Friday July 19, 2019 –
Here are the new and noteworthy stories we have been following this week.
PayPal launches international money transfer service Xoom across Europe
PayPal is extending coverage of Xoom (which is currently available in the US and Canada) to 32 countries across Europe to grow its share in the international money transfer sector.
Brexit be damned: UK fintech sector sees record growth
UK fintech startups have received $2.9 billion of funding in the first half of this year and are on track to exceed last year’s record of $3.3 billion.
https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/34127/brexit-be-damned-uk-fintech-sector-sees-record-growth
Visa Acquires Payworks
Visa has acquired Payworks to offer merchants and acquirers an omnichannel payment acceptance solution leveraging Payworks in-store payment processing with the CyberSource digital payment management platform.
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190717005245/en/Visa-Acquires-Payworks
LG’s mobile payments platform LG Pay arrives in US
LG has launched its NFC-based mobile payment program LG Pay in the US starting with a set of six financial institutions.
American Express More Than Doubles Annual Profit
Amex reported strong Q4 financial results on the strength of cardholder spending and growth in balances, earning $2.01 billion in profits on revenues of $10.47 billion.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/american-express-more-than-doubles-annual-profit-11547760972
Money moves: Personal lender Oportun Financial files for a $50 million IPO
Oportun Financial, which provides installment loans to low and moderate income consumers with limited credit history, has filed with the SEC to raise up to $50 million in an initial public offering.
G7 warns on ‘serious risks’ posed by Libra and other digital coins
The Group of G7 countries and various global financial institutions are calling for a comprehensive regulatory framework before Libra and other digital currencies can be launched.
https://www.ft.com/content/a6cbf244-a926-11e9-984c-fac8325aaa04
As blockchain hype subsides, banks count the cost of early euphoria
According to research conducted by the World Economic Forum and Accenture, blockchain projects have failed to meet financial targets and overall commercial deployment has proved elusive.
Ally abandons credit card business for point-of-sale loan model
Ally is exiting its credit card arrangement with TD Bank and has decided to enter the POS financing space starting with the acquisition of Health Credit Services.
https://www.bankingdive.com/news/ally-credit-card-point-of-sale-loan/559131/
