Insight Partners.
The deal takes the total capital raised by the firm to date to $68m.
$42.1m
Zip, which offers POS credit and digital payment services, has agreed to acquire instalment payments provider PartPay for a maximum consideration of NZ$65.8m ($42.1m).
The deal includes an upfront payment of $NZ50m. The remainder will be paid in two tranches.
PartPay has operations in New Zealand that serves as its base, along with the UK, US, and South Africa. The business’ customer base is more than 110,000.
$20m
Mobile payments firm QFPay has obtained $20m financing from Sequoia Capital China and Matrix Partners.
Both Sequoia and Matrix are existing backers of the payments firm.
QFPay intends to use the fresh capital to expand its product line as well as expand its footprint in its core markets using the infusion.
1,100
BDO Unibank, a Filipino lender, has expanded its alliance with money transfer firm Western Union to facilitate international money transfers.
Under the partnership, over 1,100 branches of the bank will be able to pay-out Western Union international remittances.
The service can even be availed by those without a BDO Unibank account. Customers may also visit BDO Unibank’s rural bank subsidiary One Network to receive the funds.
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Payments This Month
Standard Chartered and SAP Ariba agree payments and supply chain partnership
Standard Chartered and SAP Ariba have agreed a strategic collaboration.
Specifically, the deal means that the bank’s supply chain solutions are more easily accessible to businesses in Asia Pacific.
By the end of 2019, buyers using Ariba Network will be able to seamlessly manage their payments and supply chain finance needs with the SAP Ariba digital platform.
HSBC signs new licence with Australian fintech Identitii
HSBC has signed a new licence agreement to provide Identitii’s Overlay+platform to its Australian customers.
This new license comes after HSBC partnered with Identitii in June to launch a Digital Accounts Receivable Tool (DART).
The expanded agreement is for an initial five-year term with a minimum contract value of $511,600, which could be extended. The implementation work is expected to be completed in Q2 2020.
Square integrates with POS software Goodtill
Payments company Square has announced its integration with Goodtill point-of-sale (POS).
This gives Square access to functionalities such as loyalty capabilities and inventory management.
Furthermore, businesses with Goodtill are now able to process payments using Square.
Wirecard partners with emonvia to digitise charging stations
Germany-based Wirecard is teaming up with joint venture emonvia to digitise several thousand charging stations.
They are launching charge@work, a secure and sustainable charging solution for company car parks. More than 60,000 corporate customers and public utilities throughout Germany use the energy services of N-Ergie AG, the joint venture behind emonvia.
Wirecard will process all payments, billing, and payout for the solution via its digital platform. The main target group comprises firms such as airports, hotels and supermarkets.
NatWest and RBS suffer major outage as millions struggle to access accounts
NatWest and the Royal Bank of Scotland suffered a major outage to their online banking services on August 27.
Millions of customers were unable to use their accounts with many taking to Twitter to express their concern.
This comes as NatWest and RBS have been hit by a host of issues over the past few months. According to the BBC, NatWest experienced 25 outages 12 months to the end of June.
Automation in Action
The latest companies to use AI to streamline their workforce
Pandora Automates 5% of Workforce
Music streaming service and Spotify rival Pandora has announced that it is laying off about 5% of its workforce in a bid to save around $45m a year. Jobs across several departments are being automated, including advertising, marketing and investment, as part of a wider restructuring to the company in a bid to maintain its presence in the streaming market.
Source: TechCrunch
Amazon Restructuring Sees Key Tasks Automated
Online retail giant Amazon has cut hundreds of jobs at its Seattle headquarters as the company reorganises to remove older departments and shift a growing number of tasks onto AI-based software. The company, which is enjoying strong growth, is reportedly restructuring to support future ventures, cutting some operating costs in the process.
Source: Time
Driverless Trucks Replace Oil Sands Jobs
Canada-based Suncor Energy has announced the layoff of several hundred workers as the company introduces autonomous haul trucks into its Alberta-based oil sands operations. The layoffs, which have prompted strong reactions from unions, are likely to be only the start, with Suncor planning to build a fleet of over 150 driverless trucks over the next six years.
Source: Global News
India Sees IT Layoffs in Tens of Thousands
Once one of the biggest employment sources in the country, India’s IT industry saw layoffs totalling over 56,000 in 2017, and is expecting to see further job cuts in the coming year. The layoffs have been largely due to digitisation and automation, which have dramatically reduced the number of workers required to maintain current operational levels.
Source: Quartz