The Briefing on Payments
The latest news, trends and data in Payments
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In Data:
Payments News in Numbers
$80m
Currencycloud has secured new funding from big-league investors, including Visa, International Finance Corporation, BNP Paribas, SBI Group, and Siam Commercial Bank, to help turbocharge its expansion.
Currencycloud, a global payments platform, has obtained an additional $80m in funding to pursue the next phase of its growth story. The company will use the capital to expand its portfolio of emerging payment methods and develop its partner ecosystem.
Existing backers Sapphire Ventures, Notion Capital, GV, Accomplice, and Anthemis, also participated in the round. The latest round brings the company’s total funding to over $140 million.
$112m
Indian digital payment company PhonePe has allocated INR8bn ($112.13m) for marketing this year.
The proceeds will be used for promotion as well as to expand its reach in the country, reported news agency PTI.
PhonePe has also partnered with prominent Indian film stars Aamir Khan and Alia Bhatt as its brand ambassadors. And now, it aims to build a 200m customer base in the country.
$120m
Payment solutions provider Flywire has raised $120m in Series E investment round led by Goldman Sachs.
The existing backers of the company and new investors Tiger Management and Adage Capital Management also joined the round. It follows a $100m investment round in 2018, which was led by Singapore-based Temasek.
With the latest fundraising, Flywire has secured a total investment of $260m. The company plans to utilise the proceeds to support its growth increasing ongoing investment in its multi-vertical strategy.
60%
According to a Bottomline Technologies survey, 60% of companies now report experiencing fraud with a 50% increase in fraud over the past three years.
This comes as fraudsters continue to find more sophisticated methods to carry out attacks. Automated attacks outpaced high-touch attack methods such as check fraud.
The top areas where participants reported increased defence spend were business email compromise (48%), bank transaction fraud (36%) and transaction controls (33%).
$20m
Blockchain-enabled commercial payments platform Paystand has secured $20m in Series B funding.
The round included several new investors including DNX Ventures, Battery Ventures, Epic Ventures, Commerce Ventures and Wildcat Ventures. Paystand’s existing backers Leap Global Partners and BlueRun Ventures among others also joined the round.
The new proceeds will be used by the company to expand its product and service portfolio. Paystand also intends to spend a portion of funding to strengthen its engineering team across various offices.
€20m
UK-based money transfer service Azimo has secured €20m in debt finance from the European Investment Bank (EIB).
The financing is supported by the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), which seeks to bridge the current investment gap in the EU.
With the new proceeds, Azimo plans to accelerate the development of its automated payments platform and support its expansion.
Top Stories
The Key Moments in
Payments This Month
Subway chooses Worldline to provide payment solutions across Europe
Subway has chosen payments provider Worldline to roll out payment solutions to its restaurants across Europe.
Worldline won a three-year contract with the American restaurant franchise including POS and online acceptance. The roll-out is planned across multiple markets starting in 2020.
Worldline’s solution includes POS and e-commerce acceptance as well as payment terminals operating with NEXO retailer protocol.
Fiserv solution enables merchants to use mobiles to accept payments
First Data, now part of Fiserv, has launched a new solution with Visa enabling merchants to use their own devices to accept payments.
The service allows businesses to accept PIN-based contactless transactions without the need for a separate card reader or PIN-entry device. In addition, the move is expected to boost the worldwide use of smartphones and tablets as point-of-sales terminals.
Earlier this year, Fiserv completed its first PIN on mobile payment via the app-based solution in collaboration with Visa, Samsung, and PayCore. Following testing, the solution is being piloted in Poland, with plans to expand in the EMEA and APAC regions.
Swedbank, SIA and TietoEVRY partner to enable Instant Payments
Swedbank has selected SIA to enable instant payments through RT1, EBA Clearing’s pan-European system with TietoEVRY’s real-time payments platform.
Swedbank’s customers have already executed more than 30 million instant payments thanks to SIAnet.
The ultra-fast fiber optic network infrastructure leverages low-latency, secure messaging technology and stretches over 186,000 kilometres.
Nuvei launches Spanish-language services for US merchants and partners
Nuvei, a major provider of global payment solutions and the first-ever community of payment experts, has launched of a Spanish-language services program for US merchants and distribution partners.
The programme includes comprehensive Spanish-language merchant sales, technology and reseller partnerships, plus technical support and client care.
With it, Nuvei becomes one of the few payment solutions providers at scale offering dedicated Spanish-language sales and support in the US.
Standard Chartered, Assembly Payments agree payments JV
Standard Chartered and Australia-based payments fintech Assembly Payments are setting up a next generation payment solutions joint venture.
Specifically, Standard Chartered and Assembly Payments will form a new company to be headquartered in Singapore.
Subsequently, the aim is to grow the business globally. The company will offer a sophisticated digital payment platform to manage transactions across multiple payment types and countries. This will include online, mobile and point-of-sale, digital wallets, debit and credit cards and real-time payments.
Klarna launches ‘Consumer Council’ to provide smoother shopping experience
Klarna has launched a ‘Consumer Council’ allowing consumers to meet-up and share thoughts on their experiences using Klarna.
The aim of the council is to provide the smoothest and smartest experience when shopping and paying.
The first ‘Consumer Council’ meet-ups will take place in London on March 10 and Stockholm on March 16. Following this, meet-ups in Manchester, Berlin and New York will take place in the spring.
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