Connecting the dots in payments | 2023 #4
Weekly news up to Thursday, 27th of April 2023
Hello, Payments Enthusiast!
Welcome to this dedicated Payments newsletter by Connecting the Dots and nice meeting you!
I look forward to the insights and connections we’ll get by interacting here.
📣 Weekly Takeaway:
European Payments Initiative aims to launch a unique, European-grown instant payment solution🇪🇺
👉What happened?
The European Payments Initiative agreed to buy Dutch payment company Currence iDEAL and Luxemburg-based app Payconiq;
With these new FinTech companies on board EPI will focus on launching a digital wallet and instant payments system in Germany and France by the end of the year, extending to additional European countries;
EPI is a European alliance of 16 banks and credit card processors, mainly based in France, Germany, and the Netherlands — such as BNP Paribas, Nexi, Deutsche Bank, Worldline, and ING;
🤔 Why is this relevant?
With the acquisition of Dutch payment method iDEAL and their technology-partner Payconiq International, EPI aims to use the proven iDEAL (instant) payments scheme as the foundation for a new, pan-European payment method;
EPI intends to roll out the offering to other European countries and add on new features such as Buy Now, Pay Later financing, as well as digital identity features and integrate merchant loyalty programs;
The new roadmap marks quite a pivot of what EPI was originally intended to be; an initiative launched by more than 30 banks and credit card processors to ‘build a European payment champion that can take on PayPal, Mastercard, Visa, Google, and Apple’;
Since its launch the EPI’s membership has shrunk with its shareholders base now made up of 16 members, which had to revise its ambitions;
The EPI is now focused on ‘creating an instant payment system that can transfer funds between accounts within seconds across several European jurisdictions;
Martina Weimert, CEO of the EPI, explained the decision to refocus was partly in response to legislation from the European Commission last year to help speed up the provision and take-up of instant payments;
“We see big potential for instant payments in Europe”, she told the Financial Times. “We have a European rule book but no solution.”
The burning question remains this: will this be the European answer to Google, Apple (Pay), PayPal and credit cards?
Curious to read your thoughts on the matter, feel free to share them in the comments👇
👉 Read the full Financial Times article here
💡Other notable things in Payments:
⭐️ P27 Nordic Payments withdrew its clearing license application from Finansinspektionen
🤝 Shopify has teamed up with Israeli B2B payments startup Melio to launch a new bill pay tool
I hope these quick bites have brought you up to speed again, and let’s keep a close eye on ‘Payments’ for the week to come..;-)
Cheerio and until the next,
Wouter & Marcel
Onwards to the other payments news!
The Top 100 Cross-Border Payment Companies for 2023: Market Map:
Published every year by FXC Intelligence, the market map recognizes the leading companies in cross-border payments worldwide, including publicly traded companies, startups, and private companies.
👀 NEWS HIGHLIGHT
Airwallex announced the launch of its global payments services in Canada which will empower Canadian businesses to tap into Airwallex’s global payments and financial platform.
📊 INFOGRAPHIC
The Indian payments landscape completely transformed over the last decade, catalyzed by a shift from cash, cards, and other traditional payment methods to real-time A2A payments, powered by the UPI network and mobile apps.
Figure 1 shows the rapid ascent of UPI-powered mobile payments while usage of cash, cards, and prepaid wallets diminished in the share of wallets.
📰 ARTICLE
The Nordic P27 initiative is the latest pan-European payments collaboration to fail.
As illustrated below in figure 1, failures in pan-European payment collaborations are not new as there have been several such initiatives in the past.
💡INSIGHTS
PayPay surpassed JPY 10trn in consolidated payment transaction volume in fiscal year 2022, reaching a record high.
Since launching its cashless payment service “PayPay” in October 2018, PayPay has been a driving force in the promotion of cashless payment services in Japan, and has reached this milestone exceptionally fast, compared to other domestic and international payment providers.
NOW, ON TO THE SUMMARY OF LAST WEEK'S NEWS
🔦 PAYMENTS HIGHLIGHTS
⭐️ P27 withdrawn its clearing licence application from Finansinspektionen, the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority.
⭐️ Klarna and Block slam ‘outdated’ UK buy now, pay later regulation proposals.
⭐️ Carbon launches a new feature, which allows customers to make direct transfers to merchants.
⭐️ Citi credit card holders can now pay in installments when using Amazon Pay during checkout at thousands of online shopping sites.
🌎 REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
UK 🇬🇧
Miura Systems announced the launch of its new Miura Android Smart POS payment device to make application development and ongoing management simple, seamless and secure.
Finaro announced a new strategic partnership with MultiPay, to boost in-store and online payment acceptance for merchants throughout the Nordics and UK.
Global Processing Services rebranded as “Thredd,” to reflect the company’s pivotal role in weaving together the different ‘threads’ of the global payments ecosystem.
EUROPE 🇪🇺
Paynt and Softpay announced a strategic partnership to meet the growing demand for contactless payment acceptance solutions.
Klarna came out with a ChatGPT plugin, to expand its personalized shopping tools and AI-powered features to further establish itself as not-just-another-BNPL.
Adyen partnered with Olo Inc. , to provide restaurant businesses with a faster and easier way to consolidate digital and in-store payments, apply for capital, and manage cash flow.
The European Payments Initiative plans to launch a pilot of a person-to-person instant payment program in France and Germany by the end of the year.
USA 🇺🇸
Shopify teamed up with Israeli B2B payments startup Melio to launch a new bill pay tool designed to allow U.S.-based merchant customers to manage their expenses and vendors via its platform.
ACI Worldwide teamed up with MagicCube to deliver secure and seamless contactless payments on commercial off-the-shelf smartphones and tablets using Tap to Pay.
Yield App partnered with Fiat Republic to introduce virtual fiat IBANs to customers, enabling seamless fiat deposits and withdrawals for EUR and GBP via SEPA Instant and UK FPS local payment rails.
Stripe announced the expansion of its revenue and finance automation suite to give businesses power over the entire lifecycle of their cash flow.
ConnexPay announces a partnership with Payouts Network. Through this partnership, ConnexPay launched new functionality that will enable payouts via Push-to-Card modalities.
FinTech Automation signed an agreement with the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston to be a provider of enabling financial technology for instant payment services on the FedNow Service.
LATAM
Belvo announced the acquisition of Skilopay, which will enable the company to expand its current portfolio of payment products, which now includes Open Finance payment initiation.
Nubank's payment platform, NuPay, is now integrated with the popular food delivery app iFood, allowing NuPay users to conveniently make purchases on the platform.
ASIA
The Securities Commission Malaysia announced the launch of a new electronic payment hub known as e-PATH to provide a more seamless and secure way for market participants and the public to make online payments to the SC.
PingPong Payments received an Electronic Money Institution license from the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority which will PingPong to expand its services in the United Kingdom and the broader European market.
PPRO signed a strategic agreement with NPCI International Payments Limited to offer global partners access to Unified Payments Interface for cross-border transactions.
AFRICA
Unlimint, is set to launch its operations in Nigeria, after receiving its Payment Solution Service Provider License from the CBN.
South African Reserve Bank announced the launch of PayShap, a real-time rapid payment platform that is aimed at offering safer, faster, and significantly more convenient payment options for South Africans.
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
Former founder and CEO of Payworks, Christian Deger, joined the advisory board of payment optimization scale-up, Revio.
If you are a fintech startup and have over 100 questions send me an email, maybe I can answer a few.