VizyPay received the accolades for its payment processing application VizyPOS and for the company’s outstanding 8,000% growth

VizyPay, an industry-leading payment processing company for small businesses, today announces it has been honored with two Silver Stevie^® Awards in the 20th Annual American Business Awards^®. VizyPay was awarded Silver in the “Fastest Growing Tech Company of the Year - Up to 100 Employees” category, and its payment processing app, VizyPOS, won Silver in the “FinTech Solution” category.

VizyPay is renowned for its transparent services and simple but powerful technology that caters to the needs of small business owners. This unique approach has led to outstanding success, with VizyPay installing more than 12,000 merchants across the nation and surpassing $2 billion in total payments processed. The company is projected to hit $22 million in revenue in 2022 alone – showcasing an incredible 8,000% revenue growth. Completely self-funded since its founding in 2017, the company continues to rapidly expand, investing back in itself to nearly double its workforce since 2020. In addition to over 815 independent sales partners across the U.S., VizyPay now employs 97 talented, full-time employees at its Waukee headquarters.

One of VizyPay’s most powerful tech solutions is its award-winning VizyPOS, a proprietary all-in-one payment processing app available for low-cost PAX point of sale (POS) systems. The app offers robust capabilities, advanced analytics and convenient data-driven insights that streamline all business processes. Flexible and convenient to use, VizyPOS is an alternative to costly POS stations with monthly software subscriptions and added fees that can take a major toll on small businesses’ cash flow. Moreover, the VizyPOS was designed for easy implementation of the revolutionary Cash Discount Program, a service that has saved merchants over $25 million in payment processing fees.

“VizyPay’s growth is something I’m particularly proud of. It all began with a dream and a small team willing to do whatever it took to make it happen. Five years later, with almost 100 employees, I couldn’t be prouder of how we’ve grown,” said CEO and Founder of VizyPay Austin Mac Nab. “Our fintech department is especially incredible. This award is proof that VizyPOS is changing the game for small business owners and evidence of our dedication to make their lives better.”

More than 3,700 nominations from organizations of all sizes and in virtually every industry were submitted this year for consideration in a wide range of categories, including Startup of the Year, Executive of the Year, Best New Product or Service of the Year, Marketing Campaign of the Year, Thought Leader of the Year, and App of the Year, among others.

“We are so pleased that we will be able to stage our first ABA awards banquet since 2019 and to celebrate, in person, the achievements of such a diverse group of organizations and individuals,” said Maggie Miller, president of the Stevie Awards.

Monzo’s voluntary gambling block is now extended to all payments facilitated by Sofort, Klarna’s direct bank-to-bank payments service 

Klarna joins the call on all banks and Open Banking providers to adopt the update, alongside Monzo and TrueLayer, to help protect hundreds of thousands of UK consumers

Klarna, a leading global retail bank, payments and shopping service that helps consumers save time and money, be informed and in control of their finances, today announced it is enabling banks to extend voluntary gambling blocks to open banking-driven payments powered by its subsidiary, SOFORT, helping protect hundreds of thousands of UK consumers. 

UK challenger bank, Monzo, was the first bank to introduce a gambling block in 2018, following demand from customers who wanted help controlling their use of gambling sites.  Since then most UK banks have followed Monzo’s lead. However, while gambling blocks are effective for payments made by card, open banking powered payments are often not covered. Today, Klarna’s subsidiary SOFORT became the first provider to integrate the UK’s first Open Banking powered gambling block, developed by Monzo and Truelayer last year, who made the update code public. This will allow Monzo to extend their gambling block to all Klarna-powered, immediate bank-to-bank payments for Monzo’s UK customers. Currently 400,000 Monzo customers have activated the gambling block.   

Klarna Kosma, is one of the largest open banking aggregators in the world, providing connectivity to 15,000 banks worldwide. The network powers SOFORT, one of Klarna’s direct bank-to-bank payment methods, which is used by 75,000 merchants across Europe, including some online gambling and gaming sites. Importantly, only immediate payments are allowed to online gambling and gaming sites; none of Klarna’s BNPL or other credit products can be used on gambling or gaming sites. 

With the update Klarna has announced today, banks connected to SOFORT will be able to identify a payment request from a gambling or gaming company and, if there is a gambling block in place, block that payment, protecting their customers. The update code is available for banks and Open Banking providers to use, and the fix is quick, simple and easy to build. 

Alex Marsh, Head of Klarna UK comments, “We’re calling on banks and other open banking infrastructure providers to make this relatively small update which could help protect hundreds of thousands of UK consumers. Open banking has huge potential to increase competition and reduce costs and as adoption grows the industry must move quickly to make changes which can further improve the lives of UK consumers. 

Notes to editors

• Monzo has published the technical specifications to implement the gambling block here. 
• Klarna’s subsidiary, SOFORT, provides immediate, bank-to-bank payments services to a range of merchants, including online gambling sites. 
• Klarna’s credit products, including Buy Now Pay Later services, are NOT available for use on gambling sites of any kind. 

Bumba brings extensive experience to lead Ensono’s distinguished marketing team

Ensono, an expert technology adviser and managed service provider, today announced that it has welcomed Jonathan Bumba as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). Bumba brings over 27 years of experience in sales and marketing within the technology industry, developing go-to-market (GTM) strategies for both small and large enterprises. 

Bumba will lead Ensono’s marketing team to develop and implement a personalized GTM strategy and build unique, provocative stories that showcase the allyship and expertise of the company. With Bumba’s appointment, Ensono will accelerate its marketing and sales strategies to promote a stronger brand presence, drive new business and highlight clients’ successful digital transformation journeys that result in better outcomes.

“I’m humbled and honored to join such a talented team at Ensono. Together, we will help grow brand affinity and awareness through creative storytelling and impactful campaigns,” said Bumba. “Ensono is on a fast trajectory in the market as a leading advisory and managed services provider. By featuring how our expertise and capabilities help clients drive business outcomes and stay a step ahead of competition, I believe we can take the Ensono name to new heights in 2022 and beyond.”

Prior to joining Ensono, Bumba specialized in building GTM strategies and teams for companies like Microsoft, where he served as the company’s first World Wide Sales Lead for Azure and served as CMO for Cloud Technology Partners, a premier cloud consulting firm acquired by Hewlett Packard Enterprise in 2017.  

“With Jonathan’s extensive background in growing the voice of some of today’s largest and most influential technology and consulting brands, we welcome him to our leadership team to help further highlight our capabilities and client relationships,” said Marc Capri, President at Ensono. “With Jonathan as CMO, we will amplify our marketing strategies and sales initiatives while strengthening Ensono’s ability to assist clients along their digital transformation journeys.”

Consumer demand for credit products has grown since the onset of the pandemic, according to TransUnion’s Consumer Credit 2022 white paper, which reveals changing consumer preferences and affirms the growing demand for buy now, pay later (BNPL) finance. 

The research reveals significant growth in the credit market when compared with pre-pandemic figuresi  with more consumers now intending to take out mortgages (26% versus 22%), credit cards (22% up from 13%) and unsecured personal loans (16% versus 7%) when compared with two years ago.

Also highlighted in the report is the closing gap between traditional banks and digital-only finance providers, with 21% of UK consumers planning to open a current account with a high street bank in 2022, whilst almost the same number (20%) are looking to apply with an online-only bank or app.

The rise of BNPL is examined in depth, with TransUnion’s research affirming that these products have quickly become as popular as more conventional forms of finance. BNPL finance reached a transaction value of £6.4 billion in 2021, according to industry reportsii and the growth looks likely to continue.

“Buy now, pay later finance saw unprecedented growth during the pandemic, with our research showing nearly two in five (37%) UK adults now use these services at least some of the time when shopping,” explains Satrajit “Satty” Saha, CEO at TransUnion in the UK. “Consumers are seeking alternative ways to pay as they address the cost of living crisis, and TransUnion is proud to be at the forefront of changes to support consumer needs as this sector evolves, by incorporating the data into credit reports from this summer.”

The main motivations cited by consumers for using BNPL services are to spread the cost over time (68%) and the option for interest-free payments (62%). Ease of use is also a key factor for two in five (41%) shoppers.

Shail Deep, chief product officer for TransUnion in the UK, added: “As the spiralling cost of living in the UK exacerbates financial polarisation, it’s important that consumer spending is supported with a broad range of payment solutions. Whilst more than half of consumers (54%) indicate that they are confident their financial situation will remain stable, four in 10 are still postponing any major spending due to concern over their financial future. BNPL provides flexibility and convenience, as well as the potential for interest-free credit, so it’s going to remain popular and continue to grow in the current economic climate.”

TransUnion’s Shail Deep is a keynote speaker at the AltFi Festival of Finance 2022 and discussed how TransUnion is leading the way in evolving the financial ecosystem to include BNPL data in consumer credit reports.

This will mean both consumers and lenders will be able to see applications for BNPL finance and payment performance for these transactions, helping to support responsible lending.

To read the Consumer Credit 2022 white paper, visit TransUnion’s website here.

Bumba brings extensive experience to lead Ensono’s distinguished marketing team

Ensono, an expert technology adviser and managed service provider, today announced that it has welcomed Jonathan Bumba as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). Bumba brings over 27 years of experience in sales and marketing within the technology industry, developing go-to-market (GTM) strategies for both small and large enterprises. 

Bumba will lead Ensono’s marketing team to develop and implement a personalized GTM strategy and build unique, provocative stories that showcase the allyship and expertise of the company. With Bumba’s appointment, Ensono will accelerate its marketing and sales strategies to promote a stronger brand presence, drive new business and highlight clients’ successful digital transformation journeys that result in better outcomes.

“I’m humbled and honored to join such a talented team at Ensono. Together, we will help grow brand affinity and awareness through creative storytelling and impactful campaigns,” said Bumba. “Ensono is on a fast trajectory in the market as a leading advisory and managed services provider. By featuring how our expertise and capabilities help clients drive business outcomes and stay a step ahead of competition, I believe we can take the Ensono name to new heights in 2022 and beyond.”

Prior to joining Ensono, Bumba specialized in building GTM strategies and teams for companies like Microsoft, where he served as the company’s first World Wide Sales Lead for Azure and served as CMO for Cloud Technology Partners, a premier cloud consulting firm acquired by Hewlett Packard Enterprise in 2017.  

“With Jonathan’s extensive background in growing the voice of some of today’s largest and most influential technology and consulting brands, we welcome him to our leadership team to help further highlight our capabilities and client relationships,” said Marc Capri, President at Ensono. “With Jonathan as CMO, we will amplify our marketing strategies and sales initiatives while strengthening Ensono’s ability to assist clients along their digital transformation journeys.”