News

July, 2021

• 8 July

  As Buy Now, Pay Later Usage Rises, It Bids to Become an ‘Option’ Rather Than Just a ‘Sweetener’

  

  Consumer usage of buy now, pay later has increased significantly over the last couple of years. Research from Auriemma Consulting Group Inc. reveals the number of debit card holders offered a BNPL option in-store or online increased more than 10 percentage points between the first quarter of 2019 and the …
• 8 July

  June Retail Sales up 11% and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 7/8/21

  

  U.S. retail sales increased 11% in June from June 2020, according to the latest Mastercard Inc. SpendingPulse report. They were up 10.4% compared to June 2019. E-commerce sales increased 8.3% year-over-year and were up 95% over June 2019.Payments provider Paysafe Ltd. launched a program that lets travel businesses accepting consumer payments to use a …
• 8 July

  Blockchain Payments Pioneer Circle Will Go Public in a $4.5-Billion SPAC Deal

  

  The SPAC trend has come to the blockchain industry. Circle Internet Financial Inc. announced early Thursday it has agreed to be acquired by Concord Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company, in a deal that will take Circle public and values the 8-year-old company at $4.5 billion. That valuation would …
• 7 July

  Eye On Payments for Professions: New Initiatives From DepositLink, LawPay, And Repay

  

  With the Covid-19 pandemic accelerating the adoption of digital payments, it was only a matter of time before payments providers began pushing the technology beyond mainstream merchants, such as retailers and restaurants, and down to professions with specialized needs, such as realtors, attorneys, and healthcare providers.     DepositLink Inc., a Boston-based …
• 7 July

  An App Emerges for Fast Payments to a Fast-Growing Base of Freelance Workers

  

  As the gig economy grows, startups are emerging to meet an expanding market for payment. An especially ambitious example is Willa Inc., which on Wednesday announced an $18-million Series A funding round led by FinTech Collective and including sums from existing investors EQT Ventures and Entrée Capital. The Ventura, Calif.-based …
• 7 July

  Splitit Adds BNPL In-Store Option and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 7/7/21

  

  As consumers return to physical stores, Splitit USA Inc., a buy now, pay later provider, announced it is making its service available in-store and including availability with Apple Pay and Google Pay.Fly Now Pay Later, a United Kingdom-based fintech, announced a deal with Cross River Bank in New Jersey that will …
• 6 July

  BlocPal And OneFeather Team to Deliver Services Via Mobile Wallets to Canada’s Indigenous People

  

  As part of its goal to provide unbanked and underbanked consumers affordable digital access to financial services through a single application, BlocPal International Inc. has partnered with OneFeather, a Victoria, British Columbia-based provider of digital services to indigenous people in Canada, to introduce the OneFeather app in that country. The …
• 6 July

  Eye on Acquiring: EVO Links With KAL for ATMs in Europe, While Square Kicks off in France

  

  Atlanta-based EVO Payments Inc. is working with global ATM technology provider KAL to allow banks and independent ATM deployers to quickly set up ATMs anywhere in Europe. The new service combines Germany-based KAL’s ATM software with EVO’s payments network, the parties said Tuesday. “We have created a highly efficient method …
• 6 July

  Allied in NYDIG Deal and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 7/6/21

  

  Allied Payment Network Inc., a provider of online and mobile bill-payment services, said it will work with New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG) institutions using Allied to offer customers the ability to buy, sell, and hold Bitcoin. Allied said it and NYDIG plan to add digital payments via Bitcoin.Reuters reported …
• 2 July

  Riskified Files for an IPO; Lightspeed Closes Its NuOrder Deal

  

  Fraud-management platform Riskified Ltd. has filed for an initial public offering of its Class A Ordinary Shares.  Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, and Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC are the lead underwriters. Barclays Capital Inc., KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc., Piper Sandler & Co., Truist Securities, Inc., …