Industry News

Experian UK&I has partnered Sardine, a provider of behavioral technology used two detect GenAI deep fakes, mobile emulators, advanced bots, and VPNs. Sardine uses Know Your Customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) technology to identify genuine customers and meet compliance requirements. It can be applied throughout the customer relationship - from account opening to account funding and customer login — by integrating both device intelligence and behavioral biometrics into one platform.

Nuvei, a Canada-based payment processor, has completed its previously announced plan of arrangement under the Canada Business Corporations Act pursuant to which Neon Maple Purchaser Inc., an entity formed by Advent International, paid US$34.00 per share for all of the issued and outstanding shares of the Nuvei.

Klarna Group has confidentially submitted a draft Registration Statement on Form F-1 to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission relating to the proposed initial public offering of its ordinary shares. The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined. The initial public offering is expected to take place after the SEC completes its review process, subject to market and other conditions.

Comerica Bank has filed a lawsuit against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, asserting the bureau’s investigation of the bank’s handling of the Direct Express prepaid card program is “aggressive and overreaching.” The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, contends that the CFPB, during its investigation, “has failed to acknowledge that, as Financial Agent of the Direct Express program, Comerica generally acted with the oversight and knowledge or approval of the federal government.” Suffering “substantial harm” from the CFPB’s “ongoing and costly” probe – which began in 2021 – Dallas-based Comerica wants a judge to deem the bureau’s investigation unlawful because it oversteps the CFPB’s authority. The CFPB declined to comment.

ConnexPay, an all-in-one B2B payments platform, has received a US patent for a payments technology invention that unifies incoming payments and outgoing payments inside a single system. U.S. Patent No. 12,118,519 was granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and is titled “Intelligent Payment Routing and Payment Generation.” The invention applies fraud control to incoming customer payments in real time, and generates corresponding outgoing supplier payments on demand.

Gross profits grew 9% YOY. Gross profits from consumer payments grew 2% YOY and 6% YTD. Gross profits from business payments grew approximately 67% YOY and 33% YTD. Instant funding volumes increased by approximately 24% YOY.

Telered, the main processor of electronic transactions and payment methods in Panama, is integrating with the Discover Global Network to give Sistema Clave cardholders access to Discover's 70 million global acceptance locations along with frequently used online merchants and streaming platforms. Users will also be able to withdraw cash at 1.8+ million ATMs in Discover’s network. Discover Global Network cardholders will be able to transact at Telered merchants in Panama.

Revolut, a London-based neobank that ranks highest in Europe based on customers (35 million) and valuation ($45 billion), is letting ecommerce clients accept American Express cards via channels that include Tap to Pay, Revolut Gateway and Payments Link.

Financial highlights of the third quarter of 2024 compared with the third quarter of 2023 include revenue of $227.0 million, up 20.1%, adjusted gross profit of $86.0 million, up 18.9% and operating income of $38.1 million up, 62.0%.

Underlying Merchant Sales rose 40.6% YoY to reach $659.9 million, exceeding the previous quarterly high recorded in 4Q23. The YoY growth was driven by greater consumer engagement, with overall consumer purchase frequency climbing to 5.4 times in 3Q24 compared to 4.1 times during the same period in 2023. Total Revenue increased 71.3% YoY to $70.0 million. Total Revenue as a percentage of UMS reached 10.6%, surpassing the previous all-time high of 10.5% set in 2Q24. Net Income reached $15.4 million, resulting in Net Income per Diluted Share of $2.62 for 3Q24, compared to $0.23 for 3Q23. Net Income as a percentage of Total Revenue was 22.1%, an 18.9 percentage point increase from the prior comparable period in 2023.

The GSMA, an organization that represents mobile operators and related organizations, has joined forces with UK Finance, an organization representing 300+ financial firms, to launch a product that addresses Authorized Push Payment (APP) fraud in the UK. Scam Signal, delivered via an API, helps banks identify and stop fraudulent bank transfers by analyzing real-time network data and identifying correlations between phone calls and fraudulent bank transfers. APP fraud occurs when criminals manipulate customers into transferring money to a criminal. Estimates are that 35% of APP losses originate from scams that were initiated through telecommunications involving telephones or SMS.

GAAP revenue increased 5.2% and GAAP operating income increased 14.0% for the fiscal three months ended September 30, 2024, compared to the prior fiscal year quarter. Non-GAAP adjusted revenue increased 5.3% and non-GAAP adjusted operating income increased 1.6%.

Checkbook, an all-in-one platform businesses used to disburse payments at scale, is joining the J.P. Morgan Payments Partner Network. The partnership will allow J.P. Morgan Payments corporate clients to send digital checks from their J.P. Morgan bank accounts.

Affirm, a payment network that allows consumers to split the total cost of purchases into a series of smaller payments, has expanded into the UK where it says nearly one quarter of BNPL users were charged late fees in 2023. Affirm, which been operating in the US and Canada, underwrites transactions and does not charge late fees. It currently has 50 million consumers and 300,000+ active merchants worldwide including Amazon, Shopify and Walmart. Initial merchants in the UK are Alternative Airlines, a flight booking site, and Fexco, a global payments processor.

Synchrony, the largest private label credit card issuer in the US, has announced a long-term extension of their nearly 25-year partnership with JCPenney. The retailer's rewards credit cards are accepted at more than 650 stores in the US and Puerto Rico, as well as at JCPenney.com. The extended partnership will add Synchrony's BNPL financing option, Pay Later, for purchases over $300 in store or online.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is being sued by the Financial Technology Association (FTA) over an interpretive rule that adds proections that apply to credit cards to BNPL products. These include the rights to dispute charges and to demand a refund from the lender. The FTA has accused the CFPB of doing an end-run around the Administrative Procedures Act, which requires notice and comment on new rules.

Vaiu Global, a software technology provider, has introduced Ephemeral Token Software to accelerate the adoption of instant payments, including the US Federal Reserve's FedNow real-time payments system. The company's software enables banks to implement token-based bank withdrawals and deposits, eliminating the need to exchange credentials (account or personal information, including ID, phone numbers, and email) when making a payment.

Nium, the a provider of infrastructure for real-time cross-border payments, has launched Nium Verify, a real-time bank account verification service for businesses and individual accounts. The product will be available in 50 markets. It integrates with clearing systems and major banks within each country, providing instant confirmation of beneficiary account details before transactions are initiated.

Tilled, a startup that offers software companies PayFac-as-a-Service for embedded payments, has partnered with North, a distributor of payment services. The collaboration will help independent software vendors in the US and Canada embed payments into their platforms.

Mastercard is expanding its US Installments Payments program at checkout to give merchants, financial service providers, processors and digital wallets the ability to offer consumers installment payments at checkout. Partners working with Mastercard include Global Payments, Skipify and Splitit.

New York Attorney General Letitia James is investigating whether Capital One's $35.3 billion takeover of Discover Financial Services violates the state's antitrust law. James has asked a state judge in Manhattan to subpoena Capital One for relevant documents, saying the merger could have a significant impact in New York because Capital One and Discover respectively have more than $9.5 billion and $6.5 billion of credit card loans there.

Visa has entered a five-year agreement to work with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to improve access to open, secure, and inclusive digital government systems across the world. Following the recent launch of USAID’s Digital Policy, the organizations will develop programs to assist governments in creating and adopting platforms that connect their constituents with local government services. The aim is to promote economic development and growth in select markets. Recenty Visa and USAID began working with Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation to develop Diia, a mobile application that connects 19 million Ukrainians with more than 120 government services.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) took action against Apple and Goldman Sachs alleging customer service breakdowns and misrepresentations that impacted hundreds of thousands of Apple Card users. Apple failed to send tens of thousands of consumer disputes of Apple Card transactions to card issuer Goldman Sachs, and when Apple did send disputes to Goldman, the bank did not follow numerous federal requirements for investigating the disputes. Apple and Goldman launched Apple Card despite third-party warnings that the disputes system was not ready due to technological issues. These failures meant that cardholders faced long waits to get money back for disputed charges, and some had incorrect negative information added to their credit reports. The CFPB is ordering Goldman Sachs to pay at least $19.8 million in redress and a $45 million civil money penalty, and Apple to pay a $25 million civil money penalty. The CFPB is also banning Goldman Sachs from launching a new credit card unless it can provide a credible plan that the product will actually comply with the law.

Fidelity Payment Services and its proprietary payment gateway, Cardknox, have consolidated the brand identity and company name and will now be known as Sola. Founded in 1996, Fidelity started out by offering merchants payment processing services. It was acquired by PSG Private Equity in 2022.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has finalized a rule designed to give consumers greater rights, privacy, and security over their personal financial data. It requires financial institutions, credit card issuers, and other financial providers to unlock an individual’s data and transfer it to another provider at the consumer’s request for free, making it easier for consumers to switch to providers with better rates and services. Compliance will be implemented in phases starting with the largest providers. Larger institutions will have to comply by April 1, 2026, while the smaller institutions will have until April 1, 2030. Certain small banks and credit unions are not subject to this rule.