Finextra Research: Latest fintech news, analysis, interviews, features and opinion by industry experts

Thai payments firm Synqa raises $80m

Thai fintech startup Synqa (formerly called Omise) has raised $80 million in a Series C funding round led by SCB 10X and Sparx Group.

22 June 2020

Company update/payments

E-commerce surges during Covid-19 lockdown

The way we shop is changing. With constraints imposed on our daily lives due to COVID-19, consumers are adopting new payment habits at an accelerated pace, according to a global study by Mastercard conducted in 15 markets.

18 June 2020

News/startups

MUFG invests in POS financing platform ChargeAfter

US multi-lender Point-of-Sale financing platform ChargeAfter has secured an investment from the venture capital arm of Japanese financial services giant MUFG.

10 June 2020

News/payments

Russian store goes cashierless with Sberbank and Visa

Russia's Sberbank has teamed up with Visa and retailer Azbuka Vkusa to open a cashierless store where customers simply take items from shelves and are automatically charged.

09 June 2020

News/payments

RBI gives $66 million shot in the arm to remote payments infrastructure

The Reserve Bank of India is to contribute $33 million to the creation of a Payments Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) with the aim of improving the digital and physical point-of-sale infrastructure in remote regions of the continent.

08 June 2020

Company update/payments

Shift4 Payments prices IPO at $23

Shift4 Payments, Inc. (“Shift4”) (NYSE: FOUR), a leading independent provider of integrated payment processing and technology solutions, today announced the pricing of its initial public offering of 15,000,000 shares of its Class A common stock at a public offering price of $23.00 per share.

05 June 2020

Company update/payments

Worldline launches SoftPos mobile terminal

SIX Payment Services, a Worldline Group company, the European market leader in electronic payments, together with the Polish fin-tech SOFTPOS, is launching a new, most comprehensive SoftPoS mobile terminal on the market, which can be installed as an application on any mobile device with the operating system Android 8.0 or newer.

04 June 2020

News/payments

More than half of UK payments in 2019 made by card

More than half of all payments in the UK were made by card last year as cash usage fell sharply, industry figures show.

04 June 2020

News/payments

Covid-19 delays New York subway contactless payments rollout

While Covid-19 is encouraging an uptick in contactless payments, the virus is set to stymie tap-and-pay for New York commuters by delaying the roll out of a new system, according to the Wall Street Journal.

03 June 2020

Company update/payments

Covid-19 accelerates Canadian move to digital payments

According to new data released by Interac Corp., payment transaction records show that today, more than ever, Canadian consumers and businesses are adopting digital methods to spend, send and receive money.

26 May 2020

Company update/payments

Citcon and Tulip team on QR mobile payments

Citcon, the leading mobile payment platform and Tulip, the global leader in store associate cloud-based mobile solutions, announced today a strategic partnership to enable QR mobile payment solution for luxury and fashion retail brands that will streamline their omnichannel payment process and increase revenue from global mobile wallet users.

25 May 2020

News/payments

Covid-19: UK small businesses accelerate transition to card payments

As people turn away from cash during the Covid-19 pandemic, NatWest has seen a significant increase over the last two months in UK businesses moving to accept card payments.

22 May 2020

Company update/cloud

TNS puts payments in the cloud

Merchant acquirers, processors and other payment terminal estate owners can now connect their cloud services to the global payments ecosystem using the new secure TNSConnect Cloud solution from Transaction Network Services (TNS).

20 May 2020

News/payments

PayPal rolls out QR Code payments to 28 markets worldwide

PayPal has launched payment by QR codes in the UK and 27 other markets around the world, providing a touch-free way for businesses to receive payments and for consumers to make purchases during Covid-19.

19 May 2020

News/payments

Smart receipt app Slyp wins CBA backing

Digital receipt startup Slyp has become the first fintech to count each of Australia's big four banks as shareholders and strategic partners after signing a deal with Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

11 May 2020

News/payments

Pandemic will lead to push for touch-free technology

Touch-free shopping and payments could be one of the lasting legacies of the Covid-19 outbreak, as consumers shy away from devices - like ATMs - that require manual keying, according to research from product and design agency Foolproof.

04 May 2020

News/payments

Tencent buys stake in Aussie buy-now-pay-later outfit Afterpay

Chinese tech giant Tencent has bought a five per cent stake, worth around A$390 million, in Australian buy-now-pay-later firm Afterpay.

01 May 2020

News/payments

Covid-19 spurs contactless payments takeup - Mastercard

As shoppers around the world adjust to social distancing measures, more than three quarters are now using contactless payments, according to a Mastercard study covering 19 countries.

30 April 2020

News/payments

UK cash withdrawals plummet 60% during Covid-19 lockdown

The Covid-19 pandemic is radically changing cash usage in the UK, with ATM withdrawals falling 60% during the lockdown and three quarters of Brits reporting that their use of paper money is down.

29 April 2020

Company update/payments

Visa supports move in UAE to increase PIN-free contactless transaction limits

Visa (NYSE: V) today announced that it welcomes the UAE Central Bank’s move to increase the Card Verification Method (CVM) limit for contactless transactions in UAE to AED 500 (from AED 300).

29 April 2020

Eftpos