Connecting the dots in payments | 2024 #20
Weekly Payments news up to Thursday, 16th of May 2024.
REPORT
658% growth in regional payment volumes since 2020, with a 78% YOY increase.
180% growth in consumers shopping online at least once a week in Saudi Arabia and 140% in UAE and Kuwait.
Preference for cash on delivery in the region halves from 41% in 2020 to 20% in 2023.
33% of MENA consumers report they've been a victim of payment fraud
In 2023, wallets accounted for 50% of global e-com spend (> $3.1T) and 30% of global POS spend (> $10.8T).
Consumer attraction to digital wallets isn’t a turn away from cards.
In card-dominated markets, card spend is simply shifting to digital wallets like Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal.
Viewed in total, card transaction values are at an all-time high and continue to rise.
👀 NEWS HIGHLIGHT
Tokenization is the process of replacing the value of sensitive payment details with unique identifiers (tokens).
These values can't be decrypted since they're not encrypted to begin with.
Service providers generate and store tokens to secure card data, but the only point of card info insulation is during the hand-off from merchant to service provider & vice versa.
📊 INFOGRAPHIC
💡INSIGHTS
NOW, ON TO THE SUMMARY OF LAST WEEK'S NEWS
⭐️ The hurdles payment processors face in an increasingly digital age.
⭐️ Payments-Company Waystar Plans to Restart IPO Pitch.
⭐️ Nets to offer Klarna payments to Nordic merchant customers.
⭐️ BlueSnap appoints Brian Greenfield as chief financial officer.
🌎 REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
UK 🇬🇧
Checkout.com, a leading global digital payments provider, launched its latest product designed for global enterprises: Flow is a clever bit of code that helps you boost conversions, stay compliant, and enter new markets fast.
EUROPE 🇪🇺
Check Raises €624,000 in Investment Round for QR Order&Pay Tech. This investment underscores the project’s considerable potential and supports Check’s strategic growth.
Worldline and Visa partner for OTA payments. Worldline has partnered with Visa to introduce a new virtual card-issuing solution, expanding Worldline's scope from payment processing to direct card issuance.
USA 🇺🇸
Fractal, a new FinTech platform exclusively servicing SaaS companies, announces the launch of the most efficient payment processing services in the U.S. Founded by industry veterans, Fractal is taking household names in the payments industry head-on by offering simpler service with up to 30% savings.
Same Day ACH and B2B Propel ACH Network Growth in the First Quarter. A 47% increase in Same Day ACH volume helped lead the way as the ACH Network began 2024 by handling 8.2 billion payments in the first quarter.
Pagos, a leading provider of payments optimization solutions, announced the launch of Pagos Copilot, an AI-powered tool for instant payment intelligence.
LATAM
Rome offers open loop transit payments to UnionPay cardholders. The service, which is already available to passengers with Mastercard, Visa, and American Express cards, has already been extended and is currently active for UnionPay cardholders.
Paytech Kueski Pay and BBVA team up to promote "buy now, pay later" in Mexico. The main objective of this alliance is to facilitate access to electronic payments for millions of Mexicans, without the need for credit cards or cash, and thus stimulate online economic activity.
ASIA
Emirates NBD and Nium join forces. Nium has partnered with Emirates NBD, a banking group in the MENAT region, to provide customers with a global payments solution.
Mastercard starts domestic payments processing in China. Mastercard NetsUnion JV began processing payments made in China with Mastercard cards issued by the country’s banks.
XREX Singapore, a blockchain-enabled financial institution specialising in cross-border payments in emerging markets, announced that it has obtained the Major Payment Institution (MPI) Licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the nation's central bank and financial regulator.
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
Thredd announces the expansion of its product and delivery teams with four recent senior appointments: Amit Bhargava as Global Head of Issuer Solutions, Ryan Dew as Global Head of Product Solutions, Cindy Custers assumes the newly created role of VP Network Partnerships & Money Movement, and Yash Piplani, appointed as Head of Technical Product Management.
BlueSnap appoints Brian Greenfield as chief financial officer. Brian joins BlueSnap from ArborKnot, an Israeli financial services company he co-founded, and where he served as CEO.