Telkom launches Africa’s first virtual card for transacting on WhatsApp
Telkom Pay users can now use WhatsApp to pay any merchant that accepts Mastercard.
E-commerce
Irish start-up Wayflyer raises $76m in Series A funding round
Funds from the raise will be used to support Wayflyer’s product development and international expansion.
2021 PayTech Awards hosted by Darren Harriott
Register for the free digital ceremony and networking on 8 July 2021.
CBA invests in online shopping start-up Little Birdie and energy retailer Amber
The Aussie bank is seeking to add value and increase engagement for its digital banking offering.
Resolve lands $60m to grow buy now, pay later B2B offering
Resolve was spun out from buy now, pay later (BNPL) company Affirm in 2019.
Fintech funding deals globally 17-23 May 2021
Featuring Trade Republic, Pine Labs, Figure, DailyPay, and Sunbit.
UK payments industry reacts to second SCA deadline extension
Many firms are still unhappy with “the disruption” SCA is presenting.
Shortlist announced for PayTech Awards 2021
Register for the digital gala and networking on 8 July 2021 – it’s free to attend and open to everyone.
Meeting omnichannel expectations in the new retail landscape
The use of connected retail now holds more potential than ever.
Greek fintech Viva Wallet lands $80m from Tencent, EBRD
Viva is in the midst of launching a credit service for merchant customers.
New Swiss fintech Klarpay targets digital entrepreneurs
The start-up aims to bridge the gap between business banking and e-commerce.
Tamara scores MENA’s largest Series A round with $110m investment
The BNPL provider aims to reach all GCC markets by the end of the year.
FIS expands payment processing in Malaysia, South Africa and Nigeria
“Emerging markets across Southeast Asia and Africa present fresh opportunities”.
Signifyd raises $205m in Series E featuring FIS
Antifraud firm calls 2020 a landmark year in its history.
Cuba’s only telco ETECSA granted payment provider licence
The firm can now convert customers’ balances into electronic money.
Modulr lands undisclosed investment from FIS Ventures
“Modulr lowers the barriers to bringing payments into a platform”.
Stripe takes first step into Middle East with UAE expansion
Digital payment transactions in the UAE during 2020 reached $18.5 billion.
US retail trade groups ask to join $5.54bn Visa and Mastercard lawsuit
The two bodies want permission to become parties in the lawsuit.
PPRO boosts unicorn round up to $270m with JP Morgan
PPRO says it doubled its transaction volumes over 2020.
Fintech funding deals globally 15-21 March 2021
Featuring SumUp, eToro, Plaid, SecurityScorecard, and Coalition.
Web browser Opera hires ex-PayPal and Tencent exec to lead new fintech arm
The new EVP likens Dify’s potential to PayPal’s market disruptor status.
State of play: account-to-account (A2A) payments
In-depth analysis and understanding of the market landscape by our resident fintech analyst.
Russian Big Tech Yandex launches payment service
The local internet giant plans to rival Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, and Google Pay.
Amazon expands pay-with-hand tech, pushes on with digital currency
Amazon hopes to contract out the pay-with-hand technology to third parties.
Nigerian fintech Flutterwave lands unicorn status with $170m Series C
It is one of the few African start-ups to have secured more than $200 million in funding.
Kenyan start-up Powered by People raises $1.5m seed funding
The round was led by Matt Kalish of DraftKings and TBD Angels.
India’s central bank to stop digital platforms from storing card details
It will affect players as large as Amazon, Google, and Flipkart.
Stripe valuation rises to $115bn according to investors
The $115 billion figure is more than threefold its $36 billion valuation.
Dutch unicorn Mollie expands to UK for post-Brexit opportunities
Molllie says it wants to help merchants with European growth post-Brexit.
Banking Technology February 2021 issue out now
The roaring 20s.
Singapore’s central bank reviews BNPL regulation over debt fears
The MAS wants to ensure regulations are “risk-proportionate”.
Acquiring pricing models
A breakdown of the benefits and challenges presented by each merchant pricing model.
What’s in store for financial services in 2021?
A look at what the rest of this year might have in store for the world of financial services and fintech.
2021 fintech predictions
Staring into the crystal ball for signs of what we could see over the course of the year from the industry.
Mastercard plans to raise fees for UK purchases from EU
“This smacks of opportunism,” says Kevin Hollinrake, chair of Fair Business Banking.
Rapyd raises $300m in Series D, plans more acquisitions
It will double the engineering and product teams and expand the “self-service” element of the platform.
Ten trends set to influence the payments industry
The financial services and payments sectors have a bright future, should these trends continue to develop.
Indonesia’s BukuKas lands $10m led by Sequoia Capital’s Indian arm
BukuKas says it already serves some 3.5 million customers.
Checkout.com valued at European record $15bn after $450m raise
Profitable since it began, Checkout is an attractive proposition for investors.
UK payments acquirer Unlimint powers on with “aggressive” LatAm expansion
In November, the fintech rebranded to Unlimint from ‘Cardpay’ as part of its expansion plans.
