Friday October 23, 2020 –
Here are the new and noteworthy stories we have been following this week.
Household Access to Banks Improved But Could Be Driven Lower by Covid-19, FDIC Says
According to the FDIC, the unbanked rate declined to 5.4% in 2019 from 6.5% in 2017; despite this overall improvement, unbanked rates continue to be high among lower-income households, less-educated households, Black households, and Hispanic households.
Visa invests in GPS
Visa has made an investment in UK-based card issuer processor Global Processing Services (GPS) along with PE firm Dunedin; GPS supports over 100 clients including a number of challenger banks (Revolut, Starling, Xinja, etc.) with their card and payment processing needs.
ShopUp raises $22.5 million to digitize millions of mom-and-pop shops in Bangladesh
Bangladesh-based ShopUp has raised $22.5 million in a Series A round co-led by Sequoia India and Flourish Ventures; ShopUp has built a full-stack B2B commerce platform and provides three core services: a wholesale marketplace to secure inventory, logistics (including last-mile delivery to customers), and working capital.
Ant Group to launch $35 billion IPO after final nod from China regulator
The Ant Group has received final regulatory approval for the registration of its Shanghai offering clearing the last hurdle for its $35 billion Shanghai and Hong Kong dual-listed IPO; the IPO is expected to be the world’s largest exceeding Aramco’s $29.4 billion listing last year.
Mexican digital bank Klar snags $15 million in funding
Klar, a Mexican digital bank has raised $15 million in new funding to support its growth; Klar offers deposit and credit services focusing primarily on the unbanked segment, and since its launch last year has added about 200,000 customer accounts.
https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/36793/mexican-digital-bank-klar-snags-15-million-in-funding
JPMorgan Chase takes on Square and PayPal with smartphone card reader, faster deposits for merchants
Chase has launched a new payment service, ‘QuickAccept’ targeted at small businesses that lets them accept card payments via a contactless card reader or a mobile app and provides same day settlement and funding; the merchant services initiative is part of Chase’s new ‘Chase Business Complete Banking’ program.
PayPal to open up network to cryptocurrencies
PayPal is set to open up its business and network to cryptocurrencies; according to the company, its US customers will soon be able to buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrencies in their PayPal wallets, and starting next year will be able to make payments as well. (The service will be expanded to Venmo and other markets later in 2021).
Visa Tap to Phone Transforms Payment Acceptance for Sellers Worldwide
Visa is rolling out its ‘Tap to Phone’ service in 15+ countries with plans to expand to the US and other global markets; Tap to Phone is targeted at small and micro businesses and transforms Android smartphones or tablets into contactless, software-based point of sale (softPOS) terminals without additional hardware.
Lili, the All-in-One Banking App Designed for Freelance Workers, Raises $15 Million in Funding to Accelerate Growth and Support Expansive Customer Adoption
Lili the banking app designed for freelance workers has raised a $15 million funding round led by Group 11; Lili provides a bank account and debit card along with specific features that cater to gig economy workers – eg. real-time expense tracking and tax tools.
Adyen alums get €3 million to launch Silverflow, a cloud-native card payments platform
Silverflow, a new Dutch payments startup established by a group of ex-Adyen executives has raised a €2.6 million seed funding round led by Crane Venture Partners; Silverflow will be building a cloud platform for global payment processing that connects directly with the card networks.
https://tech.eu/brief/silverflow-seed-funding/
Alliance Data moves credit card processing to Fiserv
Alliance Data has announced that it will outsource its credit card issuer processing to Fiserv; Alliance Data currently has its own platform for credit card issuer processing and the transition to Fiserv is reportedly part of its “broader technology modernization efforts.”
https://www.finextra.com/pressarticle/84633/alliance-data-moves-credit-card-processing-to-fiserv
daVinci Payments to Combine with North Lane Technologies, Formerly Wirecard North America
Wirecard NA has rebranded to North Lane Technologies and will combine with daVinci Payments under the aegis of holding company Syncapay; initially North Lane and daVinci will operate independently but eventually it is expected that the companies will combine to best leverage internal capabilities and market opportunities.
