The Briefing on Payments
The latest news, trends and data in Payments
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In Data:
Payments News in Numbers
64%
Payments processor Square reported net revenue of $1.92bn for the second quarter of 2020, a surge of 64% compared with $1.17bn in the year-ago period.
For the quarter ended 30 June 2020, the payments processor posted a net loss of $11.5m, or 3 cents per share, as against a loss of $6.7m, or 2 cents per share a year ago.
Adjusted EBITDA was $98m, compared to $105m in the second quarter of 2019. Square attributed the slide in adjusted EBITDA compared to the prior-year period mainly to a slowdown in seller revenue.
$71.5m
Splitit, a company which offers card based instalment payment solutions, has raised $71.5m in a private placement and share purchase plan (SPP).
According to the company, several institutional investors including Woodson Capital Management participated in the fundraising.
Splitit plans to utilise the new proceeds to ramp up marketing as well as make additional investments in product and technology.
$35m
Payments provider Volante Technologies has raised $35m in a growth equity financing round, which was led by Wavecrest Growth Partners.
Visa, BNY Mellon, Citi Ventures and PostePay also joined the funding round.
Volante offers payments and financial messaging solutions in the cloud. The company will use the fresh funds to expedite cloud expansion worldwide.
$100m
Apple has acquired Canadian payment technology company Mobeewave for approximately $100m, reported Bloomberg citing people familiar with the matter.
The deal is intended to allow Apple to leverage Mobeewave technology to turn iPhones into mobile payment terminals.
Mobeewave’s technology enables use of a smartphone to access credit card and process a payment. The system works with an app and only requires a Near Field Communications (NFC) chip, which have been included in iPhones since 2014.
$5bn
TransferWise has confirmed a $5bn valuation after raking in $319m through a secondary share sale.
In the share sale, the company allowed existing investors and employees to sell some of their stakes. Accordingly, the move did not add any fresh capital to TransferWise books.
According to a CNBC report, the deal was jointly led by new investor D1 Capital Partners and its existing shareholder Lone Pine Capital.
Top Stories
The Key Moments in
Payments This Month
Airtel and MoneyGram Partner to enhance money transfer in Africa
MoneyGram International has announced a new partnership with Airtel Africa, which provides telecommunications and mobile money services in 14 countries across Africa.
The partnership enables Airtel Money’s 19 million customers to receive MoneyGram transfers directly into their mobile wallets from around the world.
Once Airtel Money customers receive the money, it can be accessed immediately and used to pay for goods and services or settle utility bill.
Marqeta launches 3D Secure solution to meet SCA regulations
Card issuing platform Marqeta has launched a new 3D Secure solution to meet Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) requirements.
SCA is part of the EU’s Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2) and requires merchants to undergo multi-factor authentication to mitigate online fraud risks. The announcement comes as Covid-19 has accelerated online payments.
Open banking fintech Yapily partners with American Express
Open banking infrastructure provider Yapily has partnered with American Express to assist in delivering Amex’s payment initiation service across Europe.
The service, Pay with Bank Transfer, will use Yapily’s open API to gain bank coverage across selected European markets over the coming months.
In addition, the two companies hope the alliance will enable Amex to reach new markets with its open banking product.
VibePay adds more UK banks to platform and launches business accounts
Fintech VibePay has added more UK banks and payment providers to its platform, meanwhile it has launched a new business account function via its app.
The fintech now has 24 banks integrated with the app, including new additions Starling, Capital One and Tesco. Through this, VibePay aims to boost engagement with its users and drive more sign-ups amongst its Gen Z audience.
Bottomline launches Pay Direct to help businesses receive payments
Bottomline has launched a new open banking payment initiation service Pay Direct, designed to enable companies to receive online payments more efficiently.
Pay Direct enables online businesses to receive funds directly from the payer’s bank account via Faster Payments.
In addition, through Pay Direct, the payer initiates the payment from their bank app whilst remaining in the business’ online journey. The aim is to ensure consistent brand and user experience.
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