Аsia
Pomelo Launches First-Ever Rewards Program for International Money Transfer
Fintech Finance News, Posted February 7, 2024
Pomelo, the first company to combine consumer credit with international money transfer, has released Pomelo Points, the industry’s first points program for sending money overseas.
“Today marks another industry first – we’re introducing the only points program in remittance,” said Eric Velasquez Frenkiel, founder and CEO of Pomelo. “By combining zero-fee transfers with the ability to earn points, we’re helping customers send extra joy to their loved ones, all while building their financial future.”
The Pomelo Points program allows customers to earn points on every transfer to the Philippines, which can be converted into digital gift codes for rides, food delivery, and more through Pomelo’s partnership with Grab, Southeast Asia’s leading super-app.
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Flipkart goes live with Credit Card Bill Payments on Flipkart Pay
IBS Intelligence, Posted January 30, 2024
Flipkart, India’s homegrown eCommerce marketplace, has announced the launch of a credit card bill payment feature on Flipkart Pay, further strengthening its position in the payment space.
The newly introduced category aims to enable convenient payments for millions of Flipkart customers while driving growth for the Recharges and Bill Payments category on Flipkart Pay via the Bharat Bill Payment Service (BBPS).
Credit card bill payments have emerged as a key category on BBPS, ranking as the fifth-largest in terms of transaction count. The share of credit card bill payments in transaction value reached 62% of all BBPS payments after the RBI mandate to route credit card bills through Bharat Connect in July.
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Tap, pay, spend: How digital payments are surging in Southeast Asia & India
IBS Intelligence, Posted February 5, 2024
Consumer spending in Southeast Asia and India is poised for a massive 122% increase over the next decade, outpacing other emerging markets such as Latin America (57%) and Africa (103%), according to new data from the World Data Lab (WDL).
This remarkable growth, featured in EBANX’s latest Beyond Borders report, underscores the transformative impact of eCommerce and digital payments in these regions.
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Europe
European embedded banking startup Swan adds another $44M to its Series B
Tech Crunch, Posted January 29, 2024
French startup Swan has raised another €42 million (around $44 million at current exchange rates). The company considers this round as the second part of the Series B that was originally announced in September 2023.
Swan helps other companies offer financial products at scale. The company can generate both virtual and physical cards that work with Apple Pay and Google Pay. Cards can be configured programmatically by Swan’s corporate clients with spending limits, authorized merchants, and more.
It can also create payment accounts with an individual IBAN. This way, accounts support pay-ins, pay-outs, and even SEPA direct debits. These accounts can be used as the source of money for the payment cards.
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Use of AI in banking, pensions and other financial services to be subject of new inquiry by MPs
Committees Parliament UK, Posted February 3, 2024
A new inquiry by the Treasury Committee will consider the potential impacts of the increased use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in banking, pensions and other financial services.
The Committee’s call for evidence is now open, as it seeks to understand how financial services can utilise AI whilst protecting consumers against potential risks.
Figures recently published from the Bank of England show that 75% of firms are already using AI, with a further 10% planning to use it over the next three years. However, the launch of ‘DeepSeek’ reminded observers of the volatility and rapidly evolving nature of the AI market.
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Deutsche Bank & Yonyou help Chinese enterprises to go global
IBS Intelligence, Posted February 4, 2024
Deutsche Bank (China) and Yonyou Network Technology (Yonyou) have signed an MoU in Beijing. The partnership aims to establish a new global financial services model with Global Treasury Management (GTM) at its core, driving innovation in digital financial services and supporting the globalisation strategies of Chinese enterprises.
Under the MoU, the two parties will focus on GTM by connecting Yongyou’s treasury management system with Deutsche Bank’s financial system to enable seamless data access and instruction transmission. This collaboration will help enterprises optimise financial resources, reduce costs, and enhance risk control. The partnership aims to deliver efficient domestic and cross-border payment solutions. Leveraging Deutsche Bank’s international network and platform will streamline financial management processes and enhance the global cash operations of Chinese enterprises expanding overseas.
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Froda, Posted January 30, 2024
Froda, a leading provider in SME financing, has strengthened its partnership with the European Investment Fund (EIF), by securing an additional lending capacity of €100 million. This builds on an existing €50 million guarantee, bringing the total to €150 million and extending Froda’s financing reach across all 27 EU member states. The agreement marks Froda as the first company to establish an EU-wide microfinance partnership with the EIF, providing critical financing support to SMEs across Europe.
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USA
Fintech startup Cushion shuts down after 8 years and over $20 million in funding
Tech Crunch, Posted January 30, 2024
Cushion, a fintech startup that described itself as the “Plaid for buy now, pay later (BNPL),” has shut down.
On Thursday, founder and CEO Paul Kesserwani posted on LinkedIn about the decision to wind down the company at the end of 2024.
In the post, Kesserwani said that “despite bringing multiple new fintech products to market,” Cushion “didn’t reach the scale needed to sustain the business.”
Founded in late 2016, San Francisco-based Cushion had raised a total of $21.6 million from investors such as Afore Capital, Flourish Ventures, Vestigo Ventures, Better Tomorrow Ventures, and 500 Global.
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FICO Announces Plan to Add BNPL to Credit Score Calculations
PYMNTS, Posted February 4, 2024
Following a joint study with buy now, pay later (BNPL) firm Affirm, FICO has said that it is planning to add BNPL data to its credit score analysis.
The analytics firm said in a Tuesday (Feb. 4) news release that over the course of a year, it had studied how BNPL usage — if incorporated into its FICO scoring system through a simulation — could raise FICO scores for some new BNPL borrowers.
“Given the growing popularity of BNPL loans, understanding how to effectively capture the benefit that BNPL data can have on FICO Scores is crucial to all stakeholders in the credit ecosystem,” said Ethan Dornhelm, vice president of scores and predictive analytics at FICO, said in the news release.
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Jack Henry and Moov to Implement Visa Direct to Enable Fast, Seamless Payments
Jack Henry, Posted January 30, 2024
Jack Henry™ (Nasdaq: JKHY) announced today its collaboration with Visa, the world leader in digital payments, to offer Visa Direct through Jack Henry Rapid Transfers™. The addition of Visa Direct, which facilitates the delivery of funds directly to eligible cards, bank accounts, and wallets around the world, is part of Jack Henry’s previously announced alliance with Moov to enable community and regional financial institutions to offer robust and comprehensive digital payment services to consumers and small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).
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LatAm
Kanastra raises an undisclosed amount from Itaú’s Kinea Ventures
Latam List, Posted February 6, 2024
Brazilian fintech Kanastra raised an undisclosed amount from Kinea Ventures, Itaú’s CVC fund. Itaú is a customer of Kanastra. The funding comes after their Series A round in June 2024.
Kanastra is a tech-enabled capital markets infrastructure provider that offers management and custody of securities, issuance of securitized assets, and ancillary services like escrow accounts.
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NeoSpace raises $18M in a round led by Itaú
Latam List, Posted February 4, 2024
Brazilian fintech NeoSpace raised a $18M round led by Itaú. Itaú invested $15M, while Martín Escobari, Micky Malka, Nigel Morris, and Hans Morris invested the remaining $3M. As part of the deal, Itaú gets 12 months of exclusive use of NeoSpace’s conversational AI and perpetual exclusivity for co-developed products.
NeoSpace offers AI products tailored to financial institutions to improve customer interactions, credit offerings, and personalized services.
NeoSpace will use the funds to expand its offerings beyond financial institutions and enter international markets.
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Kuady and BridgerPay partner to enhance payment solutions across Latin America
Fintech Global, Posted February 6, 2024
Kuady, a digital wallet solution focused on financial inclusion, has partnered with BridgerPay, a global omnichannel payment orchestration platform, to expand seamless payment solutions for merchants across Latin America.
The collaboration aims to enhance the region’s digital payments ecosystem by providing merchants with access to a frictionless and localised payment experience across Chile, Peru, Mexico, Ecuador, and Argentina.
The partnership allows businesses using BridgerPay’s platform to integrate Kuady’s secure and user-friendly digital wallet into their payment offerings. This move is expected to optimise transaction processes and improve overall customer satisfaction.
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MercadoLibre’s payment processor offers Pix as Brazilian tourists flock to Argentina
Reuters, Posted February 4, 2024
MercadoLibre is now offering transactions using its payment processors in Argentina through Pix, the Brazilian instant payment system, as Brazilian tourists flock to the neighboring country for vacation, MercadoLibre told Reuters on Tuesday.
MercadoLibre’s (MELI.O), opens new tab payment processors, run by fintech arm Mercado Pago, have become ubiquitous for Argentines on the go and are popular for merchants looking for instant payments instead of waiting on credit cards to clear while their money depreciates.
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Brazil, Paraguay fintechs aim to process $100 mln in Pix transactions in 2025
Reuters, Posted January 31, 2024
Brazilian payment processor PagBrasil and Paraguayan Bancard announced on Friday a partnership to process transactions on Brazil’s widely popular Pix instant payment system, highlighting the growing interest from Latin American fintechs in the market.
The companies said they expect to process $100 million in Pix transactions by Paraguayans in Brazil in 2025, as foreigners embrace the payment method that since 2020 has become the country’s most widely used, surpassing cash, credit and debit cards.
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