Finsight Breaking News - Page 21

Square, Inc. (NYSE: SQ) and Afterpay Limited (ASX: APT) today announced that they have entered into a Scheme Implementation Deed under which Square has agreed to acquire all of the issued shares in Afterpay by way of a recommended court-approved Scheme of Arrangement. The transaction has an implied value of approximately US$29 billion (A$39 billion) based on the closing price of Square common stock on July 30, 2021, and is expected to be paid in all stock. The acquisition aims to enable the companies to better deliver compelling financial products and services that expand access to more consumers and drive incremental revenue for merchants of all sizes. The closing of the transaction is expected in the first quarter of calendar year 2022, subject to the satisfaction of certain closing conditions outlined below.

“Square and Afterpay have a shared purpose. We built our business to make the financial system more fair, accessible, and inclusive, and Afterpay has built a trusted brand aligned with those principles,” said Jack Dorsey, Co-Founder and CEO of Square. “Together, we can better connect our Cash App and Seller ecosystems to deliver even more compelling products and services for merchants and consumers, putting the power back in their hands.”

Afterpay, the pioneering global ‘buy now, pay later’ (BNPL) platform, will accelerate Square’s strategic priorities for its Seller and Cash App ecosystems. Square plans to integrate Afterpay into its existing Seller and Cash App business units, enable even the smallest of merchants to offer BNPL at checkout, give Afterpay consumers the ability to manage their installment payments directly in Cash App, and give Cash App customers the ability to discover merchants and BNPL offers directly within the app.

“Buy now, pay later has been a powerful growth tool for sellers globally,” said Alyssa Henry, Lead of Square’s Seller business. “We are thrilled to not only add this product to our Seller ecosystem, but to do it with a trusted and innovative team.”

“The addition of Afterpay to Cash App will strengthen our growing networks of consumers around the world, while supporting consumers with flexible, responsible payment options,” said Brian Grassadonia, Lead of Square’s Cash App business. “Afterpay will help deepen and reinforce the connections between our Cash App and Seller ecosystems, and accelerate our ability to offer a rich suite of commerce capabilities to Cash App customers.”

Afterpay is an industry leader with a best-in-class product and strong cultural alignment with Square. As of June 30, 2021, Afterpay serves more than 16 million consumers and nearly 100,000 merchants globally, including major retailers across key verticals such as fashion, homewares, beauty, sporting goods and more. Afterpay empowers consumers to access the things they want and need, while allowing them to maintain financial wellness and control. Afterpay also assists merchants in growing their businesses by helping to drive repeat purchases, increase average transaction sizes, and provide their buyers with the ability to pay over time. Afterpay is deeply committed to helping people spend responsibly without incurring service fees for those who pay on time, interest, or revolving debt, and supports consumers in a number of countries across APAC, North America and Europe (including under its Clearpay brand).

“By combining with Square, we will further accelerate our growth in the U.S. and globally, offer access to a new category of in-person merchants, and provide a broader platform of new and valuable capabilities and services to our merchants and consumers. We are fully aligned with Square’s purpose and, together, we hope to continue redefining financial wellness and responsible spending for our customers,” said Anthony Eisen and Nick Molnar, Afterpay Co-Founders and Co-CEOs. “The transaction marks an important recognition of the Australian technology sector as homegrown innovation continues to be shared more broadly throughout the world. It also provides our shareholders with the opportunity to be a part of future growth of an innovative company aligned with our vision.”

For Square, BNPL presents an attractive opportunity supported by shifting consumer preferences away from traditional credit, especially among younger consumers, consistent demand from merchants for new ways to grow their sales, and the global growth in omnichannel commerce. Combined, Square and Afterpay’s complementary businesses present an opportunity to drive growth across multiple strategic levers, including:

Enhance both the Seller and Cash App ecosystems. Afterpay’s global merchant base will accelerate Square’s growth with larger sellers and expansion into new geographies, while helping to drive further acquisition of new Square sellers. Afterpay will expand Cash App’s growing product offering, enable customers to manage their repayments, and help customers discover new merchants when the Afterpay App is integrated into Cash App.

Bring added value, differentiation, and scale to Afterpay. Afterpay will benefit from Square’s large and growing customer base of more than 70 million annual transacting active Cash App customers and millions of sellers, which will expand Afterpay’s reach and growth both online and in-person. Afterpay consumers will receive the benefits of Cash App’s financial tools, including money transfer, stock and Bitcoin purchases, Cash Boost, and more.

Drive long-term growth with meaningful revenue synergy opportunities. Square believes Afterpay will be accretive to gross profit growth with a modest decrease in Adjusted EBITDA margins expected in the first year after completion of the transaction. Square sees an opportunity to invest behind Afterpay’s strong unit economics as well as attractive growth synergies, including the opportunity to introduce offerings and drive incremental growth for sellers and increased engagement for Cash App customers.

Afterpay’s Co-Founders and Co-CEOs will join Square upon completion of the transaction and help lead Afterpay’s respective merchant and consumer businesses, as part of Square’s Seller and Cash App ecosystems. Square will appoint one Afterpay director as a member of the Square Board following closing.

In May 2021, remittance flows between Mexico and the U.S. increased a whopping 31%, reaching over $4.5 billion as migrants continue sending money to loved ones to alleviate the impact of the pandemic. Revolut’s timely launch of this remittance corridor will enable customers to easily make cross-border payments between the US and Mexico at a time when cross-border peer-to-peer payments are reaching peak levels. 

With Revolut, customers can spend and transfer money globally, as well as exchange 28 currencies in the app, enabling users to exchange money abroad without paying the exorbitant fees – which can reach up to 11%  – charged by most major money transfer providers.

Revolut designed its money transfer features with ease-of-use and transparency in mind to afford its customers full visibility into where their money is going and when. Customers can sign up for an account in minutes and make money transfers soon after and using Revolut’s bank transfer tracker, customers can conveniently check the status of their transfers directly within the app.

Beyond improving cross-border payments between the US and Mexico, Revolut is exploring entry into new markets in Latin America, specifically Mexico and Brazil. Although still in the early stages of its expansion, the company has appointed a Head of Operations in Brazil and continues to assess new talent to support the expansion of its team and offerings across the region.

Ron Oliveira, CEO of Revolut USA, said:

“At Revolut, we believe sending peer-to-peer payments cross-border should be simple. In the context of today’s environment, people need to lean on each other for support now more than ever, and we are committed to providing consumers with a simple way to send money to loved ones and communities, no matter where in the world they may be. We know what matters most to our customers, how to ensure the largest amount of their hard-earned money being sent home makes it home.  The launch of this remittance corridor is a major milestone for Revolut – one that we’re confident will improve the financial lives of customers in the US and in Mexico.” 

70% of Millennials and Gen-Z use from 3 to 6 different payment providers. More than half would like to have their expenses, currencies, bills, accounts, investments, and other financial information in one place, where they can keep track of all their activities. 

Gregfins app offers a comprehensive financial experience, combining all PFM tools in one place, thus granting to the end-customers a complete control and overview of their financial life. The company provides deep analytics, simplified payment options, crypto trading, and many other features. Combined with Salt Edge data aggregation solution, Gregfins will allow their end-customers to see all their bank and eWallet account information in one place, making it easier to track and manage finances. The company will offer greater oversight and control over funds, reducing the bustle of everyday financial management tasks. Salt Edge data aggregation toolkit will allow Gregfins to access Open Banking and PSD2 channels instantly, providing access to bank accounts data of more than 5000 banks in 50+ countries. 

“The collaboration with Salt Edge allows us to use all open banking-powered solutions to upskill our existing features and offerings. Leveraging Salt Edge data aggregation we give our end-customers the possibility to connect multiple bank accounts, from any country, to obtain a single unified view and full control over their financial life”, said Miraskar Mirakhmedov, Founder of Gregfins. 

“Open banking unveils countless possibilities for innovative financial management, bringing it to the next level by enabling people to make well-judged financial decisions. Instant access to all financial data in one screen, brings much-needed ease and transparency in the current world. We are delighted to join hands with Gregfins, reckoning on their mission to bring the best possible financial management experience to the end-customers and reap all the benefits uncovered by open banking technology”, commented Cristian Gheorghita, Sales Lead at Salt Edge.

Salt Edge is a financial API platform with PSD2 and open banking solutions. The company has two main vectors of activity: enabling third parties to get access to bank channels via a unified gateway, and developing the technology necessary for banks to become compliant with the directive’s requirements. ISO 27001 certified and AISP licensed under PSD2, the company employs the highest international security measures to ensure stable and reliable connections between financial institutions and their customers. The company is integrated with 5000+ financial institutions in 50+ countries.

CAPEX.com, the leading global multi-licensed broker operated by Key Way Markets Ltd, has launched their latest product StoX – 0 commission in the Middle East. Regulated by the Abu Dhabi Global Market, StoX will enable our clients to diversify their portfolio by accessing more than 50 of the world’s largest US-listed companies including Apple, Tesla, Microsoft, Facebook, Alibaba, Disney, and more.

Not only StoX is a zero-commission based product offering traders a low-cost trading experience, it gets better when the very same product also brings Fractional Trading, allowing clients to trade fractions of the value of the shares starting from 0.01, as opposed to trading the full value of the share, without leverage and no swap fees on long (buy) positions.

The product will allow investors to trade on the stock price movements in either direction at will based on their investment and risk portfolio. As an added advantage, clients will also have access to various risk management techniques in addition to vital market orders such as stop loss and take profit.

“We are excited to formally announce the launch of StoX – our zero-commission-based product. As we grow CAPEX.com’s presence in the Middle East, we consistently strive to find new and exciting ways to fulfill clients’ requirements and offer them a variety of tailor-made products that match their needs and preferences. Through StoX, we aim to provide traders access to a new segment while meeting their preference to trade without leverage and hold their trading positions for a longer period without extra charges. As always, the latest product outlines our commitment to continue to shape the future of trading, both regionally and around the world,” said Madalina Rotaru, CEO, Key Way Markets Ltd, ADGM.

The product will be available on the CAPEX.com online trading platform WebTrader. New users can sign up for a normal trading account and existing users by default will have access to StoX.

Since opening its strategic location in Abu Dhabi in 2020, CAPEX.com, which is regulated by CySEC^[1], FSCA^[2], and ADGM^[3], has continued to offer an authentic and exceptional trading experience for professional and novice traders alike. CAPEX.comblends technology with a customer-centered, education-oriented approach to creating a one-of-a-kind trading experience.

Nium’s current valuation is above US$1 billion, making it the first B2B payments unicorn from Southeast Asia. The funding will be used to expand Nium’s payments network infrastructure, drive innovative product development, attract top industry talent, and acquire strategic technologies and companies. Total money raised by Nium to date, including this Series D, stands at nearly US$300 million.

Nium has established its platform as the preferred connection to the global payments infrastructure. Serving hundreds of enterprise clients, and with plans to onboard thousands more, Nium will use the Series D funds to expand its technical infrastructure and add new embedded fintech services. Through a single API, Nium provides access to the world’s payment infrastructure, including technologies for pay-outs, pay-ins, card issuance, and banking-as-a-service. Once connected, Nium customers can send funds to more than 100 countries (most in real-time), pay out in more than 60 currencies, accept funds in 7 currencies, and issue cards in more than 40 countries. Foundational to Nium is its license portfolio, owning the most complete set of money transfer, card issuance and banking licenses in fintech, with services available in 11 jurisdictions.

“We started Nium with the humble goal of taking out regional complexity in cross-border payments,” said Prajit Nanu, Nium’s Co-founder and CEO. “Today, our sights are set higher. We believe we can be a global catalyst to increase global commerce, removing some of the payments friction which has traditionally held businesses back. The Nium platform simplifies the B2B payments experience by enabling critical financial services to be easily embedded – helping today’s local market players become tomorrow’s global giants.”

Nium’s business has significantly scaled in the past year. Nium processes US$8 billion in payments annually. It has issued more than 30 million virtual cards to date. Revenues grew by more than 280 percent year-over-year. With revenues split almost equally across EMEA and APAC, Nium will use funds from this round to accelerate growth in the United States and Latin America. Success will be driven by two recent strategic acquisitions, including the acquisition of travel B2B payments leader, Ixaris, which added comprehensive virtual card issuance capabilities to the Nium platform, as well as the acquisition of Wirecard Forex India Private Limited, which gives Nium greater reach into India’s booming payments market. The Series D investment provides the flexibility to explore additional strategic opportunities. 

“Prajit and the incredibly talented team at Nium have redefined payments for the modern era with an infrastructure that finally makes it easy for companies to embed financial services into business and banking applications,” said Francisco Alvarez-Demalde, Co-Founding Partner and Managing Partner, Riverwood Capital. “We could not be more excited about this partnership and look forward to seeing Nium continue to set the standard for how global payments are delivered.”

“Nium has built an extremely rare global footprint of licensed infrastructure that brings the world closer to global real time gross settlement,” added Alex Porto, Principal, Riverwood Capital. “We believe that Nium is on track to be a central component of the global fabric, providing faster and more democratic money movement and we look forward to supporting their growth in this next phase.”

The capital infusion arrives at a time when the global market opportunities for Nium in embedded financial services, cross-border transfers, and card payments are large and rapidly expanding. Nium estimates these global trends to have a total addressable market of nearly US$50 trillion.

Financial Technology Partners (FT Partners) served as exclusive strategic and financial advisor to Nium on its Series D.

The initiative will be led through ADL’s Center on Extremism and will focus on uncovering and disrupting the financial flows supporting white supremacist and anti-government organizations.

It will also look at networks spreading and profiting from antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism, anti-immigrant, anti-Black, anti-Hispanic, and anti-Asian bigotry.

The information collected through the initiatives will be shared with other firms in the financial industry, law enforcement, and policymakers, PayPal said.

Over the years, the San Jose, California-based company has developed sophisticated systems to help prevent illegal activity and flows through its platform. It hopes to have a positive social impact by sharing some of its capabilities, Aaron Karczmer, PayPal’s chief risk officer and executive vice president, risk and platforms said.

“We’re hoping to have an impact on fighting hatred and extremism, which sadly seems to be surging in society across the globe,” Karczmer said in an interview. “As the son of a Holocaust survivor, I know all too well the real-world impact that comes from hatred and extremist groups.”

In 2020, PayPal teamed up with criminologists and academics to research the payment systems used in the trafficking of illegal firearms and has partnerships with non-profit group Polaris to combat human trafficking through a joint Financial Intelligence Unit.

Over the past several years, PayPal has also been taking action against businesses peddling extremism that were attempting to use its platforms.

As part of the new initiative, PayPal and ADL will also work with other civil rights organizations, including the League of United Latin American Citizens.