Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

10 December 2024

Estimated Read time

5Mins

Join FinTech’s greatest event when Money20/20 Europe returns to Amsterdam’s RAI Arena June 3-5 2025

FinTech Strategy is proud to be a media partner for Money20/20 Europe 2025.

Launched by industry insiders in 2011, Money20/20 is the heartbeat of the global fintech ecosystem. Some of the most innovative, fast-moving ideas and companies have found their feet (and funding) on its show floor. From J.P. Morgan, Stripe, and Airwallex to HSBC, Deutsche Bank, and Checkout.com.

Furthermore, this is where you’ll find new connections, business-critical insights from inspirational speakers, innovation, and partnerships you need to ensure your business succeeds for whatever comes next in money.

Why Money20/20?

FinTech Strategy spoke with a host of leaders from across the FinTech spectrum. They all agreed on one thing, Money20/20 Europe is ‘the’ place to make connections and build your business.

Gurdeep Singh Kohli, Founder, SC Ventures

“It’s the first time I’ve attended Money 20/20 and, we’ve had some fascinating impromptu conversations that will lead to great opportunities. All the big names are here and it’s clearly a popular event from a thematic perspective – payments is a big theme this year. I have a very high regard for the quality of what’s on offer and the way the event has been organised – it’s a great customer experience, the way it’s all been structured, at scale, is actually one of the best I’ve ever seen. The response has been fantastic…”

Stephen Everett, MD Payables & Receivables, Lloyds Banking Group

“The majority of people at Money20/20 genuinely get up in the morning with a growth and innovation mindset. Therefore, you have to balance and recognise that when you walk into this big venue that there will be some wacky ideas. From my experience, I have seen many infant ideas turn into successful ventures, whereas I have also seen some ventures becoming unsuccessful despite having great innovation ideas. Fintechs will fail. Innovation will fail. Experiments will fail. And that’s fine. That’s what Money20/20 is all about.”

Michelle Prance, CEO, Mettle (Nat West Group)

“It’s good for Mettle to come here because we are a fintech that was incubated inside a large bank (Nat West) for fintechs. Quite often their route to market, route to capitalisation, is by going into a main bank being acquired. So, it’s that marriage between a big organisation and the small nimble fintech. People are really interested in what we’re doing because big incumbents want to be fast and nimble. They don’t always have the capital to invest in something like we’ve been able to do with Mettle. So, they’re interested to know the right route to go down. Do they incubate in house? Or do they buy it in? And what’s the right way to do that without killing the culture? These are the types of interesting conversations we’ve been having here.”

Ryan O’Holleran, Head of Sales, AirWallex

“The great thing about Money20/20, here in Europe, and in Asia and the US, is the good division between buyers and sellers. So, you have all these service providers like AirWallex, Amex, Stripe… And then you have the Heads of Payments from companies like Booking.com, Minted and Summit who are coming here with their team to meet with providers. If you think about that from a sales perspective, those meetings are very hard to get outside of this environment. But over a week you get 15 different meetings each day with that would normally take months to arrange. So, the ROI from this week is really powerful just from being able to have these conversations.”

Merusha Naidu, Global Head of Payments, Paymentology

“Paymentology is homegrown out of the UK so it’s important for us to make sure we’re representing the business across Europe. This is the centre of the world for banking innovation. We have customers here from Singapore, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Ghana and beyond. People look to this event to really learn about what’s happening in the industry globally and discover what trends are going to come up. What should we be doing? How can we innovate together and learn from each other? That’s one of the things I really love about Money20/20; the talks in all of the panels are so interesting and I always leave knowing more. Being in the payments industry, and especially being an issue processor, it’s important for us to learn from the industry and understand where we need to move so that we can stay at the forefront of developments.”

Zak Lambert, Product Lead & Europe Lead, Plaid                                                                            

“This is my sixth straight Money20/20 and it gets busier every year! It’s great to learn more about the ecosystem at large. You can see developing trends each year, and it’s always a little bit different. You build relationships at Money20/20 that stay with you for the rest of your life. And it’s a perfect opportunity to meet people in the flesh that you might normally only see on screen. You can get a pretty direct read on what they’re working on and it’s exciting to be here making new connections.”

Book Your Money20/20 Europe Pass Now

To get a flavour of what you can expect from next year’s conference check out our review of Money20/20 Europe 2024.

Book your pass now and save €200 with the code FTS200.

  • Artificial Intelligence in FinTech
  • Digital Payments
  • InsurTech
  • Neobanking

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

27 November 2024

Estimated Read time

3Mins

Yuno enables organisations to transform online checkout experiences, allowing customers to pay securely without the need for passwords

Yuno, a leading global payment orchestrator, announces that Mastercard’s Click to Pay at checkout is now available to all Yuno clients.

Click to Pay helps improve customer experience by ensuring purchases can be made securely and quickly with just a few clicks. It significantly decreases the instances of cart abandonment that plague the e-commerce industry. According to Mastercard research, nearly two-thirds of shoppers still struggle through manually entering their card details. Around 25% of carts are abandoned because checkout is too complex or slow. The average online shopping cart abandonment rate worldwide reached 70.19% in 2023, according to Statista. This resulted in an estimated $260 billion recoverable loss in e-commerce sales annually in the US and EU alone. Plus, fraud rates are seven times higher online than in stores. Criminals exploit exposed card numbers, creating headaches for cardholders and huge losses for merchants and card issuers.

Click to Pay with Yuno and Mastercard

Yuno’s single-click Click to Pay integration, which is enabled in 40 markets across the world, goes beyond just reducing cart abandonment. It also translates to increased sales and conversions for merchants with digital payments. Yuno offfers a secure and familiar digital checkout option trusted by millions of cardholders worldwide. It empowers businesses to boost customer confidence and improve the shopping experience. Yuno’s ability to offer Mastercard Click to Pay access to merchants is especially crucial for businesses expanding into new markets, where brand recognition can be a challenge. With Yuno, merchants can offer a globally recognised payment solution that eliminates friction at checkout almost anywhere in the world.

Yuno

Juan Pablo Ortega, Co-Founder and CEO at Yuno, commented: “At Yuno, we are constantly seeking out the best solutions to streamline payment processes and enhance security, while delivering speed. Making Mastercard’s Click to Pay at checkout feature easy to integrate for all of our customers supports our commitment to removing barriers to global commerce. We’re making sure our customers can focus on running their businesses without any unnecessary headaches.’’

Mastercard

Diego Szteinhendler, Senior Vice-President, Fintechs, Merchants and Digital Platforms, Mastercard Latin America and the Caribbean, added: “Digital consumers expect an intuitive, frictionless and secure experience. To support this demand, we’ve built a robust digital infrastructure with a suite of acceptance and payment services, including Click to Pay. Through partnerships like the one with Yuno these are becoming available to millions of consumers across Latin America and beyond.”

Yuno’s clients, including Viva Aerobus, Bacu, and Habibs, have already begun taking advantage of Mastercard Click to Pay at Checkout via Yuno. It is helping them deliver a secure and convenient user experience for their customers across the globe.

About Yuno

Yuno has emerged as a dominant force in global payment orchestration, with a core mission to empower global commerce by enabling businesses of all sizes to accept and disburse payments anywhere in the world, fostering financial inclusion. It enables businesses to access over 300 payment methods worldwide as well as innovative features including one-click checkout, smart routing, and robust anti-fraud tools via a single unified, easy-to-use interface. Yuno serves a global customer base that includes McDonald’s, inDrive, Rappi and other renowned brands across more than 80 countries.

  • Digital Payments

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

21 November 2024

Estimated Read time

2Mins

Mastercard integrates its Multi-Token Network (MTN) for tokenized deposits and tokenized assets with Kinexys Digital Payments (formerly JPM Coin)

Mastercard’s blockhain Multi-Token Network (MTN) has connected to Kinexys Digital Payments as a payment settlement solution. This will enhance the availability of B2B cross-border payments to business applications on MTN.

Kinexys Digital Payments is a next-generation payment rail powering real-time value transfer. Also, it uses commercial bank money and is offered through Kinexys by J.P. Morgan, the firm’s Blockchain business unit.

Mastercard’s MTN Blockchain meets JP Morgan’s Kinexys

Mastercard’s MTN brings together a set of API-enabled, blockchain-based tools and standards for innovative business models under one platform.

Kinexys by JP Morgan and Mastercard are respectively providing solutions designed to improve the efficiency of commercial transactions. Furthermore, these solutions aim to improve the cross-border payment experiences common for such transactions. They will achieve this by providing greater transparency and faster settlement as well as reducing time zone friction.

By integrating Mastercard MTN’s connectivity with Kinexys Digital Payments, mutual customers of MTN and Kinexys will be able to settle B2B transactions through a single API integration.

Kinexys – JP Morgan’s Blockchain business unit

“At Kinexys, we believe our solutions can play a transformative role in the ecosystem for digital global commerce and digital assets, where the value proposition of commercial transaction venues is enhanced by the availability of commercial bank payment rails that can natively integrate with any digital marketplace or platform. We look forward to supporting our clients engaging with the MTN ecosystem and collaborating further with Mastercard in the digital space.”

Naveen Mallela, Co-Head of Kinexys by JP Morgan

MTN – Mastercard’s Multi-Token Network

“For years, both Mastercard and Kinexys by JP Morgan have been committed to innovating for the future of digital asset and commercial infrastructure. By bringing together the power and connectivity of Mastercard’s MTN with Kinexys Digital Payments, we are unlocking greater speed and settlement capabilities for the entire value chain. Moreover, we are excited about this integration and the new use cases it will bring to life, leveraging the strengths and innovations of both organisations.”

Raj Dhamodharan, executive vice president, Blockchain and Digital Assets at Mastercard

  • Blockchain
  • Digital Payments

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

5 November 2024

Estimated Read time

3Mins

New collaboration between Plumery and Payment Components
will enable financial institutions to adopt instant payments without overhauling existing core banking infrastructure

Plumery, a digital banking experience platform for customer-centric banking, has announced a new partnership with Payment Components, a leader in payments and open banking solutions. By decoupling digital experience and payments processes from legacy systems, institutions can now innovate more flexibly and efficiently. They can streamline operations while maintaining their existing core banking frameworks.

Progress for Payments

By leveraging Plumery’s innovative approach and Payment Components’ expertise, this partnership allows clients to accelerate time-to-market and future-proof operations against regulatory shifts such as the Instant Payments Regulation (IPR). Financial institutions can offload the burden of implementing new digital channels and instruments, such as real-time payments, without altering their core systems.

The IPR aims to make instant payments fully accessible to consumers and businesses across the EU. Currently only a minority of service providers support instant payments. While such regulatory changes usually impact core banking infrastructure, the Plumery and Payment Components partnership ensures these systems remain unaffected.

“This partnership is crucial for institutions needing to rapidly modernise without overhauling their entire infrastructure. Together, we offer a powerful, flexible solution that enables our clients to embrace innovation while staying ahead of regulatory changes like the IPR. Adding Payments Components to our partner ecosystem solidifies our commitment to creating cutting edge solutions that embrace digitisation.”

Ben Goldin, Founder and CEO of Plumery 

This global partnership offers a streamlined path to modernisation, enabling financial institutions to stay compliant, competitive and responsive to ongoing market shifts with solutions ready to support firms as they navigate the evolving financial landscape.

“Our collaboration with Plumery will empower financial institutions to seamlessly adopt modern payment technologies, addressing the complexities of regulatory changes, all while minimising disruptions to existing systems. We wanted to work with Plumery because both our company’s share a similar approach, work ethic and most importantly because of the compatibility of our products.”

Sotirios Nossis, Founder and CEO of Payment Components

Plumery

Headquartered in the Netherlands, Plumery’s mission is to empower financial institutions worldwide, regardless of size, to craft distinctive, contemporary, and customer-centric mobile and web experiences.

Plumery operates with a diverse team that embodies a unique combination of seasoned expertise and vibrant innovation. This blend has been cultivated through years of experience at start-ups, scale-ups, and established financial institutions, and most notably at globally leading financial technology companies, where they were instrumental in creating disruptive digital banking solutions and platforms that now serve 300+ banks globally.   

Plumery’s Digital Success Fabric platform provides banks with the foundation for success beyond fast-time-to-market by expediting the development of their digital front ends while significantly cutting costs compared to in-house initiatives or solutions with high total cost of ownership (TCO). 

Payment Components

At Payment Components, we’re reshaping the fintech landscape on a global scale. Today, our solutions are essential for more than 65 banks and financial institutions across 25 countries. We provide componentized solutions in a range of domains, including AI banking, open banking, account-to-account payments, and financial messaging technology. We achieve this through continuous innovation, building software components that help financial institutions become digital champions and deliver richer payment services to their clients. Our name reflects our belief: complicated processes in the financial industry will be replaced by AI-assisted dedicated components. We stand for simplicity, speed, and constant innovation

  • Digital Payments
  • Neobanking

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

1 November 2024

Estimated Read time

5Mins

Money20/20, operates the world’s leading fintech events in Europe, Asia and USA and is “the place where money does business”….

Money20/20, operates the world’s leading fintech events in Europe, Asia and USA and is “the place where money does business”. Money20/20 USA has unveiled seven startups poised to transform the financial sector. The selected startups are Brightwave, Casap, Eisen, Footprint, NALA, Ntropy, and Zumma. They were revealed during the Startup Media Session on October 29th in Las Vegas. The Startup Media Session was designed as part of the event’s goal to support startups at the intersection of finance and business.

“Money20/20 USA is focused on what drives the conversations most relevant to the FinTech industry. From economic and regulatory uncertainty to the future of payments and the impact AI will have on money moving forward. We are proud to highlight the work these startups are doing to move this industry forward.”

Scarlett Sieber, Chief Strategy and Growth Officer at Money20/20

Brightwave

Brightwave is the leading AI platform for financial services. It delivers accurate and insightful financial research enabling finance professionals to make better decisions faster. Its purpose-built AI systems synthesize insights across thousands of pages of primary sources. It can automate the most tedious parts of investing workflows and help users spot opportunities others have missed.

“Being named one of the Top 7 Startups at Money20/20 is a strong acknowledgment of the strides we’ve made in transforming how investment research is done. We’re also excited to announce our $15 million Series A funding at the world’s premier show for financial innovation. At Brightwave, we’re tackling one of the hardest problems in finance. We’re making sense of vast amounts of data to uncover deeper insights and relationships that others miss,” said Mike Conover, Founder and CEO at Brightwave.

Casap

Casap is an AI-powered disputes automation and fraud prevention platform. With built-in regulatory expertise and network integrations, Casap’s intelligent automation identifies fraudulent claims early. It delivers fast, frictionless dispute and chargeback resolution at a fraction of today’s cost.

“Money20/20 was the first conference I attended after starting Casap last year and it played a pivotal role in validating our vision. The connections, conversations, and insights I gained were invaluable. Exactly a year later, we’re back and launching out of stealth with live customers. We’re addressing some of the most pressing challenges in scaling payments. We’re starting with automating chargebacks and combating first-party fraud. We’re deeply grateful to Money20/20 for this opportunity to reach so many in the industry and help drive meaningful change in how payments are operated at scale,” said Saisi Peter, Co-founder of Casap.

Eisen

Eisen is the first escheatment automation solution that proactively manages the offboarding of dormant accounts, stale checks, wind-downs, and more. Financial institutions rely on Eisen to simplify the complex landscape of regulatory outreach, disbursement, and escheatment requirements. It ensures compliance while reducing operational risk.

“Money20/20 has been a cornerstone for Eisen since 2021, where the very idea for our company first sparked in the halls of the Venetian. It all started with conversations about the hardest challenges in FinTech. Each year, it’s helped us refine our vision and better serve our customers. For us, Money20/20 isn’t just about growth — it’s where Eisen began,” said Allen Osgood, CEO of Eisen.

Footprint

Footprint is a Series A identity company that has raised $20M from funds such as QED and Index Ventures. The company provides a single SDK that automates onboarding – KYC/KYB, fraud, security, and authentication – into an easy-to-integrate solution. Footprint works with leading companies across the Banking, Auto, and Real Estate sectors. Its technology portabalises identity, creating a centralised database of de-duplicated authentic identities.

“Money20/20 is at the vanguard of innovation. We’ve tried to be different at Footprint. Whether that be through our recent fraud indemnification program or our approach to labeling good actors. Some may think these are crazy ideas. But it is great to see Money20/20 continue to be where crazy can get a spotlight. That is how I would like to think true innovation happens,” said Eli Wachs, Co-founder and CEO of Footprint.

NALA

NALA is a global cross-border payments fintech company based in the US doing cross-border payments to emerging markets like Africa and Asia. It has two products, a consumer FinTech product enabling migrants to send money home and an infrastructure business called Rafiki, building payment rails for Africa. NALA recently became profitable and raised a $40m series A after achieving 10x revenue growth in 12 months.

“At NALA, we are on a mission to build payments for the next billion. Emerging markets are often overlooked but shouldn’t be underestimated as these regions have seen the fastest economic growth in the world. We have big ambitions for what we would like to achieve and have exciting plans in the pipeline in the coming years,“ said Benjamin Fernandes, Founder and CEO of NALA.

Ntropy

Ntropy is on a mission to organise the world’s financial data. 80% of the world’s financial data is unstructured and locked in transactions, documents, PDFs, and images. This means it is under-leveraged and cannot be used by models at scale. Ntropy was founded to solve this problem for any type of financial data, in any language, any geography, powering humans and more recently agents and agentic workflows in finance.

“Ntropy is processing hundreds of millions of transactions and documents weekly with over 98% accuracy, in under 100ms, 1000x faster, and cheaper than any other provider on the market. You can access Ntropy via our API-s directly, and more recently via NVIDIA NIM-s. This collaboration enables flexibility in deployment and allows our customers to scale immediately. This year’s Money20/20 has been about demonstrating the real value of GenAI and we have been very fortunate to have this exposure together with our partners at NVIDIA, Oracle, and AWS, who are accelerating Ntropy’s mission,” said Naré Vardanyan, Co-founder and CEO of Ntropy.

Zumma

Zumma is a financial copilot that automates and simplifies financial processes for Latin American businesses by leveraging existing tools they already use such as WhatsApp to save them time and money. The company is starting with automating expense management and expense invoicing processes, saving their customers more than $4,000 per employee per year in tax deductions.

“Being part of Money20/20’s Startup Media Session helps us spread the word about our product to the fintech community. The Money20/20 team has been key in our growth by connecting us to key players in the industry,” said Daniela Lascurain, COO and Co-founder of Zumma.

Launched by industry insiders in 2012, Money20/20 is the heartbeat of the global fintech ecosystem. Moreover, some of the most innovative, fast-moving ideas and companies have found their feet (and funding) on its show floor. From J.P. Morgan, Stripe, and Airwallex to HSBC, Deutsche Bank, and Checkout.com, Money20/20 is the place where money does business.

  • Digital Payments
  • Neobanking

Author

Gunnar Már Gunnarsson

Published

9 October 2024

Estimated Read time

4Mins

Gunnar Már Gunnarsson, Co-founder & CTO of PAYSTRAX on the potential for tokenisation to improve digital payments

The forward to the Bank of England’s most recent report on innovation in payments begins with the words:

“The concept at the heart of money is trust – a trust which is hard won but easily lost.”

In today’s financial climate, where digital transactions have become the norm, trust and security are more crucial than ever. However, 84% of consumers don’t completely trust online payments, and many drop out before they complete a purchase online due to safety concerns and a lack of payment options.

Tokenisation presents a way forward, offering an increased level of trust and efficiency that could tackle the concerns of consumers. And offer business increased security in the payments process. By replacing sensitive payment card information with unique identifiers (tokens), this technology provides a safe way to handle payment data from seller to consumer.

As the future of payments continues to evolve, safety, simplicity and global alignment will be essential. Tokenisation stands at the forefront of this with the potential to not only reduce fraud but also improve the customer experience.

An extra safeguard against cybercrime with tokenisation

The issue many businesses and customers face is that their data remains exposed during transactions. This increases the risk of fraud and company liability issues in the event of data breaches. Tokenisation technology replaces sensitive data with a unique, randomly generated string of symbols that cannot be easily interpreted. This provides an extra safeguard against cybercrime. This added level of security benefits both consumers and businesses. It can reduce vulnerabilities in everything from online purchases to mobile payments.

For merchants, this is particularly beneficial. By keeping sensitive information, such as customers’ card details, outside their own systems, they minimise the risk of security breaches. Tokenisation also helps businesses meet compliance standards, such as PCI-DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard). With no need to store or transmit sensitive data, companies can lower their security management responsibilities and reduce the overall costs of compliance. Tokenisation facilitates this easier compliance by deferring regulatory requirements across regions. Businesses can then rely on tokenised data instead of managing the security of the original PAN (Primary Account Number).

Enhancing the payment experience with tokenisation

Friction during transactions has long been an issue in finance, costing the industry $2 billion dollars a year in lost payments. Consumers increasingly expect faster and more seamless payments in all aspects of their life, from in store shopping to online purchases.

With tokenisation technology, the payment process becomes faster. Sensitive information no longer needs to be re-entered or verified externally during each transaction. This reduction in data exposure reduces the risk of fraud while maintaining the rapid pace of real-time payments. Overall this creates a secure and safe payment process for businesses while not interrupting the real-time user experience.

Frictionless payments aren’t the only benefit of tokenisation. With customers being more likely to complete purchases when a tokenisation system is in play, with Visa reporting that authorisation rates improve by 2.1% using the technology. This is mostly due to the dynamic card-on-file information that tokenisation provides. It reduces payment failures and ensures a smoother purchase process, with failed payments no longer an issue.

A final example for how tokenisation enhances payment experience both user and provider side can be found in B2B Cross-Border payments. The market is projected to grow significantly, with estimates indicating a 43% increase to reach $56.1 trillion by 2030. The risk of fraud grows with this, alongside increasingly in depth and complex international laws and national regulations, companies need both security, and to be customer facing in their plans. Technologies that secure payments and provide seamless transactions, like tokenisation, are pivotal in supporting this growth by reducing risks and improving efficiency.

The future of payments

As alternative payment methods and RTP networks continue to rise, tokenisation will be crucial in creating a global payments ecosystem that is both secure and frictionless. Visa has issued over 9.5 billion tokens globally, with Mastercard reporting over 50% year-over-year growth in tokenised transactions. This rapid adoption highlights the importance of tokenisation in building secure, efficient payment networks.

By reducing fraud, simplifying security management, and improving the overall customer experience, tokenisation is set to play a leading role in shaping the future of payments. Especially as digital and cross-border transactions become increasingly important.

It’s more than just a security measure. It’s a critical technology that enhances the entire payment ecosystem, making transactions faster, safer, and more efficient for all parties involved.

Gunnar Már Gunnarsson, Co-founder & CTO of PAYSTRAX

  • Cybersecurity in FinTech
  • Digital Payments

Author

Berkley Egenes

Published

7 October 2024

Estimated Read time

4Mins

Berkley Egenes, Chief Marketing & Growth Officer at Xsolla, on the legislation changing financial services

The European Union’s Digital Market Act has sent tremors through digital payments. The legislation is designed to stop Big Tech’s monopoly over vital online services, from search engines to messaging apps. But beneath the surface, one of the most fascinating battlegrounds is how the Digital Markets Act will impact the lucrative world of digital payments. A space long dominated by a few influential players. This will affect how industries, including the video game industry, monetise these services.

Big tech’s digital tollbooth

For years, the platform owners have controlled much of the infrastructure around digital payments. Major platforms have tightly controlled access, charging app developers and merchants fees for every transaction processed. Furthermore, they take hefty cuts from each purchase through their ecosystem. The impact of the Digital Markets Act may vary across different platforms. Some companies will need to adjust their models to fit the legislation. Others may push back or delay changes through legal and regulatory channels. 

The Digital Markets Act specifically targets a select group of ‘gatekeepers’, defined by their user base, revenue, and platform reach. Not every platform or company will be obligated to follow the Digital Markets Act’s rules. However, companies like Apple and Google, fall under the Digital Markets Act’s direct scope. The legislation now obliges these companies to open their platforms. This will allow smaller players and third-party services to operate without being strangled by eye-watering fees or exclusionary policies. 

The impact on monetisation with Digital Payments

The big question is how this will impact the business models of the gatekeepers and the developers who rely on these platforms. For years, the mobile platforms have depended on hefty commission fees. Often as high as 30%, these monetise digital payments within their ecosystems. These fees have been a central sticking point for developers, particularly video game studios, which sometimes generate billions in revenue through in-app purchases and microtransactions. 

Free-to-play mobile games specifically rely heavily on players making in-game purchases, from cosmetic skins to virtual currency. Under the current system, a significant chunk of that revenue is siphoned off by platform holders. They collect commissions on every transaction. This has forced game developers to either raise prices or accept slimmer margins while operating within the confines of strict payment policies. 

The Digital Markets Act is disrupting this current model. Game developers have been fighting the ability to direct players to alternative payment methods. They may now have the freedom and access to offer alternative ways to market and monetise their game while still having the player experience on the mobile phone. As a result, for the first time, consumers may be able to choose alternative payment processors. This potentially reduces costs for players and developers alike. 

For video game developers, particularly indie studios, the Digital Markets Act could represent a long-awaited relief from the large hold of app store economies. Developers can now distribute, market and sell their digital items and bundle packs through their online web shop or mobile SDK. By exploring these alternative options, developers will be retaining more of the profit per transaction. They could invest in better content or offer custom promotions to players – a win for both creators and consumers in the gaming industry across Europe.

Don’t ignore the challenges

The Digital Markets Act ushers in a brave new world of competition and choice for consumers, but it’s not all plain sailing. While the Digital Markets Act is designed to promote competition, the actual implementation of its provisions is still subject to regulatory developments and potential litigation. This means the full impact of the Digital Markets Act could take time to materialise. Moving towards a more open payment system demands a mountain of technical tweaks and a watchful eye from regulators. The real headache will be getting all these different payment systems to talk to each other while keeping security watertight. 

Consumers also have to consider how they will adapt to these changes. While there are many benefits, changing habits takes work. The success of the Digital Markets Act will depend on effective communication, education, and transparency to ensure consumers are aware of the new options and their benefits.

A new era for Digital Payments?

While the Digital Markets Act promises greater choice and a more level playing field, the road ahead will be anything but smooth. While the Digital Markets Act’s potential to break down monopolistic practices is significant, its effects may not be felt immediately. Regulatory processes, litigation, and slow consumer adoption could mean the transition to a more open digital payments landscape occurs gradually over time. Gatekeepers have maintained a firm grip on payment infrastructure for years, charging high fees that have eaten into developers’ profits. But with the Digital Markets Act tearing down some of these walls, game studios may have the flexibility to finally bypass gatekeepers and offer cheaper in-game purchases, subscriptions, and services directly to consumers.

While the Digital Markets Act opens doors for smaller developers and alternative payment options, it also forces companies to rethink their monetisation strategies. This could potentially pass new costs onto consumers in other ways. What is clear is that the digital payments landscape is in flux. How the tech giants, game developers, and consumers adapt to this new reality will define the future of monetisation in the digital economy. The game is far from over, and the real winners have yet to be decided.

Berkley Egenes, Chief Marketing & Growth Officer, Xsolla

  • Digital Payments

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

4 October 2024

Estimated Read time

7Mins

FinTech Strategy spoke with Ryan O’Holleran, Head of Sales, Enterprise, EMEA at Airwallex, to learn about the global payments and financial infrastructure provider

Airwallex, a financial infrastructure provider, offers a range of services. Including multicurrency accounts, payment acceptance card issuing, foreign exchange (FX) payouts, treasury and expense management. In addition to supporting small and medium-sized businesses, the company also provides APIs and a software layer for direct access to enterprise businesses. As well as an enterprise platform product called Scale. Airwallex has found success working across various industries. It works with the likes of Bird (formerly MessageBird) to handle global accounts and backend treasury, and partners with Qantas to offer financial tools for their business partners.

The company also enables faster and more efficient payments through its patchwork network of financial partnerships and licenses. Airwallex has experienced significant growth even during economic downturns. As of August this year, Airwallex globally processed transactions worth more than $100 billion annually and saw a 73 percent year-on-year increase. It is now focused on embedded finance solutions and global expansion.

At Money20/20 Europe, FinTech Strategy spoke with Airwallex’s Head of Sales, Enterprise, EMEA, Ryan O’Holleran, to find out more…

Tell us about the genesis of Airwallex?

“Our co-founder, Jack Zhang, started a coffee company in Melbourne, Australia, which is still around today, with a few friends from university. And while they were building out this coffee shop, they were buying beans from abroad, along with supplies and packaging. They found how hard it was to actually pay for services, send funds abroad and deal with multiple currencies. So, they saw an opportunity to help streamline the financial infrastructure for small businesses. That’s when Jack and his co-founders put Airwallex together and built out an initial SME’s use case to allow multicurrency accounts and FX payouts. Since then, the business has really expanded…

Today, Airwallex provides a set of APIs – we’re really providing financial infrastructure to move money globally. On those APIs, we also have a layer of software that we can offer direct access to enterprise businesses. The third part of this, which is kind of the new product over the last three years, is our enterprise platform product called Scale. Scale allows you to embed those financial services into a product as well as a platform or marketplace. So, you kind of think about it as a direct treasury product, APIs and a platform product.”

Tell us about your role at Airwallex?

“I’m originally from San Francisco, grew up in the Bay area, started in tech, did a couple of startups, and I actually got into payments via Stripe. I joined Stripe back when there were about 200 employees in San Francisco. Spent some time in Chicago and then moved to the UK initially with Stripe. I was there for about five and a half years, as we went from 200 staff to 6,000. At that point, I wanted to get back to something a little bit different. To help more cross-functioning with product and help scale businesses. The opportunity with Airwallex came along where I saw the company addressing many things my customers at Stripe were asking for.

So, the FX piece, mass payouts, treasury, all complimented what Stripe is doing with acquiring. Since I joined the team three years ago, we’ve been scaling across EMEA. We now have offices in London, Amsterdam, Vilnius and just last year launched our office in Tel Aviv to cover Israel. And we have teams in the Americas and APAC where Airwallex was founded.”

What are some of the key challenges financial institutions are facing that you can help them with? What problems are companies asking you to solve? In doing so, what are the challenges for Airwallex?

“We work in different areas. This is where I think we have differentiated the business and also where I see the industry moving. If you look back over the last five, 10 years, there was this approach where you had Stripe and all the major players coming in and saying, we can do things and we can do it really well and you only need to use us, you don’t need to use a patchwork of providers. I think that is starting to shift. You see this with orchestration layers like Primer or Gravy, allowing people to be agnostic on PSPs. And then you’re seeing people think about redundancy. So, the heads of payments we’re talking to this week are looking at two or three providers because they need redundancy or want to use the best provider in each region. They don’t want to be siloed.

Airwallex can be used in a segmented approach. So, if you just need us for payouts, you can do that. If you just need us for FX, you can do that. If you just need us for acquiring, you can do that. Or we could do that globally and you can adjust as you see fit. So, the flexibility of Airwallex I think is one of our superpowers.”

Tell us about some of the successful partnerships Airwallex has been involved in…

“The interesting thing about Airwallex is that since we’re providing financial infrastructure, there’s a huge variety of customers we work with. One of the local ones is Bird (a cloud communications platform that connects enterprises to their global customers). Using our software product they are creating global accounts, handling backend treasury, payroll, suppliers and more. We’ve also worked with Qantas to build out an SMB solution embedding all of the Airwallex financial services and they call it Qantas Business Money.          

Elsewhere, Brex in the US were looking for a provider to help with their payout rails. One of the things Airwallex has done is rebuilt the Swift network via local rails. So, we have a patchwork network of financial partnerships and licences where if you are located, let’s say in the US, but you want to pay somebody out in the UK, you get access to faster payment rails having never set foot in the UK or separate rails via Europe having never set foot in the EU. So, you get this mass payoff solution of local rails, which is faster, cheaper, and more efficient than using something like Swift.”

“I think where we’re seeing a lot of opportunities, in EMEA specifically, in B2B, vertical, SaaS, travel and marketplaces, is this embedded finance solution. It was kind of a buzzword a few years ago and now we’re actually starting to see it develop. I view it as actually embedding all of these financial services – whether it be a wallet, issued cards, or local multi-currency accounts – and being able to monetize that. So, we’re seeing this with a lot of our customers actually wanting to white label our products, embed that and bring payments on platform.”

And what’s next for Airwallex? What future launches and initiatives are you particularly excited about?

“The growth of Airwallex, specifically on a global scale, over the last few years is one thing I’m very proud of because it’s happened during one of the worst economic downturns we’ve experienced. FinTech was almost retracting in terms of budgets and investments. You’re starting to see the tide turn, but we were able to grow over 100 percent year on year, through some of the toughest times for business. And now we’re really starting to see that pick up because the businesses, who actually decided this is going to be a building year for us now, they’re going live, they’re accelerating, they’re growing.

And so we’re seeing the ROI of that investment. It’s a testament to the global financial infrastructure we’ve built. Meanwhile, Airwallex became cash flow positive in 2023. It now processes more than $100 billion in annualised transaction volume. The company now employs over 1,500 people worldwide working across 23 international offices.”

Why Money20/20? What is it about this particular event that makes it the perfect place to showcase what you do? How has the response been to Airwallex?

“The great thing about Money20/20, here in Europe, and in Asia and the US, is the good division between buyers and sellers. So, you have all these service providers like Airwallex, Amex, etc… And then you have the Heads of Payments from companies like Booking.com, Vinted and SumUp who are coming here with their teams to meet with providers. If you think about that from a sales perspective, those meetings are very hard to get outside of this environment. But over a week you get 15 different meetings each day that would normally take months to arrange. So, the ROI from this week is really powerful just from being able to have these conversations. Three years ago, we first came to suss out the event and as we’ve grown the response has grown. People are being proactive and keen to engage with us which is exciting to see.”

  • Digital Payments
  • Embedded Finance

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

3 October 2024

Estimated Read time

4Mins

Finch Capital report shows UK FinTech sector dominant across Europe

The latest annual State of European Fintech report by FinTech growth capital firm Finch Capital has been published. It shows the UK dominating Europe with 65% of deals in H1 2024. The UK is maintaining its dominance amid declining funding across the continent.

Highlights include:

  • Funding in UK FinTech increased 3% year-over-year to £2.3bn, highlighted by Monzo’s £500m deal.
  • UK sectors such as insurance set to gain from AI adoption, with 80% of actuaries using it for improved risk analysis.
  • FinTech sector beginning to see jobs market recover in Europe, up 10% YoY.

“The next wave of fintechs is shifting from unicorns to ‘half-a-corns,’ with £500m valuations becoming the new benchmark” Aman Ghei, Partner at Finch Capital

The UK has increased its dominant role in Europe’s FinTech sector. It now accounts for two thirds of the total volume of deals reached across the continent in the first half of this year. According to a new annual report analysing the sector, with investment and M&A anticipated to grow this year and into 2025. 

The annual State of European Fintech 2024 report found the UK is strengthening its position at the forefront of the European FinTech sector, despite an overall decline in funding across the continent. 

The report highlights the ongoing challenges faced by the sector. It notes that higher interest rates, a focus on cost efficiency and increased scrutiny on the sustainability of business models have driven the UK to account for around 65% of fintech deals in Europe.

Funding in the UK FinTech sector rose 3% YoY to £2.2bn compared with £1.9bn in H1 of last year. The largest deal done in Europe in H1 was UK’s Monzo, which raised £500m in equity. 

The European FinTech Picture

Overall, the 9th edition of the annual report,  authored and compiled by leading fintech growth capital firm Finch Capital, found that although it remains a challenging  environment for European FinTechs, there are clear signs of brighter prospects ahead.  

While the UK leads the way, the Netherlands showed resilience, with investment volumes holding steady. Meanwhile, Ireland, Germany, and France all saw major government-backed initiatives aimed at fostering growth through 2025. Signalling strong long-term commitment to the local technology ecosystems. 

Despite a notable contraction in funding across Europe, some key sub-sectors helped by higher interest levels, such as  challenger banks like Revolut and Monzo, are beginning to show profitable growth. 

Higher Rates and Boosted Profits

The report revealed that total capital invested in European fintechs in the first half of 2024 fell by 25% YoY, from £3.2 billion in H1 2023 to £2.4 billion in H1 2024. 

However, profitability in sub-sectors like banking is driving larger funding rounds. The top challenger banks are generating close to £600m in profit in 2024 compared to a £125m loss in 2023. 

As these banks emerge as success stories, the UK has become a hub for profitable growth, while other European nations work to adapt, the report found. 

Mid-Market Fintech M&A Thrives

The report also highlighted the increasing activity in the mid-market M&A space across Europe. Particularly in the UK, which is benefiting from consolidation in the sector. 

Funding rounds for fintech unicorns have slowed, the findings show, with investors prioritising companies with solid financial fundamentals and avoiding overly ambitious valuations based on hyper growth and unproven profitability.

European exits under £500 million now account for 32% of global M&A activity, although the market remains 2-3x smaller than the US for larger deals, according to the report.  

AI Creating Efficiency 

The report also found that, as a leader in fintech innovation, the UK is expected to benefit significantly from the adoption of AI technologies in the coming years, particularly in the insurance sector.

According to research, 4 out of 5 actuaries are now using AI to improve risk analysis and  pricing models and 65% of executives say they will invest more than $10 million in AI in  the next 3 years, making the industry more efficient. 

Commenting on the findings, Aman Ghei, Partner at Finch Capital, said:

“The challenges that fintech faced in 2023 were necessary for the sector to mature and become more sustainable. While funding may be down overall, and unicorn chasing has  slowed, there is plenty of opportunity for companies that are capital efficient and have a clear path to profit. With AI transforming the industry and significant dry powder still available, the next 12-18 months will mark a turning point for fintech in Europe. The next wave of fintech success stories will likely be built on sound financials rather than rapid revenue growth alone.”

  • Digital Payments
  • Neobanking

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

19 September 2024

Estimated Read time

6Mins

FinTech Strategy spoke with Zak Lambert, Product Lead for Plaid in Europe, to find out more about the world-leading data network and payments platform

Plaid offers the world’s largest open finance platform. Plaid specialises in bank connectivity and provides a single API for customers to integrate with banks around the world. They have had innovative success stories working with companies like Western Union and MoneyBox. Plaid see opportunities around current trends such as account-to-account payments, variable recurring payments, and cash flow underwriting for businesses and consumers.

At Money20/20 Europe, FinTech Strategy spoke with Plaid’s Product Lead for Europe, Zak Lambert, to learn more…

Tell us about Plaid…

“I work in product management for Plaid in Europe. We’re the world’s largest open finance platform operating across 20 markets in Europe and North America. Back in 2019 when we first launched in Europe our bread and butter was bank connectivity. Integrating with over 10,000 banks through a single API. We still provide that connectivity in one API for our customers. Millions of users go through that journey every day for a number of different use cases.

Building on the core bank connectivity capabilities, we’ve spent the last few years building localised value added services. We launched underwriting services to help companies such as YouLend provide more credit with less risk. We optimised our Pay by Bank offering so companies like Western Union can provide instant transfers with higher thresholds, and companies like PokerStars can provide seamless and instant payouts.

Tell us about your role at Plaid?

“I was part of the team that started Plaid in New York and opened the office there. I did a variety of things from helping customers integrate, building new products, working with sales teams, and anything else that would help us grow, About a year after that, I moved over to London to be the first person on the ground there. Fast forward five years and I’m delighted to be the head of product in Europe. I’ve been with the company for about five and a half years. Overall, it’s just been an exciting journey from a hundred people to more than a thousand now.”

Talk about some of the successful integrations Plaid is involved in…

“We recently announced that we’re working with Western Union across Europe to fund transfers, whether that’s someone depositing in the UK and Germany, Italy or Spain. Plaid is powering account to account payments for Western Union across their various use cases. Particularly when you look at the growing trend around account-to-account payments and pay by bank, we’re thrilled to be working with brands of that caliber. Since launch we’ve seen hockey stick growth for their customer adoption of pay by bank. This shows trust and reliability of the open banking ecosystem which we’re excited to be a part of. We are also delighted to be supporting MoneyBox, one of the largest fintechs in the UK. They handle millions of transactions to fund and create ISAs. Moneybox have launched VRP (Variable Recurring Payments) through Plaid in order to optimise their customer flows and have more reliability in customer recurring payments. With our new flow, users can go through the journey once, set up their consent, and then money can move in the background. It’s like a card on file with a bank account. We see this as a significant trend in the coming years in the UK specifically, and then across Europe as that product set develops.”

The UK has always been an early adopter of open banking but we’re now seeing a surge in demand from mainland Europe. We are currently live in 18 markets in Europe and continue to focus on our reliability and depth in each market to ensure we can meet that demand.

This year, we’ve learned more about how our customers want to use VRP (Variable Recurring Payments). In June, we launched Moneybox’s VRP proposition to enable them to relaunch their Payday Boost offering which was previously restricted by direct debit limitations. Every week we’re having more and more conversations on VRP use cases. 

We’re also excited about how open banking and fintech more broadly can help make financial access more inclusive. For example, open banking can help the underserved get more access to credit by using real-time data to inform underwriting decisions. At Plaid, we’ve built specific products to do this such as the Financial Insights Report that companies such as Capital on Tap are already using to inform their decisioning programmes.

And what’s next for Plaid? What future launches and initiatives are you particularly excited about?

“There are three areas I would highlight… First, pay by bank globally for Plaid. You look at Western Union, they’re probably not the first company to adopt something, but the second they adopt something it probably is about to hit mainstream. That’s significant volume. They’re one of the world’s oldest companies. They’ve been fantastic to work with. So, as that trust and familiarity start coming into play, people that aren’t Western Union come and say, okay, we’ve seen this experience. It was really good. We want it now. We’re working with our teams across the globe to bring that to life for North America and Europe in the simplest way possible. It’s really exciting.

“Second, we have the significant opportunity to bring lending into the 21st century. Particularly because of the third thing, which is the Plaid network. We’ve touched hundreds of millions of consumers. We’ve spent a long time building products to make payments easy and to make underwriting easy. And now we’re in the third phase… We have all of these users, this large network, so how can we make this even simpler for people? And just giving smoother experiences when the user is actually in the workflow. So, boosting conversion, delivering network style experiences in the same way that other network businesses do.”

Why Money20/20? What is it about this particular event that makes it the perfect place to showcase what you do? How has the response been to Plaid?

“This is my sixth straight Money20/20 and it gets busier every year! It’s great to learn more about the ecosystem at large. You can see developing trends each year, and it’s always a little bit different. You build relationships at Money20/20 that stay with you for the rest of your life. And it’s a perfect opportunity to meet people in the flesh that you might normally only see on screen. You can get a pretty direct read on what they’re working on and it’s exciting to be here making new connections.”

  • Digital Payments

Author

Tetyana Golovata

Published

17 September 2024

Estimated Read time

5Mins

Tetyana Golovata, Head of Regulatory Compliance at IFX Payments, on builidng compliance into business culture

Regulation plays a critical role in shaping the fintech landscape. From Consumer Duty and FCA annual risk reporting to APP fraud, the tectonic plates of the sector are shifting. Whether you consider these regulations as benefiting or hindering the industry, businesses are struggling to keep up. 

According to research by fraud prevention fintech Alloy, 93% of respondents said they found it challenging to meet compliance requirements. In a new study by Davies a third of financial leaders (36%) said their firms had been penalised for compliance breaches in the year to June. The FCA brings in its operational resilience rules in March 2025. So, it is more important than ever to ensure your company makes the grade on compliance. 

Learning lessons from history

Traditionally, FX has struggled with the challenge of reporting in an ever-developing sector. As regulatory raise the bar on compliance, responsible providers must help the industry navigate the changes and upcoming deadlines.

Fintechs and payments companies are entering uncharted waters. They face pressure to beat rivals by offering more innovative products. Regulators have struggled to keep up in the past. Gaps in legislation have allowed some opportunists to slip between the net, as seen in the collapse of FTX. Because of this, implementation and standardisation of the rules is necessary. This ensures innovation remains seen as a force for good, and to help identify and stamp out illegal activity.

Culture vs Business

Culture has become a prominent factor in regulatory news. We have seen cases of large fines and public censure relating to cultural issues. FCA COO Emily Shepperd observed in a speech to the finance industry, “Culture is what you do when no one is looking”.

Top-level commitment is crucial when it comes to organisational culture. Conduct and culture are closely intertwined. Culture is not merely a tick-box exercise. It is not defined by perks like snack bars or Friday pizzas. Rather, it should be demonstrated in every aspect of the organisation, including processes, people, counterparties, and third parties.

In recent years, regulatory focus has shifted from ethics to culture. Recognising its crucial role in building market reputation and ensuring compliance with rules and regulations. Furthermore, boosting client confidence, and retaining employees. The evolving regulatory landscape has significantly impacted e-money and payments firms. Moreover, regulations are strengthening each year. Each regulation carries elements of culture, as seen in:

  • Consumer duty: How do we treat our customers?
  • Operational resilience: How can we recover and prevent disruptions to our customers?
  • APP fraud: How do we protect our customers?

Culture Drivers

Key drivers of culture include implementing policies on remuneration, conflicts of interest, and whistleblowing. However, for it to become embedded it must touch employees at every level.

This is showcased by senior stakeholders and heads of departments facilitating close relationships with colleagues across a company’s Sales, Operations, Tech and Product teams to build a collaborative environment. 

Finance firms must recognise the trust bestowed on them by their customers and ensure the protection of their investments and data is paramount. Consumer Duty may have been a wake-up call for some companies, but progressive regulation must always be embraced and their requirements seen as a baseline rather than a hurdle.

Similarly, the strengthening of operational resilience rules and the upcoming APP fraud regulation in October are to be welcomed, increasing transparency for customers. 

Compliance vs Business 

Following regulatory laws is often viewed as a financial and resource drain, but without proper compliance, companies are vulnerable to situations where vast amounts of money can be lost quickly.

A case in point is the proposed reimbursal requirement for APP fraud, which will mean payment firms could face having to pay compensation of up to £415,000 per case.

Complying not only safeguards the client and their money, but also the business itself. About nine in ten (88%) financial services firms have reported an increased compliance cost over the past five years, according to research from SteelEye.  Embedding compliance earlier in business cultures can be beneficial in the long run, cutting the time and money needed to adapt to new regulations and preventing the stress of having to make wholesale changes rapidly. 

Building a cross-business compliance culture 

Compliance is a key principle at IFX Payments, and we strive to be a champion in this area. In response to these challenges, the business restructured, establishing dedicated risk and regulatory departments, along with an internal audit function. 

Regulatory compliance aims to support innovation by developing and using new tools, standards, and approaches to foster innovation and ensure product safety, efficacy, and quality. It has helped the firm to navigate the regulatory landscape while driving growth and maintaining high standards.

This organisational shift allowed each business line to own its own risk, with department partaking in tailored workshops designed to identify existing, new, and potential risk exposure. Shared responsibility for compliance is the only way to create a culture which values it. We see this as a great way for organisations to drive innovation while sticking to the rules. 

  • Digital Payments

Author

Pat Bermingham

Published

16 September 2024

Estimated Read time

8Mins

Pat Bermingham, CEO of B2B digital payment specialist Adflex, asks what impact will Artificial Intelligence really have on B2B payments?

Visit any social media newsfeed and countless posts will tell you AI means “nothing will ever be the same again”. Or even that “you’re doing AI wrong”. The volume of hyperbolic opinions being pushed makes it almost impossible for businesses to decipher between hype and reality.

This is an issue the European Union’s ‘AI Act’ (the Act), which came into force on 1 August 2024, aims to address. The Act is the world’s first regulation on artificial intelligence. It sets out how to govern the deployment and use of AI systems. The Act recognises the transformative potential AI can have for financial services, while also acknowledging its limitations and risks.

Within the debate about AI in financial services, B2B payments are an area where AI has huge potential to accelerate digital innovation. Let’s go beyond the hype to provide a true perspective on what AI really means for B2B payments specifically.

Understanding what AI is, and what it isn’t

AI is a system or systems that can perform tasks that normally require human intelligence. It incorporates machine learning (ML). ML has been used by developers for years to give computers the ability to learn without being explicitly programmed. In other words, the system can look at data and analyse it to refine functions and outcomes.

A newer part of this is ‘deep learning’, which leverages multi-layered neural networks. This simulates the complex decision-making power of our brains. The deep learning benefits outlined later in this article are based on Large Language Models (LLMs). LLMs are pre-trained on representative data (such as payment/transaction/tender data). Deep learning AI does not just look at and learn patterns of behaviour from the data. It is becoming capable of making informed decisions based on this data.

Before we explore what this means for B2B payments, let’s make one caveat clear: human supervision is still needed to ensure the smooth running of operations. AI is a supporting tool, not a single answer to every question. The technology is still maturing. You cannot hand over the keys to your B2B payments process quite yet. Manual processes will retain their place in B2B payments. AI tools will help you learn, adapt and improve more quickly and at scale.

The AI Act – what you need to know

The Act attempts to categorise different AI systems based on potential impact and risk. The two key risk categories include:

  1. Unacceptable risk – AI systems deemed a threat to people, which will be banned. This includes systems involved in cognitive behavioural manipulation, social scoring, and real-time biometric identification.
  2. High risk – AI systems that negatively affect safety or fundamental rights. High-risk AI systems will undergo rigorous assessment and must adhere to stringent regulatory standards before being put on the market. These high risk systems will be divided into two further categories:
  3. AI systems that are used in products falling under the EU’s product safety legislation, including toys, aviation, cars, medical devices and lifts.
  4. AI systems falling into specific areas that will have to be registered in an EU database.

The most widely used form of AI currently, ‘generative AI’ (think ChatGPT, Copilot and Gemini), won’t be classified as high-risk. However, it will have to comply with transparency requirements and EU copyright law.

High-impact general-purpose AI models that might pose systemic risk, such as GPT-4o, will have to undergo thorough evaluations. Any serious incidents would have to be reported to the European Commission.

The Act aims to become fully applicable by May 2026. Following consultations, amendments and the creation of ‘oversight agencies’ in each EU member state. Though, as early as November 2024, the EU will start banning ‘unacceptable risk’ AI systems. And by February 2025 the ‘codes of practice’ will be applied. 

So, with the Act in mind, how can AI be used in a risk-free manner to optimise B2B payments?

AI will transform payment data analysis

Today’s B2B payment platforms are not one-size-fits-all solutions; instead, they provide a toolkit for businesses to customise their payment interactions.

AI-based LLMs and ML can be used by payment providers to rapidly understand and interpret the extensive data they have access to (such as invoices or receipts). By doing this, we gain insights into trends, buyer behaviour, risk analysis and anomaly detection. Without AI, this is a manual, time consuming task.

One tangible benefit of this data analysis for businesses comes from combining payment data with knowledge of a wide range of vendors’ skills, products and/or services. AI could then, for example, identify when an existing supplier is able to supply something currently being sourced elsewhere. By using one supplier for both products/services, the business saves through economies of scale.

Another benefit of data analysis comes from payment technology experts. Ours have been training one service to extract data from a purchase order or invoice, to flow level 3 data, which is tax evident in some territories. This automatically provides the buyer with more details of the transaction, including relevant tax information, invoice number, cost centre, and a breakdown of the products or service supplied. This makes it easy and straightforward to manage tax reporting and remittance, purchase control and reconciliation.

AI-driven data analysis isn’t just a time and money-saver, however. It also adds new value by enabling providers to use the data to create hyper-personalised payment experiences for each buyer or supplier. For example, AI and ML tools could look out for buying and selling opportunities, and perform a ‘matchmaking supplier enablement service’ that recommends the best payment methods – and the best rates – for different accounts or transactions. The more personalised a payment experience is, the happier the buyer and more likely they are to (re)purchase.

Efficient data flows mean stronger cash flows

Another practical application of AI is to help optimise cash management for buyers. This is done by using the data to determine who is strategically important and when to pay them. It could even recommend grouping certain invoices together for the same supplier, consolidating them into one payment per supplier, reducing interchange fees and driving down the cost of card acceptance.

AI can also perform predictive analysis for cash flow management, rapidly analysing historical payment data to predict cash flow trends, allowing businesses to anticipate and address potential challenges proactively. This is particularly valuable in the current economic climate where cashflow is utterly vital.

By extracting value-added, tax evident data from a purchase order or invoice, AI can rapidly analyse invoices and receipts to enable efficient, accurate automation of the VAT reclaims process. Imagine: the time comes for your finance team to reclaim VAT on recent invoices and receipts, but they don’t have to manually go through every receipt or invoices and categorise them into a reclaim pile or not reclaimable. It sounds like a dream but it will be the reality for business everywhere: AI does the heavy lifting and humans verify it, saving significant time and resources.

Quicker, more accurate invoice reconciliation

The third significant benefit of AI is automated invoice reconciliation. By identifying key information from an invoice and recognising regular payees, AI can streamline and automate the review process. This has the potential to significantly speed up transactions and enable more efficient payment orchestration.

Binding together all supporting paperwork, such as shipping, customs, routes, and JIT (just-in-time) requirements can also be done by AI, and it’s likely to be less prone to human error.

This provides an amazing opportunity to make B2B payments faster, reduce costs and increase efficiency.  Businesses know this: 44% of mid-sized firms anticipate cost savings and enhanced cash flow as a direct result of implementing further automation within the next three years. According to American Express, 48% of mid-sized firms expect to see payment processes accelerate, with more reliable payments and a broader range of payment options emerging.

When. Not if.

There are significant opportunities to leverage AI in B2B payment processes, making it do the heavy lifting. It is, however, essential to view these opportunities with a balanced understanding of the limitations of AI.

While all the opportunities for AI in B2B payments outlined here are based on relatively low-risk AI systems, human oversight of these systems is still essential. However, with all the freed-up time and resource achieved through the implementation of AI, this issue can be avoided.

AI in B2B payments is not an if, but a when. The question is, when will you make the jump, hand in hand with technology, rather than fearing it or passing full control over to it.

In order to grow, it is essential for users to see the tangible benefits. For example, by enhancing efficiencies in account payable (AP), businesses can reallocate time and resource previously spent in AP to other areas. Early adopters are starting to test the water but only time will tell how much of an impact AI will make.

Most businesses will likely wait for the early adopters to fail, learn and progress. If something goes wrong in B2B payments, it can have a huge impact on individuals, businesses and economises. Only when the risk is clearly defined and manageable will AI truly become the gamechanger in B2B payments that all the hype claims.

“Adflex has been at the heart of the B2B fintech revolution from the beginning. We are known for fostering innovation and helping companies harness the power of digital payments. Our technology and expertise bring together buyers and suppliers to make transactions fast, cost-effective and straightforward to manage. We take the pain out of the supply chain by delivering seamless and secure payment integration that adds value to both buyers and merchants.”

  • Artificial Intelligence in FinTech
  • Digital Payments

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

20 August 2024

Estimated Read time

4Mins

As digital payments continue their rapid ascent, understanding the accompanying cybersecurity challenges has never been more critical. Furthernore, with Statista…

As digital payments continue their rapid ascent, understanding the accompanying cybersecurity challenges has never been more critical. Furthernore, with Statista forecasting a robust 9.52 percent annual growth rate for digital payments from 2024 to 2028, the urgency to address these security concerns intensifies.

While this growth brings unparalleled convenience, it also introduces new security vulnerabilities that must be addressed. Cybersecurity is fundamental in safeguarding confidential data against hacking, fraud, and data breaches. Implementing effective cybersecurity measures can also maintain trust between businesses and clients while preventing financial loss. To optimise cybersecurity, identifying the current threats to digital payment systems is a must for businesses and consumers.

Current Cybersecurity Threats

Digital banks face various threats that continually evolve as technology advances. By addressing these challenges head-on, banks can protect their users and continue the growth of digital payment.

Many types of cyber threats can disrupt digital payment systems:

Phishing attacks: These attacks use deceptive emails, phone calls, or texts to trick victims into revealing personal information, such as login credentials and financial details. The scam can lead to other types of cyber threats.

Malware: Malicious software that infiltrates systems to steal data, monitor activities, or lock accounts. Various forms of malwares have different functions, such as Trojans, Worms, and Spyware.

Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) Attacks: intercept communications between the user and the bank allowing attackers to steal sensitive information or funds.

Data breaches: Unauthorised access to digital bank databases exposes vast amounts of sensitive information, including personal and financial data.

Ransomware: It is an attack that employs malware to infiltrate computer systems to steal data, monitor activities, or lock accounts. The attackers then demand payment and keep disrupting the devices/websites until they are paid.

Credential stuffing: Attackers use stolen usernames and password combinations from other breaches to gain unauthorised access to accounts.

DDoS and DoS attacks: Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks overwhelm the bank’s servers, making online services unavailable to customers. Unlike the Denial-of-Service (DoS) attack where a single source is used to flood the target, DDoS use multiple sources of compromised devices (botnets).

Insider threats: Employees or contractors with access to sensitive information may intentionally or unintentionally cause data breaches or other security incidents.

Social engineering: Manipulating individuals into divulging confidential information through psychological manipulation.

Zero-Day Exploits: Attacks that exploit previously unknown vulnerabilities in software or hardware before patches are available.

Cybersecurity Measures

Encrypting data is essential to convert the personal information into a secure format. This encrypted data can only be accessed with the correct key or description. This ensures that the data remains secure and unreadable after interception.

Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) adds a layer of security by requiring some form of verification before granting access to the platform. Tokenisation replaces critical payment data with a unique or random token that cannot be hacked once intercepted.

Biometric verification, such as fingerprint and facial recognition, provides additional security by utilising unique physical characteristics. These include the shape of the face and the outline of a fingerprint, both of which are difficult to replicate.

Financial institutions have also innovated to improve cybersecurity by implementing artificial intelligence (AI). For example, JPMorgan Chase has implemented an AI-driven fraud detection system. This application is used for monitoring transaction activity in real-time. It can also detect potential threats or fraudulent transactions using the data analytics tool.

Regulatory Requirements

Financial companies are obligated to meet regulatory compliance. It is important to build customers’ trust and avoid legal or financial penalties. For global financial institutions, regulatory issues might be more complex as each country has its version of rules. As cyber threats evolve, regulators continuously update and enforce these requirements to address new challenges in digital payment systems.

For instance, UK regulations have set strict rules to ensure the security of digital payments. These include data protection measures, and companies that do not prioritise cybersecurity will face substantial fines. Similar regulations have been implemented across European Union (EU) Member States, compelling financial institutions to enhance cybersecurity to create a safe digital payments environment for consumers.

  • Cybersecurity in FinTech
  • Digital Payments

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

19 August 2024

Estimated Read time

6Mins

FinTech Strategy met with Stiven Muccioli, Founder & CEO at BKN301, to discuss digital payment services connecting North Africa, the…

FinTech Strategy met with Stiven Muccioli, Founder & CEO at BKN301, to discuss digital payment services connecting North Africa, the Middle East, and Europe.              

BKN301 Group is a London based fintech provider that offers Banking-as-a-Service, connecting North Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. The company aims to address the financial inclusion gap in these regions. It provides digital payment and banking platforms to unbanked populations. BKN301 has successfully partnered with fintechs in Egypt and Qatar, serving millions of customers and providing access to financial services. They are also focused on expanding their market in Europe. The company aims to become a leader in the industry and bridge the gap between Europe and the Middle East.

At Money20/20 Europe, FinTech Strategy spoke with BKN301 Founder & CEO Stiven Muccioli to find out more…      

Tell us about the genesis of BKN301…

“I launched the company in 2021 with the vision to create the biggest tech provider for a digital banking service connecting North Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. We are looking at the demographic sheet of the world… In Europe, we are overserved by the banking system and it’s quite tough to create new projects in the FinTech space. It’s hard to scale past Europe, into the Middle East and North Africa. Ours is an operation in its early stages. There is a huge penetration with mobile devices in the Middle East and North Africa, but at the same time there are a huge amount of people unbanked.

So, we have created the platform to allow digital banks to start fast and with low cost. Basically, we are the ‘backbone’ for the new digital banking era in the Middle East and North Africa. We also work with many companies across Europe. However, we are very focused on the connection between the Middle East, North Africa and Europe. Also, we are focused on the remittances business and cross-border payments because many working abroad in Europe don’t have access to the banking system in Europe. And there are many digital banks in Europe trying to fulfil this gap for new customers.”

Tell us about your career journey…

“I began 15 years ago in the startup business and founded two other companies. The first one, Tippest, was a copycat of Groupon in Italy. This was founded with a group of friends in 2011 and we were able to scale successfully, leading to its sale in 2015. Following that, I moved to the US where I spent some time as an angel investor. In 2016 I came back to Italy to start a new company. It was a corporate venture operation inside of the Iccrea Bank, one of the biggest banking groups in Italy. We created a company named Ventis. It delivered the first super application that merged e-commerce and the digital bank.

We created a platform capable of delivering an e-commerce service, and at the same time digital banking services, payment cards, accounts and more. We managed this part of the business for the Group and reached good numbers. In 2020, we sold the company and today it is the third biggest payment player in Italy.”

Tell us about some of the successful partnerships BKN301 has been involved in…

“We have seen great successes with key partners such as Damen. Damen is a e-payment company in Egypt serving 18 million customers. Thanks to our technology, they are able today to provide a digital payment application to millions of Egyptians. They are now connected and have access to a range of financial services to save money and receive remittances from Europe and across the Gulf. A very successful story in terms financial inclusion.

It’s the same in Qatar where we serve a partner that provides service to labourers and construction workers – there are around 700,000 such workers in Qatar. A good example of financial inclusion because we provide the platform for a low-cost digital banking platform connecting unbanked people to Europe.”

What are some of the key challenges financial institutions are facing that you can help them with? What problems are companies asking you to solve?

“At BKN301, we’re focused on our technology and building an ecosystem based on APIs so we’re able to provide those APIs to digital banks – with us, they save time and money. So, the integration cost is far less than a traditional integration cost. They’re able to work multi-market because we are in different markets and they won’t have any legacy agreement with big corporates. We provide APIs so they can develop and use them for core banking and processing.”

“Every year there is a new wave of news, but we don’t know how long each trend will it last… A couple of years back blockchain was at the core and everyone want to add a feature, sometimes without any reason. Now it’s the same with AI. To build a concrete platform on AI or on blockchain, you need many years, and a lot of investment, to be focused. I don’t believe companies that come out after six months saying they are now AI based. It’s impossible to build a real platform based on AI that quickly. We need to define the real companies. So, which one has the mature technology. It’s a good wave and I think there is a huge need. For example, anti-money laundering controls driven by AI could be a game changer.”

And what’s next for BKN301? What future launches and initiatives are you particularly excited about?

“This year we want to get more established in the market in Europe, so we will be focused on expansion. The goal for us is to become the door, the access bridge, between Europe and the Middle East. We aim to become a backbone for the new financial ecosystem across the region.”

Why Money20/20? What is it about this particular event that makes it the perfect place to showcase what you do?

“Every year there is a new wave of news… A couple of years ago blockchain was at the core and everyone wanted to add some feature on blockchain, sometimes without any reason. And now it’s the same with AI. To build a concrete platform on AI, or on blockchain, you need to be focused for years and have a lot of investment – it can’t be done in six months. So, as with blockchain, we need to define the companies making real progress with established technology based on AI, the same as we did with blockchain. It’s a good wave that can meet a huge need, for example with anti-money laundering controls, and Money20/20 is a great place to learn more about where the industry is at today.”                                                                           

  • Digital Payments

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

8 August 2024

Estimated Read time

2Mins

Standard Chartered has joined a suite of other institutional investors in the Digital Transformation platform United Fintech United Fintech is…

Standard Chartered has joined a suite of other institutional investors in the Digital Transformation platform United Fintech

United Fintech is a London headquartered neutral Digital Transformation platform. It acquires and forms partnerships with fintech companies in the capital markets space. It is creating a fintech one-stop-shop to innovate with businesses. This is driven by collaboration with other cutting edge technology providers for the benefit of banks, hedge funds and asset managers.

Digital Transformation

The investment supports Standard Chartered’s ambitions to contribute to the advancement of digital transformation. Furthermore, these solutions work across capital markets, wholesale banking and wealth management, and the broader financial services arena.

As part of the investment Standard Chartered has been granted Board observer rights and subject to fulfilment of certain pre-conditions, will be offered a rotational Board seat. Additionally, this will enable it to share existing expertise and contribute to decisions around the platform’s strategic direction.

Stabdard Chartered

“We have been impressed by the growth in United Fintech’s portfolio of innovative, engineering-led technology companies. Standard Chartered share their vision for how technology can transform and disrupt market structure and infrastructure,” said Geoff Kot, Global Head, CIB Business Platforms & Partnerships at Standard Chartered. “We look forward to partnering with them as we continue on our journey of digital transformation.”

United Fintech

“The investment underscores Standard Chartered’s commitment to accelerate digital transformation. Also, it highlights their forward-thinking approach to collaborative innovation,” said Christian Frahm, CEO and Founder of United Fintech. “We are an Asia-focused multinational bank with an expansive footprint in Asia, Africa, Middle East, Europe and Americas. We are thrilled to have them complete our circle of global investors, joining Citi and BNP Paribas. They initially invested in February 2024, as well as Danske Bank, who followed in May.”

About United Fintech

Founded in 2020, United Fintech is an industry-neutral Digital Transformation Platform. Here, global financial institutions and cutting-edge technology providers come together to unleash their full potential and enable the future of finance.

“The financial services sector is a large part of any nation’s economy. Moreover, this sector to continue to thrive, we want to match the knowledge and expertise of our financial service providers with data-driven innovation to create an efficient symbiosis between customers, banks, and technology.”

  • Digital Payments

Author

Harry Menear

Published

30 July 2024

Estimated Read time

3Mins

Digital payments enable access to financial services by underserved members of society at a time when the digital divide is widening.

The United Nations emphasises financial inclusion as a driver for economic development, including it as component eight of the Sustainable Development Goals for 2030. The World Bank defines financial inclusion as crucial economic development and social progress that ensures equal access to financial products and services. 

In recent years, accessibility to financial services has improved rapidly as financial technology has advanced. The 2022 World Bank report revealed that 71 percent of people in developing countries had access to a bank account in 2021, a 42 percent jump from a decade earlier. 

The key driver of this development in financial inclusion is the growth of digital payments, which surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the CFA Institute. 

Role of digital payments 

Digital payment technologies, such as digital wallets, online mobile banking apps, and contactless transactions, contribute to the growth of financial inclusion. Compared to traditional methods, digital payments offer multiple benefits.

Reduced costs are one reason digital payments have become a significant cause of economic growth. They allow lower barriers to entry for underserved people. 

With more people having digital financial accounts, the underprivileged can receive wages, government benefits, or remittances more easily. 

Digital transactions provide a safer alternative to physical cash transactions. The digital records for each transaction help people manage their finances and increase transparency in businesses. They also help mitigate the risks of theft or fraudulent activities. 

Accessibility

Digital payment solutions significantly improve accessibility to financial services. They eliminate geographical barriers for people living in remote areas as long as there is internet access. 

Online platforms make it easier for people to conduct transactions, pay bills, and access credit and insurance services from anywhere. They also allow instant payments that happen in seconds without the need for third parties. 

The accessibility of digital payments extends to people with disabilities. Mobile banking apps often include features such as voice commands, screen readers, and accessible interfaces that cater to them. 

Case Studies

Many digital payment initiatives have successfully promoted financial inclusion in marginalised communities. 

One of them is India’s Jan Dhan-Asdhar-Mobile (JAM) Trinity initiative, which was launched in 2014. The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana programme aims to provide universal access to banking facilities with at least one basic banking account for every household. This programme promotes financial inclusion in rural areas by offering zero-balance accounts with debit cards.  

Meanwhile, the Aadhar programme introduces a biometric digital identity for Indian residents, simplifying access to financial services. Lastly, the Mobile Network programme focuses on growing mobile network infrastructure to facilitate digital payments. 

Challenges and Solutions 

Still, the challenges of achieving financial inclusion through digital payments persist. In 2022, 1.4 billion adults remained unbanked. Meanwhile, increased accessibility also comes with the consequence of more people becoming prone to potentially unscrupulous lending practices, especially since the underprivileged often lack sufficient financial knowledge to avoid such schemes. 

Thus, financial education is crucial so that more people can effectively protect their wealth. The government should initiate financial literacy programmes for the people. The programmes could also be conducted through online platforms to reach more communities. 

In addition, increasing security technology is also important to overcome the risk of fraudulent activities. AI technology might solve this problem, as it can efficiently detect suspicious patterns and mitigate fraud schemes. 

Future Outlook

Digital payments’ future role in driving financial inclusion will become more prominent as mobile and internet penetration increases. Governments should prioritise investment in telecommunications and internet infrastructure to reach their optimal potential. 

AI-powered solutions are expected to continue to develop and offer many ways to accelerate digital finance adoption. With the advancement of technology, security and customer experience will also improve. 

  • Digital Payments

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

25 July 2024

Estimated Read time

6Mins

FinTech Strategy met with Merusha Naidu, Global Head of Partnerships at Paymentology, to discover more about the global issuer processor

Banks, digital banks and fintechs, around the world, trust Paymentology to issue and process all forms of cards and transactions, at scale. Paymentology offers a cloud-based platform, rich data, a global footprint and proven track record powering industry leaders and game-changers.

A global issuer processor with on the ground teams in 50+ countries across 14 time zones, Paymentology’s founders saw that the payments industry was stagnant and limited, in both capability and ambition.

In March 2021, Tutuka and Paymentology merged, resulting in a ‘payments and card processing powerhouse’. The merger combined the ultra-advanced, multi-cloud platform of Paymentology with the global reach and experience of Tutuka to revolutionise cloud-based processing globally. 

Tutuka was traditionally a financial services company, that provided payment processing technologies, software and services, and application programming interfaces (APIs) for e-commerce and digital transacting across countries in Africa, Latin America, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East, while Paymentology processed for legacy banks in Europe and the UK. The merger enabled banks and fintechs to integrate into a single API, go live and issue cards almost anywhere in the world.

At Money20/20 Europe, FinTech Strategy spoke with Global Head of Partnerships, Merusha Naidu, to find out more…

Tell us about the genesis of Paymentology?

“Paymentology is a global neo processor. We work with banks and fintechs to help them issue their own cards, whether prepaid, debit or credit, virtual or physical. The beauty of the platform is that it’s fully cloud native. So, we’re scalable. We’re focused on speed to market so when you are working with a fintech, or a digital bank, it’s all about two things. How do you innovate? And then how do you go live quickly? Those are two areas of the business that we really focus on. Not only is our tech state of the art, with everything built in the cloud, all of our infrastructure is also in the cloud, including things like our connection to schemes.

We were the very first issuer processor to connect to Visa Cloud Connect, via cloud endpoints in Europe. Being first in embracing modern practices, we ensure our processes are next-generation, thanks to our fully cloud-native and digital infrastructure.

What makes us different? We operate across UK, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and Asia Pacific; we are truly global, operating across all five regions. One of the things that makes that possible is our tech. A customer can integrate with us once and then launch across five regions if they wanted to, or multi-market rollouts. We offer a huge ability to scale using integration. Our customers are able to replicate that digital first experience across every single jurisdiction. So, whether it’s Kenya and Dubai and then Saudi Arabia and Portugal, they can have the same experience across the world.”

Tell us about your role at Paymentology?

“I’ve been with Paymentology for 14 years. Prior to taking up my current role as Global Head of Partnerships, I was the Regional Head of Asia Pacific. So, when you look at partnerships, I was asked a question recently at a talk: ‘What would my message be to issuers across the industry?’ My message is that you can’t do it alone. If you want to create truly scalable, innovative solutions, you’ve got to work with partners and collaborate with the best in class. We know we are best in class when it comes to issuer processing, but we also create ecosystem partners that close the gap when it comes to creating really valuable payment ecosystems.

Whether it’s top core banking providers, leading cloud services, or premier card manufacturers, these are the partners we collaborate with. This allows us to confidently assure our customers that we work with the best, to deliver the best, across the entire value chain.”

Tell us about some of the successful partnerships Paymentology has been involved in…

“We were the first company to deliver flip card technology for our client Mox. Paymentology embedded its global processing capability into the platform, to enable Mox to launch its ground-breaking feature to ‘flip’ between debit and credit spending on the all-in-one Mox card. This allows you to have one physical card, one virtual card number, but in the background, we link it to two different accounts. It gives the customer real flexibility around how they can spend, because if it’s everyday purchases, they can use their debit account or their prepaid account. If they have larger purchases, they can switch in the app and use their credit facility. So, it really gives customers flexibility and choice – two things at the heart of what we do.

“Cross-border payments for us is key. Meanwhile, everyone talks about being digital first. For us, tokenisation has helped and we have a superior partner, MeaWallet, to help us deliver this. Elsewhere, crypto has been seen as a sore point but it’s coming back and people again want that flexibility. So, having a way for customers to spend their crypto, converting crypto to free apps and making sure that data is at the heart of all that. It’s about learning about our customers, understanding what our customers want and using our data to make informed decisions, or giving our customers data so that they can make the decisions.”

And what’s next for Paymentology? What future launches and initiatives are you particularly excited about?

“We’re excited about being able to deliver flexibility, control, agility. Because the Paymentology platform is so agile, in the future you will be able to plug in even more different components into the offering. So, a customer can add in rewards and loyalty points. For example, airlines have a platinum MasterCard product, so it opens them up to all of the MasterCard loyalty rewards, airport lounges, all of those benefits. It’s all about being innovative and keeping up with that innovation and growing with customers.”

Why Money20/20? What is it about this particular event that makes it the perfect place to showcase what you do? How has the response been to Paymentology?

“Paymentology is headquartered in the UK so it’s important for us to make sure we’re representing business across Europe. This is the centre of the world for banking innovation. People look to this event to really learn about what’s happening in the industry globally and discover what trends are going to come up. What should we be doing? How can we innovate together and learn from each other? That’s one of the things I really love about Money20/20; the talks in all of the panels are so interesting and I always leave knowing more. Being in the payments industry, and especially being an issuer processor, it’s important for us to learn from the industry and understand where we need to move so that we can stay at the forefront of developments.”

  • Digital Payments

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

18 July 2024

Estimated Read time

3Mins

Episode Six (E6), a global provider of payment processing and digital ledger infrastructure, has announced that its cloud-based solution offering…

Episode Six (E6), a global provider of payment processing and digital ledger infrastructure, has announced that its cloud-based solution offering payments-as-a-service, is now available on the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Marketplace.   

Episode Six on AWS Marketplace

AWS Marketplace is a curated digital catalog, Customers can use it to find, buy, deploy, and manage third-party software, data, and services to build solutions and run their businesses. By listing the E6 solution on the AWS Marketplace, E6 is extending its technology offerings to a vast network of over 330,000 active AWS Marketplace customers. Furthermore, it provides them with a seamless way to find, purchase, and deploy its configurable card issuance and virtual accounts platform.  

E6, who have created and operate a globally distributed issuer processor and digital ledger infrastructure, will now be available in AWS Marketplace. E6 operates across 14 AWS availability zones including regions such as the United States, Europe, Singapore, Australia, Japan and Indonesia.  

AWS customers will be able to simplify how they engage third-party cloud-based technologies to modernise their payment technology, and build digital-first products while using existing AWS committed spend.  

 Cloud-native platform

E6’s cloud-native platform, TRITIUM®, provides a real-time ledger that can work with an organisation’s existing infrastructure. This empowers AWS clients to build and launch any modern card product, without constraints of legacy technology.   

Said Brian Muse-McKenney, Chief Revenue Officer at Episode Six said: “One of the biggest challenges our industry is facing right now is providing critical payment systems with high availability to prevent downtime, while simultaneously having the flexibility and power to quickly deploy feature-rich products. Our cloud-based solution offers AWS customers the assurance that there’s availability, scalability and extensibility, allowing us to enhance our clients’ services, without impacting their core banking systems.”  

In addition, AWS customers can now access advanced payment solutions more conveniently, through the AWS Marketplace. This will provide banks, technology companies and brands with greater cost efficiency, helping them stay competitive in their respective markets.  

Modernising digital payments

John Mitchell, CEO & Co-Founder at Episode Six, said: “At E6, we’re committed to working with customers to modernise their payment services. This listing is an important development in our partnership as it allows AWS customers the ability to find and deploy the E6 cloud solution seamlessly. The AWS Marketplace is another new channel we’re proud to open to offer customers access to our technology, and to allow them to leverage their AWS committed cloud spend more easily.”  

As an AWS ISV Accelerate Partner, E6 is actively co-selling with AWS, and driving accelerated sales cycles as part of connecting with the AWS Sales organisation to support leading FSIs and tech companies that are modernising their payments on AWS. 

   

  • Digital Payments

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

15 July 2024

Estimated Read time

4Mins

FinTech Strategy hears from Till Wirth, EVP of Product at Wise Platform, to find out more about its mission to make international payments fast, low-cost, convenient and transparent

At Money20/20 Europe in Amsterdam, Till Wirth, EVP of Product at Wise Platform, took part in an impactful session titled “From Personal Payments to Enterprise: The Changing World of Cross-Border.” Wirth’s panel talk focused on the transformative trends in cross-border payments and their implications for both personal and enterprise financial transactions.

“Wise is a global technology company building the best way to move money around the world. Wise Platform is Wise – but for banks, large businesses and other major enterprises.

We allow our partners to embed the best way to send, receive and manage money internationally into their existing infrastructure, creating value for their business and customers.

Over the past decade, Wise (formerly known as Transferwise) has built a global payments infrastructure that has revolutionised how money moves around the world. Now, thanks to Wise Platform, other companies can gain access to our industry-leading, reliable service seamlessly.

We save partners time and money by allowing them to deploy new products and services to customers seamlessly, helping them to speed up innovation and serve, retain, and grow their customer base.”

FinTech Strategy spoke with Wirth to learn more…

Tell us about the genesis of Wise… Why is this an exciting time for the company?

“For us at Wise, it’s all about continuing towards our mission of making international payments fast, low-cost, convenient and transparent for our customers and partners.

It’s an exciting time for us as we’ve moved over £118bn on behalf of our 12.8 million active customers in the last financial year and helped them save more £1.8bn in fees. Over 62% of Wise’s transfers are completed instantly (in 20 seconds or less). Wise Platform, our global payments infrastructure for banks and enterprises is growing quickly, too, which allows us to bring the benefits of Wise to more people around the world.”

Tell us about your role…

“I lead the Wise Platform Product team building the global payments infrastructure for banks, financial institutions and enterprises around the world. For example, my team built the product behind the collaboration we announced with Swift last year.”

What are some of the key challenges financial institutions are facing that you can help them with? What problems are they asking you to solve?

“Consumers now expect their cross-border payments to be instant, convenient and transparent. And they are moving to providers they can trust to provide these services. As a result, we’re seeing banks focusing on retaining and winning back their customers through improving their cross-border payments experience. This is exactly what Wise Platform is helping them to do.

We work with more than 85 partners globally, including Bank Mandiri, Indonesia’s largest bank by assets, Shinhan Bank, one of South Korea’s oldest and largest national banks, and GMO in Japan to provide them with the capabilities, technology and network to enable fast, secure and cost-effective international payments for their customers. Quickly, directly from their own apps, without any major technical overhaul.”

Tell us about a recent success story…

“In June this year, Wise Platform hit a major milestone when our integration with Nubank, the world’s largest digital banking platform with over 100 million customers, went live.

Thanks to our partnership, Nubank’s premium Ultraviolet customers can now access multi-currency accounts and debit cards powered by Wise directly from their Nubank app. Customers benefit from a convenient user experience that we’ve tested and iterated over the years for our own customers to seamlessly manage their finances internationally.”

Why do you think the evolution of collaboration between banks and fintechs is set to continue?

“One of the reasons is that while banks have scale, they can gain agility in non core focus areas by working with fintechs and deliver significant customer benefits quickly.

Most banks have been built to focus on domestic banking, meaning their global cross-border payments are often not a priority. However, fintechs are better able to specialise and focus on one specific customer pain point. This means they can innovate much more quickly.”

Why Money20/20? What is it about this particular event that makes it the perfect place to showcase what you do? What’s the response been like for Wise?

“It’s a great event that brings the industry together and enables us to discuss the progress we’re collectively making. This year in particular, it was great to be on a panel to discuss how the cross-border payments landscape is evolving and the latest trends we’re seeing. We look forward to the upcoming event in the US later this year.”

  • Digital Payments

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

11 July 2024

Estimated Read time

5Mins

Digital payments are now the preferred payment method for much of the world, and they continue to evolve.

They were first introduced through the creation of credit or debit cards. These physical cards allowed consumers to spend money without needing cash.

Advances in mobile technology led to online banking apps, mobile wallets, and contactless payments. These methods are even more convenient and are transformative for commerce, online and in physical outlets.

Throughout 2024, there are ten key trends expected to rise as digital payments evolve:

1. Rise of cryptocurrencies in everyday transactions

Cryptocurrencies, or crypto, are digital currencies maintained by a decentralised blockchain system rather than any government or institution. Owning a crypto means possessing assets that are not tangible, hence it is more popular as an investment currently.

Many platforms are gradually integrating crypto into their financial ecosystem. For example, PayPal — the online payment giant — allows users to buy, hold, and sell crypto.

Despite its volatility issues, crypto is predicted to keep growing. It offers fast transactions, easier cross-border payment, and lower transaction fees than traditional methods.

2. Biometric Authentication

The security concerns surrounding digital payments are unchanged, but the method for securing them is improving all the time. This has led to widespread growth in biometric authentication. Biometric authentication allows for more security and convenience than traditional passwords and PINs, which can be forgotten or stolen. It makes impersonation far more difficult.

Biometrics requires users to input unique physical characteristics like fingerprints or facial features (via a camera). Approved in an instant, consumers can make payments easily by verifying with the tap of a finger or by staying still for the camera.

3. Growth of Peer-to-Peer Payments

Peer-to-peer payment apps allow users to send money directly to another user using a mobile device. The convenience of this payment mode made it popular.

Among the most used apps are Zelle, Venmo, and Paypal. Zelle, for instance, gained $307 billion in transactions in 2020, 58% growth on the previous year, and part of a wider trend in digital payments growth during the Covid-19 lockdowns.

This method offers instant transactions advantageous for time-sensitive transactions like splitting bills or sending emergency funds. It also commonly has a low-cost or free transaction compared to traditional banking options.

4. AI fraud detection with digital payments

AI technology has greatly impacted many sectors, including digital payments. Fraud detection with AI is a solution that uses algorithms to analyse large transaction data. This AI tool can recognise suspicious patterns and identify discrepancies that indicate fraudulent activity.

Companies like Visa introduced AI fraud detection this year. The AI-powered security tools are included in the Visa Protect suite. The fraud detection tool, including digital wallets, can be used for immediate payments.

5. Real-time payments (RTP)

Real-time payments make immediate transactions between accounts significantly better than traditional banking systems, which might take days. This is a preferred option for both consumers and businesses.

Businesses can improve cash flow with faster payments, and consumers can access funds immediately. Currently, the RTP frameworks continue to be adopted by worldwide financial institutions. It is expected to be the standard for various transactions, including payroll and cross-border payments.

6. Voice-activated transactions

Voice-activated payment is an innovative method for users to do transactions simply using speaking commands. A payment system such as this can be more convenient for users than the common typing password method.

This form of authentication is possible through voice recognition tools used in mobile apps. Additionally, voice-activated payments offer a high level of security and a smoother consumer experience. As more companies adopt this trend, it is expected to become even more popular in 2024.

7. QR code payments

QR code payments uses a unique QR code that smartphones can scan to authorise transactions. It is usually connected to consumers’ mobile banking apps or mobile wallets as the source of payment.

This contactless payment offers a seamless payment experience that is highly desirable for users. Businesses also benefit from the simplicity of the method by making transactions faster and seamless.

8. Cross-border payments

Cross-border payments are expected to grow consistently as the world moves on from the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, more businesses are engaging in cross-border payments, and 80 percent expect a transaction volume increase in the next 12 to 24 months.

International payments often suffer from high fees and lengthy transaction times. However, companies are expected to improve their capabilities as cross-border payments increase.

9. Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL)

Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) services are a more accessible of borrowing for payment than traditional methods like credit cards.

They allow consumers to make purchases and spread the cost over time. This method enables minimal or zero percent financing and no initial credit check.

Many e-commerce platforms have integrated these payment system as they become more popular. 

10. IoT devices integration for digital payments

Integrating Internet of Things (IoT) devices with mobile payments helps make the consumer experience more convenient. This innovation allows wearables and smart home appliances to make contactless payments.

Furthermore, IoT devices can also generate data that can be analysed to create a more personalised experience.

  • Digital Payments

Author

Tracey Harris

Published

8 July 2024

Estimated Read time

3Mins

The RAI Amsterdam Convention Centre was the location for the world’s leading fintech conference.

Money20/20 Europe offered a unique blend of insightful keynotes, panel discussions, and networking opportunities. These underscored the transformative power of emerging technologies in financial services.

This year’s theme was ‘Human X Machine’. Money20/20 Europe explored the relationship between humans and intelligent machines, focusing on how the partnership between artificial and human intelligence will forge a new era in finance…

Innovations in AI and Open Banking

Artificial Intelligence was a major theme throughout Money20/20. A notable session featured Patrice Amann from Microsoft and Kevin Levitt from NVIDIA. They discussed the role of Generative AI in transforming customer experiences in banking. They highlighted the importance of integrating business-specific data to enhance the accuracy and effectiveness of AI solutions​​.

Open banking also garnered significant attention at Money20/20. Mastercard and bunq announced a partnership enabling users to consolidate multiple bank accounts through bunq’s AI-driven money assistant, Finn. This move is part of a broader trend towards greater financial integration and personalised banking experiences​​. Additionally, Token.io and Prommt unveiled a collaboration to improve open banking payments. This illustrated the increasing importance of seamless, user-friendly payment solutions in the fintech landscape​​.

Why Money20/20?

Fintech Strategy met with SC Ventures, Lloyds Banking Group, OSB Group, AirWallex, Plaid, Paymentology, Episode Six, Mettle (NatWest Group) and more to take the pulse of the latest trends across the fintech landscape…

Mettle

Michelle Prance, CEO, Mettle (NatWest Group): “It’s good for Mettle to come here because we are a fintech that was incubated inside a large bank for fintechs. Quite often their route to market, and capitalisation, is by going into a main bank being acquired. It’s a marriage between a big organisation and the small nimble fintech. People are really interested in what we’re doing because big incumbents want to be fast and nimble. They don’t always have the capital to invest in something like we’ve been able to do with Mettle. So, they’re interested to know the right route. Do they incubate in house? Or do they buy it in? And what’s the right way to do that without killing the culture? These are the types of interesting conversations we’ve been having here.”

Episode Six

Craig Ramsay, MD Business Development, Episode Six: “Networking is really important for us as a small company. There are lots of people here who can actually solve problems and it’s the collaboration I get quite excited about. What I’ve seen change in recent years is that the big banks are looking to find small organisations like us to figure out how to solve their payments problems. And that’s different to when I was working for a bank only a few years ago. You just have to be here at Money20/20… What I’m seeing, since we returned after Covid, is how many people from different parts of the world are coming here to actually talk to each other in person. If you’re not here at Money20/20, then it’s actually hard to be relevant in this industry.”

Read the full review here

  • Artificial Intelligence in FinTech
  • Digital Payments