Payment method PIX is breaking records (again…)
Happy Friday fellow FinTech Fanatic,
It's not the first time we're turning our attention to the payment solution PIX.
This instant payment platform created and managed by the monetary authority of Brazil, the Central Bank of Brazil (BCB), which enables the quick execution of payments and transfers, broke a new record by carrying out 134.8 million operations in one day , the first time transactions exceeded 125 million in 24 hours.
This new record, set on July 7, 2023, surpassed the previous one made on June 7, 2023, with 124.7 million transactions.
By the first quarter of 2023, PIX had become the primary payment instrument in Brazil, accounting for 35% of total transactions.
Block Sues Visa and Mastercard Over Interchange Fees
Another interesting story came in from the U.S., as Block accused payments giants Visa and Mastercard of ‘conspiring to inflate fees and increase retail prices paid’ .
The antitrust lawsuit filed Friday (July 14) with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York stems from the Square payment platform's alleging of inflated "interchange" fees also known as "swipe fees" charged by Visa and Mastercard with their member banks when a customer uses a credit or debit card, according to Bloomberg.?
PYMNTS reached out to both Mastercard and Visa for comment. A Mastercard spokesperson said the company hadn't seen the suit and declined comment. Visa has yet to respond.
I reckon this story's definitely gonna get a follow-up. What do you think? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below??
Onwards to the other FinTech news:
BREAKING NEWS
Fed launches long-awaited instant payments service, modernizing system. FedNow is launching with 41 banks and 15 service providers certified to use the service, including community banks and large lenders like JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N), Bank of New York Mellon (BK.N), and US Bancorp (USB.N), but the Fed plans to onboard more banks and credit unions this year.
NEWS HIGHLIGHT
Amazon to launch pay-by-palm technology at all Whole Foods stores by year-end through Amazon One, a biometric technology that lets users enter and pay for items at stores by placing a palm over a scanning device .
“Dutch FinTech Census 2023 Report” by EY reflects the opinions, experiences and desires of Dutch FinTechs regarding customer demand, talent, regulation and capital. Download the complete report here
“The Challenge of Challenger Banks in Singapore” by Dennis Khoo and Kar Poh CHEN . Estimates of the number of digital banks range between 250 and 350 globally. In Singapore, there are five emerging digital banks. Click here to view the full report.
INSIGHTS
Over 5.6 mln money transfers made from 73 countries to Romania in H1. International fund transfers made to Romania using Revolut increased by 5% YoY in the first half (H1) of 2023, according to a recent report released by the company. Read full article
Take a look at Goldman Sachs’ Second Quarter 2023 Earnings Results Presentation. View the complete report with detailed information through this link
Charlie Youakim , CEO of Sezzle sees banks ramping up FinTech acquisitions in 2024 and beyond. It’s not news, he said, that banks and FinTechs, once enemies, are collaborating and have struck partnerships with increasing frequency over the years. Read more
Financial crime in fintech times. Fraud is growing fast and it’s costly. Read the complete article with more stats and figures on this topic by Mouro Capital .
FINTECH NEWS
Sezzle ’s growth in Canada continues. In just four years, the company has amassed over 500,000 consumers in Canada and the Sezzle app has consistently been the highest-rated BNPL app on the Canadian App Store.
Feedzai rolls out AI-based fraud-fighting tool Railgun. As sophisticated criminals embrace new techniques using generative AI, and as financial crime surges, new AI-based fraud-fighting technologies like Railgun will be critical to protect both consumers and financial institutions.
Apple Pay launches in Morocco. The support means that CIH Bank's customers will be able to add their Mastercard credit cards and bank cards to the Wallet app by tapping the plus button in the top-right corner.
领英推荐
DIGITAL BANKING NEWS
Deutsche Bank fined $186m by US Federal Reserve citing “unsafe and unsound banking practices” and “violations of the Board’s 2015 and 2017 consent orders with Deutsche Bank relating to sanctions compliance and anti-money laundering controls”.
EQ Bank launches Canada's first fully digital, no-fee FHSA Savings Account. Through FHSA, prospective first-time homebuyers can also purchase GICs with current returns of up to 5.50%2 and a wide range of term options, offering an attractive guaranteed way to earn more while saving for a tax-free down payment on a qualifying home.
M&As
Nordea bolsters Nordic presence with Danske Bank ’s Norwegian personal customer business acquisition. The acquisition advances Nordea's Nordic strategy , combining organic growth with bolt-on acquisitions, set to raise mortgage market share in Norway from 11% to a substantial 16%.?
PARTNERSHIPS
Brex connects with Airwallex to support global expansion. Brex scales fast via seamless integration with Airwallex, using its solutions for global corporate cards, employee reimbursements, and leveraging 50+ global licenses for market expansion. Read more
TerraPay (Mobex) partners with Safaricom's M-PESA to facilitate seamless outbound cross-border remittances. The partnership will enable more than 30 million M-PESA mobile wallet-holders in Kenya to send real-time payments through TerraPay's interoperable network across all wallets in Bangladesh & Pakistan.
Primer integrates with Volt . This partnership will help merchants during market downturn by offering instant bank payment options (account to account payments) using Volt’s open banking network.?
Paystrax to monitor merchant fraud with VikingCloud . With VikingCloud’s Web Risk Monitoring, PAYSTRAX will be able to regularly scan each merchant’s website(s) , identify illegal products, and discover merchants hiding illegal transactions in otherwise legitimate businesses.?
ACI Worldwide and Dock team up to launch Acquiring-as-a-Service in the Brazilian market. This innovative service model redefines the acquiring landscape , allowing non-financial institutions like retailers, restaurants, apparel, and e-commerce businesses to step into the role of acquirers through a simple subscription process.
Portrait Analytics raises $7m for launch of AI research platform. Portrait is aiming to help analysts cut back on the reading needed to research companies, accelerating the speed at which investors can discover and become experts on firms.
Karat Financial raises $70 million Series B to upgrade its creator credit card business. The three-year-old company has positioned itself as an influencer-friendly option by embedding itself within creator communities. Read more
Sustainable finance gets a boost as ING and EIB earmark €600m for SMEs. This joint venture aims to distribute the money in fresh loans to SMEs across Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. The key focus of this initiative is to fund investments that yield a favourable climate and environmental outcome.
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Brite Payments announces two new appointments to its C-suite bringing on board Alexander Kassai as COO and Fredrik Str?mqvist as CFO. Kassai will work to lead the company’s operational functions, Str?mqvist’s will be responsible for developing and maintaining relationships between Brite and a network of different banks.
Starling Bank appoints head of public affairs. Ariane Vickman , former principal of public affairs and public policy at UK Finance, has started a new role as head of public affairs at the digital Starling Bank. Link here
Looking to work with me in any of the following areas?
Cheers,
Marcel van Oost
Connecting the dots in FinTech...
9 个月Mind blowing numbers from Brazil????:?Over 42 Billion Pix transactions in 2023 - Approximately 4.8 Billion Pix transactions in December alone ?? ??????'?? ???????? ???????? ???????? ?????? ??????????: https://www.dhirubhai.net/posts/marcelvanoost_pix-payments-paytech-activity-7165693869693546496-8t0t?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop?