The Paypers, Posted May 22, 2024

Global digital payments startup Stripe has partnered with SBI Payments Limited to foray into the Indian payments ecosystem. Specifically, Stripe intends to establish a joint venture with State Bank of India and is looking to acquire a significant stake in SBI Payments Ltd, as reported by Hindu Business Line. Currently, SBI Payments is a joint venture between State Bank of India and Hitachi Payments Services Private Limited, with SBI holding a 74% stake and Hitachi holding the remaining stake. Stripe aims to acquire a 30% to 40% stake from SBI. 

Crowdfund Insider, Posted May 23, 2024

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the People’s Bank of China (PBC)discussed initiatives to advance cooperation in green and transition finance between China and Singapore at the 2nd China-Singapore Green Finance Taskforce (GFTF) meeting held on 20 May 2024.

The initiatives discussed covered “the alignment of taxonomies, facilitation of green finance flows, and the development of a decarbonization rating platform.” The GFTF was set up in 2023, “with three workstreams led by private and public sector players which focus on initiatives to scale up green and transition financing flows between Singapore, China and the region.”

The Paypers, Posted May 17, 2024

India-based fintech company PhonePe, in collaboration with LankaPay, has announced its plans to enable UPI transactions for its users across Sri Lanka.  By joining forces with LankaPay, PhonePe aims to allow Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions for its customers located in Sri Lanka. Users travelling to the region are set to be able to conduct payments leveraging the UPI rails across LankaPay’s merchants’ network, with them having the ability to transact in Indian Rupees (INR) and receive currency exchange services on such transactions. In addition to the National Payments Corporation of India’s (NPCI) UPI, the LankaPay National Payment Network supports these transactions.

Leap Financial and Mastercard join forces

The Paypers, Posted May 22, 2024

A team of ex-Revolut employees have released Zeal, a DeFi wallet and debit card combination that enables direct cryptocurrency spending on everyday items, eliminating the need for conversion to fiat currency. The Zeal wallet, now available as a browser extension and mobile app, facilitates both onchain and everyday payments using a crypto Visa debit card from Gnosis.

The launch of Zeal comes on the back of a strategic partnership inked with Gnosis earlier this month, which also includes a $2 million investment.

The Paypers, Posted May 20, 2024

Finance institution GB Bank has successfully completed a GBP 85 million investment deal aimed to support its growth.

The investment, secured from new investor Hera Holdings and existing shareholder the Teesside Pension Fund, marks an important moment for the bank’s future operations. Hera Holdings, a Jersey-based company, will inject an initial GBP 40 million into GB Bank over the next year, with plans for an additional GBP 40 million investment over the following two years. This influx of capital is expected to enhance GB Bank’s funding capabilities, particularly for property investments and regeneration projects across the UK.  The CEO and co-founder of GB Bank expressed enthusiasm for the investment, emphasising its potential to support a broader range of property developers and investors while maintaining a commitment to great customer service. The Teesside Pension Fund, an original investor in GB Bank, has also shown continued support by contributing an additional GBP 5 million to the institution.

The Paypers, Posted May 17, 2024

Celerant Technology, a provider of retail software and ecommerce solutions, has announced expanded integration functionalities with Sezzle, a provider of BNPL solutions.

Previously available for Celerant’s ecommerce platform, the integration now enables retailers to offer BNPL options at the point of sale in physical stores. Retailers using Celerant’s ecommerce solutions can already provide customers with various financing options, including ‘pay-in-2,’ ‘pay-in-4,’ and longer-term plans ranging from 3 to 48 months when checking out online. With the new API integration, these BNPL options are now also available in-store. There is no additional fee for retailers to implement this integration; they simply need to activate it by contacting Celerant and Sezzle.

TechCrunch, Posted May 15, 2024

If you live in the U.S., chances are you use apps like Venmo and Cash App to pay back your friends or split the bills with your roommates. Lydia is a French startup that also turned payments into a mobile consumer app and service. Now, after reaching 8 million users, the company finds itself in an interesting position. Does it want to add more financial services to grow its average revenue per user? Or does it want to simplify its app to make sure that as many people as possible use Lydia to send and receive money from their phones?

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Biden admin grants more legal protections to ‘buy now, pay later’ users

NBCnews, Posted May 22, 2024

The Biden administration announced Wednesday that consumers who use “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) services for purchases are entitled to the same legal protections as consumers who use credit cards. The new ruling from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau means consumers will be able to dispute charges and demand refunds for returned products purchased with a BNPL loan. It also means BNPL companies will have to investigate customer disputes — and pause payment requirements while doing so — and provide customers with periodic billing statements.

Google Pay launches three new payment features

The Paypers, Posted May 23, 2024

Google Pay has announced the launch of three new features that aim to provide customers with an optimised and secure checkout experience. 

Following this announcement, Google Pay launches three new features focused on card benefits, usage of `Buy Now, Pay Later` (BNPL) on more sites, as well as a more secure checkout experience with autofill.  In addition, the company will prioritise the process of meeting the needs, preferences, and demands of customers and clients in an ever-evolving market, while also remaining compliant with the regulatory requirements and laws of the industry. 

Swift Standardizes Payments End-to-End, Provides Banks Ready-to-Use Tracking Services

Crowdfund Insider, Posted May 23, 2024

Swift has set out plans to help financial institutions streamline the cross-border payment experience for their corporate customers by “extending ISO 20022 across the entire payment chain and giving banks ready-to-use, white-labeled tracking services that can be activated for customers at the click of a button.”

In what marks a significant milestone in delivering its strategy for instant and frictionless transactions, Swift will “enable financial institutions to capture rich data at source, by standardizing the payment end-to-end with ISO 20022.” Swift will also help banks offer their customers ready-made and white-labelled payment tracking services “by API or messaging channel, giving complete transparency on a payment’s status as well as confirmation of its receipt.”

Google Pay lets customers ditch CVVs for biometrics

Finextra, Posted May 23, 2024

Google Pay has received a revamp to make it easier for shoppers to see card benefits, use BNPL on more sites, and ditch CVV codes in favour of biometrics at checkout. Shoppers using autofill on Chrome or Android at checkout now have the option to automatically fill in their full card details with a fingerprint, face scan or screen lock PIN, eliminating the need to enter a CVV security code.

Google started piloting BNPL – with providers Affirm and Zip – when checking out online earlier this year. The practice is now being expanded to more merchant sites and Android apps across the US. Shoppers can either link their existing account or sign up with a provider at checkout.

The Paypers, Posted May 17, 2024

Open Finance company Belvo has announced the launch of its new employment data aggregation solution for customers and partners in Colombia. 

Following this announcement, the new Open Finance solution is set to allow financial institutions and companies in the traditional and non-traditional financial sectors to connect directly and securely with their customers’ data in the Integrated Contribution Settlement Form (PILA). In addition, Belvo will continue to focus on meeting the needs, preferences, and demands of clients and collaborators in an ever-evolving market, while prioritising the process of remaining compliant with the regulatory requirements and laws of the industry as well.

PayRetailers Acquires Transfeera

Finsmes, Posted May 23, 2024

PayRetailers, a Barcelona, Cataluña, Spain-based fintech company which specialises in payments operations in Latin America, acquired Transfeera, a regulated payment company in Brazil.

The amount of the deal was not disclosed.

Led by CEO Fernando Nunes, Transfeera offers platform and technology solutions for payment processing and bank data validation. With the acquisition, PayRetailers will expand its business in Brazil. Transfeera brought more than 450 new customers and 62 employees, expanding PayRetailers’ structure to 100 employees in Brazil and 550 worldwide, distributed across ten offices. 

Centrobill Champions Fully Licensed PIX Payments in Brazil with Competitive Fees

PRNewswire, Posted May 22, 2024

Today Centrobill announced its offering of fully licensed PIX payments in Brazil in a strategic move to dominate the Brazilian fintech market.

Chris Tisdall, Chief Sales Officer at Centrobill, stated, “With fully licensed PIX payments, we ensure secure and cost-effective transactions, and maximize transactional security. We proactively stay ahead of regulations to handle compliance concerns for our clients, supporting their success.”

Centrobill announced its offering of fully licensed PIX payments in Brazil in a strategic move to dominate the Brazilian fintech marketThe PIX payments initiative offers a 24/7 transaction window ensuring immediate processing, consolidating Centrobill as the preferred choice for businesses seeking competitive payment solutions and compliance with strict regulations in Brazil. The PIX payments initiative offers a 24/7 transaction window ensuring immediate processing, consolidating Centrobill as the preferred choice for businesses seeking competitive payment solutions and compliance with strict regulations in Brazil.

Unlimit announces a partnership with DEUNA

The Paypers, Posted May 22, 2024

Global fintech company Unlimit has announced a partnership with DEUNA, a unified platform for growing and simplifying commerce. The primary goal of this collaboration is to improve cross-border payments for enterprises in Latin America and other regions. According to a 2023 report by Mexico’s Fintech Association and NTT Data, digital payments account for 32% of the local fintech market, with the number of companies in this sector increasing by approximately 17.4% annually. The total transaction value in the digital payments market is projected to reach USD 115.20 billion in 2024 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.84% to USD 167 billion by 2028. Additionally, a study by AMVO on online sales indicated that Mexico leads globally in ecommerce growth, with the market valued at MXN 658 billion in 2023.

Prometeo plans expansion to Mexico, US, and Brazil in 2024

The Paypers, Posted May 23, 2024

Prometeo has announced plans to expand its operations to Mexico, the United States, and Brazil between 2024 and 2025.

The Uruguayan company, specializing in Open Banking in Latin America, will also increase its team by 50% this year, aiming to consolidate its presence in the region. This expansion follows a successful Series A investment round of USD 13 million, led by Antler Elevate and completed in December 2023.

The investment will support Prometeo’s growth in product development, commercial operations, and expansion into new markets. Additionally, the company plans to strengthen its existing presence in Peru, Uruguay, and Chile. Currently, Prometeo operates in ten countries and serves over 40 clients, including major banks such as Citibank and JP Morgan. Its client base spans financial technology companies, corporations, and banks, including Banco Santander and Rapi de México, demonstrating the company’s versatility and adaptability in the financial sector.