The Briefing on Payments

The latest news, trends and data in Payments

In Data:

Payments News in Numbers

Top Stories

The Key Moments in
Payments This Month

 Pay UK rejects bank plan for Faster Payments levy for APP victims

Pay UK is rejecting calls by seven banks for a Faster Payments transaction fee to fund reimbursement of APP victims.


The failure to agree a consensus follows an industry-wide consultation.

Source: Verdict

 ABN AMRO goes live with Temenos Payments platform

ABN AMRO has gone live with Temenos Payments in Hong Kong to power real-time payments and improve the customer experience.


Temenos Payments provides a single, global platform that enables ABN AMRO to expand and onboard new countries quickly.

 Wells Fargo offers corporates real-time payments on RTP network

Wells Fargo’s corporate customers can now send real-time payments through the RTP network via an API. The result is the immediate transfer of money and expansion of Wells Fargo’s faster payments service.


Wells Fargo previously introduced capabilities for retail and wholesale customers to receive payments over the RTP network in late 2018.

Source: Verdict

 Cardpay expands in Mexico

Payment processor Cardpay is expanding into the Mexican eCommerce market. Cardpay is targeting its Mexico payment solution to millions of unbanked customers and eCommerce businesses alike.


Through Cardpay, businesses can take payments using local payment methods accepted by popular retailers like Walmart, 7eleven, Superama and Extra.

Source: Verdict

 Singapore’s Thunes secures remittance licence from MAS

Thunes, a cross-border payments network, has secured Monetary Authority of Singapore approval for payment services in the country.


The licence, contingent on procedural formalities, will enable the company to onboard customers from any industry onto its payments ecosystem.

Source: Verdict

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