Payments giant Stripe announced a new product that fills in some significant gaps in its play to be the financial services layer for merchants and other businesses whose models are based on enabling transactions, as reported by TC’s Ingrid Lunden. That new product is called Financial Connections and the company says it will give Stripe’s customers a way to connect directly to their customer’s bank accounts, to access financial data to speed up or run certain kinds of transactions. If this sounds familiar, it’s because it is pretty much exactly what another fintech giant, Plaid, already does. And the move by Stripe positions the company directly against Plaid, a former partner.
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin proposed new measures to rein in card network companies’ interchange, or “swipe” fees, at a congressional hearing Wednesday, but his proposals fell short of the credit card fee cap that some organizations feared might be in the offing. The two big card network companies, Visa, which dominates the industry, and No. 2 Mastercard, were in the hot seat at that Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on “excessive swipe fees and barriers to competition in the debit and credit card systems.” Durbin, who chairs the committee, chided the card network companies over April fee increases that he said contributed to inflationary pressures.
Some processors are ready to put the pandemic behind them, but FIS Inc. may have already done it. The big payments processor and banking-services provider early Tuesday reported its merchant revenue increased 15% year-over-year in the first quarter, a number that exceeded the company’s expectations, chief executive Gary Norcross told equity analysts on a conference call. The performance was buoyed by FIS’s large-enterprise client base and its growing strength in e-commerce, top executives said on the call. Altogether, the merchant solutions unit logged $1.11 billion in revenue for the quarter, representing growth in volume in key segments even without acquisitions.
Shares of Shopify plunged more than 17% after markets opened on Thursday after the company reported first-quarter results that missed analysts’ estimates. Shopify posted adjusted earnings of 20 cents per share, while Wall Street had expected 63 cents per share. Revenue grew 22% year over year to $1.2 billion, but that still fell short of Wall Street’s projected $1.24 billion. The Canadian company, which makes tools for companies to sell products online, also announced it plans to acquire Deliverr, a San Francisco-based start-up that provides fulfillment services to merchants selling their wares across Amazon, Walmart, eBay and other online marketplaces.
eBay Inc. on Wednesday became the latest e-commerce retailer to give a gloomy revenue forecast as growth slows in the sector after two years of rapid expansion during the pandemic, sending its shares down 6% in extended trading. The company projected second-quarter revenue between $2.35 billion and $2.40 billion, compared with the average analyst expectation of $2.54 billion. Its full-year forecast was also below market estimates. The dour view reflects the expected hit from a return of pre-pandemic shopping habits and stubbornly high inflation, which is likely to curtail consumer spending.
Apple has been hit with an antitrust accusation by the European Union over its exclusion of rivals from its Apple Pay mobile payment system. The EU sent Apple a formal “Statement of Objections” with the preliminary view that Apple has abused its dominant position in mobile wallets on iOS. “The Commission takes issue with the decision by Apple to prevent mobile wallets app developers, from accessing the necessary hardware and software (‘NFC input’) on its devices, to the benefit of its own solution, Apple Pay,” reads the decision.
As we exit a global pandemic crisis that exacted a toll on many people’s professional and personal lives, it’s not surprising that a recurring theme among this year’s nominees was empathy. Four of the 15 Women on The Most Powerful Women in Banking: Next list noted valuing empathy as a leadership quality. “Compassion, or, as I like to say, empathy with action, is the most important quality for a leader to have,” said Caroline Donlin, managing director and group head of BMO Harris.
After a week of making headlines, one-click checkout startup Bolt has issued a public response to questions about how it’s faring in the competitive space. CEO Maju Kuruvilla issued a blog post today acknowledging that the company “has become very popular in the media these past few months.” In case you missed it, last week the startup was in the news for a number of reasons outlined here, including a lawsuit filed by a major customer and reports that it is seeing a slowdown in revenue and customer growth.
Ahead of its imminent launch in the US, London based fintech Zilch has joined the Financial Technology Association (FTA) in order to prioritise innovation through responsible products and services. Zilch offers alternative credit options without charging their customers interest or fees, using open banking data, CSR data and behavioural data technologies to make consumer lending decisions when a transaction goes through.
Toast has added Toast for Hotel Restaurants, a product aimed at helping hotel restaurant operators streamline their operations, increase revenue and process room charges directly from the point-of-sale.This product launch comes as demand for hotel rooms inches toward pre-pandemic levels. Occupancy rates are expected to reach an average of 63.4% for the year, down slightly from pre-pandemic levels of 66%, according to the American Hotel & Lodging Association.
Crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) said Wednesday it has opened the beta version of its non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace to the public. The exchange unveiled the marketplace to a small group of invited users at the end of April, nearly seven months after announcing its launch in October 2021. The marketplace saw just 900 transactions and 73 ETH (around $210,000) of sales volume in the debut week of its beta, though Coinbase did not say how many users had been granted access to the platform.
“Right now, I’d say the mood among business owners is uncertain,” says Leon Buck, the National Retail Federation’s vice president of banking and financial services. There’s good reason for that uncertainty. At the moment, Buck says, “I would say that cryptocurrency doesn’t really meet the standard to be called currency. It’s risky to accept it because it’s such a highly speculative investment. A dollar in Bitcoin might be worth $1.50 tomorrow or fifty cents. It’s a highly speculative notion that doesn’t work for retailers right now.”
The ODP Corp. reported mixed first-quarter sales as its retail division sagged amid fewer stores. In January, ODP said it was delaying its previously announced plans to split into two public companies in order to give it time to review offers for the potential sale of its consumer business, which includes Office Depot and OfficeMax stores, officedepot.com, and the Office Depot and OfficeMax intellectual property, including all brand names.
If there’s one thing that’s become predictable at J.C. Penney in the last decade or so, it’s constant change. The company has had five chief executives in that time, each with their own ideas about how to turn over its steadily declining fortunes. That included efforts like restoring and then again ending appliance sales, and sweeping away its women’s apparel inventory in hopes of an effective reset. Mired in the troubles of the department store sector plus missteps of its own, the retailer finally collapsed into bankruptcy in 2020.
"Over the past week, CFPB Director Rohit Chopra made additional false, inflammatory and misleading statements about MoneyGram. MoneyGram is a consumer-first company with an industry leading compliance and consumer protection program. While we prefer to not comment on pending litigation, we cannot stand by quietly while unfair and disparaging public statements are made about our Company and our dedicated employees working hard every day to protect consumers from harm."
“Buy now, pay later” giant Klarna says it will start reporting data on customers’ usage of its products to credit bureaus in the U.K., gearing up for incoming regulations aimed at reining in the sector over fears it is putting young people into debt. Starting June 1, the Swedish fintech firm will share information on whether Brits paid off an installment loan in time or are falling behind on their payments to TransUnion and Experian, meaning such data will now start to appear on their credit reports.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has allocated 20 additional positions to protect investors in cryptocurrency markets from cyber-related threats. The SEC says that the newly named Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit, formerly known as the Cyber Unit, in the Division of Enforcement, will grow to 50 dedicated positions. "The U.S. has the greatest capital markets because investors have faith in them, and as more investors access the crypto markets, it is increasingly important to dedicate more resources to protecting them," says SEC Chair Gary Gensler.
H&R Block Inc. won a preliminary injunction against Block Inc., the digital payments company created by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, after a Missouri federal judge found that the use of similar names and logos would likely cause consumer confusion. Judge Nanette K. Laughrey ordered last Thursday that Block Inc., which rebranded from Square last December, not use its new name in connection with its Cash App Taxes services and that app’s green square logo.
The Federal Reserve ordered the largest interest hike in more than two decades Wednesday as part of its escalating campaign to battle stubbornly high inflation. The central bank raised its benchmark rate by half-a-percentage point, following a quarter-point increase in March. The moves mark a sharp U-turn from the easy-money policies the Fed had pursued through most of the pandemic. The Fed also telegraphed that it expects additional rate increases in the months to come, continuing a campaign that has high stakes for the U.S. economy.
From a clean home to a new wardrobe, Spring brings fresh starts and beckons consumers outside and back into stores. According to Mastercard SpendingPulse™, which measures in-store and online retail sales across all forms of payment, total retail sales excluding auto in April increased +7.2% year-over-year (YOY) and +15.3% compared to pre-pandemic spending (2019), not adjusted for inflation. This is similar to the YOY monthly growth experienced thus far in 2022.
A majority of small business owners report that inflation and supply chain disruptions are impacting their businesses, according to the Bank of America 2022 Small Business Owner Report. The survey of more than 1,000 business owners across the country—now in its 10th year—found that business owners are navigating operational challenges including price increases and loss of customers. Despite these difficulties, business outlook remains strong, with 64% anticipating their revenue will increase in the year ahead.
The US labor market remained on fire in March with a record 4.5 million workers quitting their jobs, new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed Tuesday. The number of quits increased most significantly in the professional and business services sector, as well as construction. The overall quits rate moved up to 3%, a level not seen since December 2021. "As employers require workers to return to offices, quits are ticking upwards.
Global Payments Inc. announced results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2022. "The resilience of our business continued through the first quarter of 2022 with performance exceeding our expectations despite incremental macro headwinds throughout the period," said Jeff Sloan, Chief Executive Officer. "We are especially pleased with the results for our Merchant Solutions business, which again demonstrated ongoing momentum as our strategies for differentiated growth continue to win in the marketplace.”
Shift4 Payments, Inc. on Thursday reported a loss of $7.5 million in its first quarter. On a per-share basis, the Allentown, Pennsylvania-based company said it had a loss of 13 cents. Earnings, adjusted for stock option expense and non-recurring costs, came to 15 cents per share. The company posted revenue of $401.9 million in the period. Its adjusted revenue was $148.8 million, which also topped Street forecasts. Four analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $140.9 million.
ACI Worldwide, the global leader in mission-critical, real-time payments software, announced financial results today for the quarter ended March 31, 2022. ACI delivered a strong first quarter, with revenue growth of 13% and new ARR bookings up 117% versus 2021. “We continue to execute on the rigorous and disciplined management processes implemented in the last two years, making our business more predictable and our growth momentum clear,” said Odilon Almeida, president and CEO of ACI Worldwide.
“I am very pleased with our first quarter results and the continued business acceleration we are demonstrating so far this year,” said James, G. Kelly, Chief Executive Officer of EVO. “Our strong financial performance was driven by growth from our bank and tech-enabled sales channels across the Americas and Europe. I remain excited about our expanded suite of capabilities and growing referral networks, which will enhance our ability to drive accelerated top- and bottom-line growth for our business.”
The Bank of America Institute today released its findings from the latest Consumer Checkpoint, which aims to provide a holistic and real-time estimate of U.S. consumers’ spending and their financial well-being, leveraging the breadth and depth of Bank of America proprietary data from its 67 million consumer and small business clients. “While higher inflation naturally leads to higher spending, it is clear from our data that consumer strength goes beyond this as the amount spent on credit and debit cards is outpacing the rate of inflation,” said David Tinsley, senior economist for the Bank of America Institute.
Businesses of all sizes will be able to simplify the enablement of Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) options with streamlined access via commerce systems from Fiserv, Inc., a leading global provider of payments and financial services technology solutions. Fiserv currently offers BNPL services to merchants through relationships with Bread, Synchrony and Zip, and today announces a new relationship with Affirm, which will be the first BNPL option fully integrated into the Carat℠ operating system.
Worldline, a global leader in payment services, is partnering with MYRA, one of the world’s premier providers of self-check-in solutions both online and at kiosks, to develop a state-of-the-art customer payment solution specifically tailored to the hospitality sector. The solution will be showcased through a pilot project currently being undertaken with leading international hotel chain, Leonardo Hotels, encompassing over 200 hotels in 90 countries.
Lightspeed Commerce Inc. announced the launch of Lightspeed Retail, a groundbreaking new retail commerce platform that unites advanced POS, payments, and ecommerce into one cohesive and powerful solution. Leveraging the power of headless commerce, powerful integrations, and a completely reimagined interface, Lightspeed Retail is the ultimate commerce platform to help business owners elevate their strategy while managing the complex challenges of the evolving retail landscape.
Truist Financial Corporation announced it has acquired Long Game, the award-winning gamified finance mobile app that is changing the way people save, learn and engage with their finances. Long Game transforms how users engage with their bank by using prize-linked savings and casual gaming to motivate smart financial behaviors and driving new account growth and client retention for banks. Truist will leverage Long Game's innovative technology to help its clients build long-term financial wellness and advance its purpose to inspire and build better lives and communities.
Paysafe, a leading specialised payments platform, announces the extension of its collaboration with Visa to integrate Visa Direct, Visa’s real-time push payments platform. Especially suited to industries where speed of settlement is key, such as cryptocurrency or FX trading and iGaming among many others, Paysafe will offer Visa Direct to merchants, exchanges, operators and other online businesses in the UK and Europe.
Nuvei Corporation, tomorrow’s payment platform, announces that it has joined with Fifth Third Bank, National Association, to bring real-time deposits to the U.S. sports betting and iGaming industries. In a first for the industry, the rollout, which will become available for all Nuvei partners through its open banking platform in North America, enables merchants to receive instant real-time deposits.
GoCardless, a leader in direct bank payment solutions, announced the appointment of Paul Stoddart as President. Stoddart joins from Mastercard where he was President of its New Payment Platforms, Executive Chairman of Vocalink and a Member of the Mastercard Management Committee. In his new role at GoCardless he will have global responsibility for the go-to-market organisation including the Strategy, Sales, Product, Marketing and Customer teams, with a view to accelerating growth and achieving the company’s ambition to become the world’s bank payment network.
LexisNexis® Risk Solutions, has announced the acquisition of BehavioSec®, an advanced behavioral biometrics technology provider. Founded in Sweden in 2008 with a presence in the U.S., Canada and EMEA, BehavioSec provides a highly predictive behavioral biometrics solution that uses behavior analysis for continuous authentication to establish identity trust and help prevent fraud. Solutions from BehavioSec will become a part of the Business Services group within LexisNexis Risk Solutions and enhance its device and digital identity-focused offerings, such as LexisNexis® ThreatMetrix®.
Deluxe, a Trusted Payments and Business Technology™ company, has entered into an agreement with BillGO, one of the industry’s largest bill payment platforms and fintech trailblazer, to provide digitized check delivery of payments through the Deluxe Payment Exchange Network. The Deluxe Payment Exchange (DPX) is a digital payment platform for businesses of all sizes that allows payers options in how payments are made – digitally through a direct feed to a lockbox, through the issuance of an eCheck, or printed and mailed.
Everyware, a leading contactless payments and customer engagement solutions company, announces the expansion of its Pay By Text options by offering real-time payments (RTP) and its open banking approach to financial data. The RTP and open banking experience, along with security enhancements, are made possible through Everyware's partnership with MX, the leader in Open Finance. Combining an open banking approach with RTP modernizes the customer relationship and enables better digital access to financial services and data.
Corvia, Inc. announced it has expanded its acquiring bank sponsor relationships with the addition of MVB Bank. The new registered agent relationship will enable Corvia to better support a partner-centric approach of providing superior service for traditional retail and specialty e-commerce businesses to ensure compliance, while continuing to grow profitably via access to wide-ranging data intelligence. It also marks an important company milestone as Corvia continues its strong and exciting growth trajectory.
