The acquisition of the fast-growing Polish merchant acquirer PeP Newsdesk by Nets Group, one of Europe's leading payment providers, is now completed as the transaction has been approved by the relevant authorities. PeP has more than 160,000 point-of-sales terminals and offers a wide range of payment solutions with focus on the SME segment which – adding to earlier acquisitions – further expands and strengthens Nets Group’s presence in Poland.

“Poland is one of the most attractive regions in Europe when it comes to growth within digital payments, and PeP is one of the fastest growing companies there,” says Bo Nilsson, CEO of Nets Group. “With their SME focus and strong presence in the card acceptance and POS terminals space, PeP fits very well with our existing business, extending our portfolio of online payment solutions for merchants in Poland.”

One of the reasons why the conditions for the further expansion of cashless payments in Poland are very good is that the Polish government has introduced several initiatives to promote non-cash use.

Continuity of brand and management

Not only will the brand name and the local operations be retained, PeP's Executive Management will also continue to run the business going forward. The Executive Management Team around the CEO of PeP, Jaroslaw Mikos, has efficiently positioned the company in Poland. This course will be maintained, building on Nets Group's extensive experience to expand cashless payments in other European countries:

“Becoming part of Nets Group, a leading player within digital payments in Europe, holds exciting prospects for us. We want to build on this know-how to the benefit of our customers and their business, and together we want to develop innovative solutions for the needs of the retail sector in Poland,” says Mikos.

PeP employs more than 600 people and expects net sales of around EUR 55 million in 2020.

In recent years, Nets Group has significantly expanded its European presence, having participated in six major strategic transactions since 2017 to provide greater exposure to high-growth regions and capture the continuing shift towards digital payments. Most recently Nets Group strengthened its presence in Switzerland with the acquisition of CCV Schweiz SA shifting its portfolio to a full-service offer. Nets Group has also built a solid platform across Poland with a strong focus on e-commerce, through the acquisition of Dotpay/eCard, a strategic alliance with Przelewy-24, as well as on POS services with the acquisition of PeP.

These acquisitions followed the major merger with the Concardis Payment Group in 2019, building Nets Group’s presence in the DACH region, and the greater strategic focus on Merchant and Issuer Services with the €2.85bn sale of the Group’s account-to-account business to Mastercard. With this expansion Nets Group has significantly increased its exposure to high growth regions and as well to eCommerce, with the latter now comprising approximately 40% of Merchant Services revenue.

OpenPayd, the API-led Banking-as-a-Service provider, today announced the launch of InstantFX, its FX-as-a-Service product that provides clients with real-time trading, putting an end to the need for batch processing.

Uniquely, it gives OpenPayd customers the ability to offer automated mid-market spot rates in 18 currencies* delivered either through a web front end or an API for full integration. Clients are able to hold funds in a currency wallet and pay out these currencies through a number of payment networks, including FPS, CHAPS, SEPA and SEPA INSTANT. In an update scheduled to roll out before the end of the year, InstantFX will also add real-time settlement, plus the ability to pay out USD via SWIFT, ACH, and Wire.

Thanks to OpenPayd’s global network of partners, InstantFX offers an unrivalled range of exotic payment corridors, including access to UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Mexico.

InstantFX is delivered through OpenPayd’s Banking-as-a-Service platform and can be seamlessly integrated with clients’ existing technology through an API.

Commenting on the launch of InstantFX, OpenPayd CEO Iana Dimitrova said: “Covid is killing cash and accelerating the rise of digital payments. This is creating opportunity for firms that can offer real-time, frictionless and intuitive payment experiences. Seamless foreign exchange is a big but complex part of that for which many firms still rely on batch processing.” 

“Not only is this a huge capital outlay, it does not provide the speed of settlement and competitive rates that these businesses need to grow in these volatile times. The launch of InstantFX ensures that our customers can trade easily and cost-effectively, and OpenPayd’s simple integration—designed by developers for developers—means they can go to market with speed.”

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* The 18 currencies are: AED, AUD, CAD, CHF, CZK, DKK, EUR, GBP, HKD, HUF, JPY, NOK, NZD, SAR, SEK, SGD, USD, ZAR.

Fueling the increasing demand for bikes, GoCardless, a leading fintech for recurring payments, has teamed up with Brompton, designers and makers of the iconic folding bike, to streamline the payments of ‘Brompton Bike Hire’. Brompton customers in the UK can now benefit from easy to set-up and manage monthly payments, powered by GoCardless, guaranteeing a seamless experience for both the customer and merchant. 

Over the last year Brompton has seen an increase in demand for bikes. The pandemic has exaggerated this, with recent government data suggesting that cycling has increased by 300% during UK lockdown. 

With the average UK household spending £552 a year on subscription services and consumer behaviour shifting away from direct ownership, Brompton saw an opportunity and launched Brompton Bike Hire during summer 2020. This new service enables customers to avoid the upfront expense of purchasing a bike outright and with easy monthly payments, powered by GoCardless, it is easier than ever for consumers to rethink their commute. 

With GoCardless’ end-to-end API, Brompton is able to automate the entire payment collection process, significantly reducing time spent on administration. One of the key reasons for selecting GoCardless was to reduce DSO (Day Sales Outstanding) and improve cash flow, so that Brompton can invest in further growth. By using a bank-to-bank payment method it will also reduce pain points that lead to customer churn, such as credit cards expiring, while delivering a frictionless online experience for the customer which in turn can  increase conversion.

Brompton Bike Hire MD, Julian Scriven, says: “There has been a significant shift towards cycling now more than ever. Our pay-as-you-ride schemes have been extremely popular, and the addition of the GoCardless solution has proved incredibly popular with our customer base.”

Stephen Reidy, VP and General Manager, UK and Ireland, says: “In the current subscription-based economy, the big technology companies like Netflix, Spotify and Disney+ dominate, but transport is now coming into the equation. Offering the right payment service is key to creating a seamless experience for customers, as well as having the peace of mind that everything is running smoothly behind the scenes. We’re looking forward to working with Brompton to automate their recurring payments, and help them meet this demand for hire services.”

Agicap, a French SaaS company that offers BFM software to small businesses, selected Salt Edge, leader in offering open banking solutions, to empower CEOs and CFOs to manage and monitor their companies’ cash flows on all bank accounts, in a single dashboard.

Agicap develops customisable business finance management (BFM) software specially tailored for small and micro businesses that do not have their own internal cash management tools, as big companies do. Company offers a real-time view of businesses’ cash flows by enabling to automatically insert bank account data and data from accounting, invoicing, CRM, ERP or from cashier softwares onto their platform. Agicap’s gear helps pre-estimate the company’s financial needs upstream of possible failures. Salt Edge bank data aggregation solution helps Agicap’s customers to spend less time and resources on managing their cash flows by giving them direct access to all the data they need in one tool.

Salt Edge Partner Program allows Agicap to access open banking data instantly, pushing forward the digitalisation of key functions to finally break out of the endless Excel spreadsheets avalanche. The cooperation with Salt Edge will grant Agicap access to bank accounts data of more than 5000 banks in 50+ countries. Recently Agicap launched their software services in Germany, planning to cover other European markets, such as Italy and Spain, in the near future. To french customers, Agicap provides a better quality of service when they need to connect a bank in Europe.

Maël Ezzabdi, Chief Product Officer at Agicap, said: "Thanks to Salt Edge we help our customers to spend less time on managing their cash flows by giving them direct and real time access to all the financial data they need in one tool. This partnership makes our product even more efficient and relevant for our large customers with bank accounts in different European countries. Having access to reliable bank data, in real time, for each one of their entities is indeed crucial for CEOs and CFO in those tough times."

Lisa Gutu, Head of Business Development at Salt Edge, comments: "Collaboration with Agicap will help simplify daily routine and forecasting for businesses, and therefore enhance their growth. It is a prominent ambition, which has become even more relevant during the ongoing world crisis. Here at Salt Edge we are committed to support small and medium-sized businesses, and joining forces with Agicap we can demonstrate at a glance a set of open banking benefits and possibilities it unveils.

As a part of Salt Edge data enrichment platform, transaction categorisation enables to turn the raw and bulky data into meaningful actionable insights, that help to forecast performance capabilities, to customise and personalise services, and to make smarter business decisions every day. Agicap’s products become even more efficient for businesses, while also the company’s Customer Success team spends less time on helping clients to import data, releasing extra hours for more valuable interactions.

BPC Banking Technologies, the leading provider of digital payment solutions, has partnered with Pakistan’s Meezan Bank to deliver its digital transformation agenda starting with the upgrade of its payment infrastructure. BPC’s SmartVista platform has been selected by Meezan to deliver state-of-the-art issuing and acquiring services for the bank.

Meezan Bank is Pakistan’s first and largest Islamic bank with over 800 branches and presence in more than 240 cities. With the pandemic driving rapid adoption of digital services, and the fast growth of e-commerce in Pakistan, the bank is expected to foresee massive growth in channels and transaction volume. The bank’s move to invest in its digital payment infrastructure forms a part of its strategy to support both consumers and businesses during these challenging times.

BPC’s SmartVista Switch solution will be used by Meezan Bank to manage the authorisation of payment transactions in real-time, across all channels. With an aim to provide frictionless digital banking and payment experience for its customers, the bank will rely on the solution’s instant routing of payment transactions. Using BPC’s SmartVista Card Management and Issuing solution, Meezan Bank will also strengthen the delivery of new payment instruments to its customers mainly used upon account opening, while also offering a more secure e-commerce experience.

Mr. Faizur Rehman, Group Head of Information Technology and Digital Banking at Meezan Bank, said: “Pakistan has seen massive growth in its digital payment market, driven by the shift to go digital during the Covid-19 pandemic. We need to have the right digital payment infrastructure in place to offer new payment experiences to consumers, as well as payment acceptance capabilities to companies. Leveraging BPC’s years of expertise and its robust solutions will help us adapt to these changes fast. We are confident that by combining the latest technology with our product offering, we can deliver excellent customer experience in this fast-moving landscape.”

The Pakistani Government has targeted to achieve $5 billion in e-commerce sales in the next three years. As a result, the Government is investing into enhancing e-commerce payment gateways, which enable merchants to accept credit, debit and prepaid card payments on their websites.

The country’s rapidly growing digital payment market also exposes its banks to the risk of Card Not Present (CNP) fraud. BPC’s advanced Enterprise Fraud Prevention solution will help Meezan Bank combat this growing threat by monitoring 100% of transactions online in real-time and across all channels. The solution uses machine learning and neural network models to ensure genuine transactions can pass through, while fraud attempts are identified and blocked at their earliest.

Angelo Bertini, SVP Managing Director, Middle East, Africa and South East Asia at BPC, said: “As we increasingly shift to a digital-first economy; payment switches, management of merchant services and fraud prevention have become incredibly important to enable seamless digital transactions. At BPC, we know flexibility and the ability to scale are paramount to create a solution that can adapt with Pakistan’s electronic payment landscape. We look forward to continuing to support Meezan Bank as it navigates this exciting time in digital payments in Pakistan.”

Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR), a global Fintech leader, announced that PAG, one of the world’s largest Asia-focused investment groups, has chosen Broadridge as a cloud-based portfolio management technology provider. The enhancement will support PAG’s capabilities for its private debt operations.
 
Broadridge will provide PAG with a highly scalable cloud-based system that will further enhance its capabilities. The Broadridge Sentry portfolio management solution will help PAG’s private debt team fully integrate middle- and back-office operations into a single streamlined technology system.
 
“Private debt in Asia has provided significant opportunity for firms that can manage the complexity inherent in these markets. PAG has an established track record of success, and the support of Broadridge’s technology will help us as we position ourselves for the next phase of growth,” said Derek Crane, COO at PAG.
 
“We are delighted that PAG has chosen Broadridge’s portfolio management technology in Asia to advance its operational efficiencies in private debt,” said Eric Bernstein, president of Asset Management Solutions at Broadridge. “Investors are demanding robust growth alongside transparency, and our technology systems can help clients achieve both needs.”
 
As a leading private debt manager in Asia, PAG provides financing solutions to its partners across the region. With technology and operations that can flexibly scale to support ongoing growth, PAG will continue to be well-positioned to explore future opportunities.
 
Broadridge continually strengthens its capabilities to meet the growing technology needs of the private debt and private equity marketplace. Its acquisition of ClearStructure Financial Technology expanded its capabilities to improve investment workflow efficiency for portfolio managers, and its private equity platform leverages blockchain technology to connect the complex private equity lifecycle for all market participants.

Sidetrade customers can now benefit from a cash mindset across the order-to-cash cycle, more effectively accelerating payment dispute resolution.

Sidetrade today announced it has launched its Cash Culture app on Salesforce AppExchange, empowering sales and customer service teams to resolve invoice disputes faster, and utilize a single source for customer payment cases within Salesforce. Cash Culture increases productivity and real-time collaboration between sales, delivery, and finance, leveraging customer financial data and machine learning powered by Sidetrade.

Built on the Salesforce Platform, Sidetrade Cash Culture is currently available on AppExchange.

Sidetrade Cash Culture app

The Cash Culture app introduces the management of customer financial cases within Salesforce. Cash Culture connects business and finance with streamlined communication and enhances real-time visibility of account information for a personalized customer experience.

Rob Harvey, chief product officer at Sidetrade, said: "The swift resolution of disputes and discrepancies will save businesses time and cash, and importantly, create a high-quality customer experience when it comes to collecting payment. Cash Culture is an effective case management solution bringing a natural extension for collaboration between customers, finance and operations. "

"Sidetrade’s Cash Culture is a welcome addition to AppExchange, as it powers digital transformation for customers by enabling finance, sales and operations to more efficiently," said Woodson Martin, GM of Salesforce AppExchange. "AppExchange is constantly evolving to enable our partners to build cutting-edge solutions to drive customer success."

Dedalus Global (https://DedalusGlobal.com) and Ibex Frontier (www.IbexFrontier.com) are pleased to announce Jack Dorsey as the closing keynote for this year’s Africa Fintech Summit (www.AfricaFintechSummit.com). The Summit is being held virtually on November 9, 10, and 12.

As the Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO of Square, Inc., Dorsey is considered to be one of the biggest influencers in tech ecosystems worldwide and is often revered as a futurist. Founded in 2009, Square has introduced a suite of innovative tools and services that supports financial inclusion and the growth of businesses. In recent weeks, Square announced it would become one of the first publicly traded U.S. companies to hold Bitcoin on its balance sheet. 

Dorsey’s keynote marks a year since the visionary visited Africa to meet with several of the continent’s tech leaders and incubation houses. His listening tour in Africa confirmed the consensus that Africa will define the future (especially the bitcoin one!). He has since held an active and insightful voice on the future of African fintech, in particular, the future of cryptocurrency.  With an unbanked population of 66%, and a credit card penetration rate that averages 1.5%, the applications for crypto in sub-Saharan Africa only help solidify Dorsey’s interest in the continent. 

Dorsey’s closing keynote on November 12 will revolve around the concepts of decentralized finance and opportunities it creates for financial inclusion. 

Throughout the three day event, registrants will have the opportunity to: 

• Engage and learn from 60 of sector’s most active thought leaders over the course of 12 panel sessions, 3 fireside chats, and related discussion forums
• Participate in discussions that dissect some of the sector’s regulatory hurdles
• Connect with early-stage startups and the latest innovations through a startup expo
• Meet with the industry’s stakeholders – investors, startups, regulators, banking execs, and more! – in curated networking sessions or 1x1
• Learn best practices for approaching different types of investors, banking partners, and regulators

The Summit will conclude on November 12 with the regional final of Pegasus Tech Ventures’ Startup World Cup global pitch competition, the winner of which will be invited to compete for US$1M at the global semi-finals in Silicon Valley in May 2021.

Startups apply to exhibit and pitch by visiting and submitting the form at www.AfricaFintechSummit.com/alphaexpo/apply/.

Register and view the agenda and speakers for the event at www.AfricaFintechSummit.com.

Leading European financial services group Societe Generale has entered into an agreement with AI-powered fintech Galytix to digitalise the Societe Generale Corporate and Investment Banking group’s financial credit analysis processes. 

Societe Generale is leading the way amongst its peers in developing a credit data model which will redefine how its credit analysts access and harness unstructured and structured data to make faster and better credit decisions.

Galytix, an AI-based business founded in London in 2015, has built a smart data platform which uses proprietary market leading technology to ingest, transform, curate and spread unstructured and structured data in an end-to-end automated data pipeline covering the entire data lifecycle.

Galytix and PwC Luxembourg & France partnered to develop this project for Societe Generale, with Galytix providing its leading edge technology, and PwC its market insights and consulting support. 

Galytix CEO Raj Abrol said: “We are excited to be serving Societe Generale in this important project. The solution we are developing with Societe Generale offers us the opportunity to showcase our end to end data platform capabilities. We thank Societe Generale for their confidence in us.”

PwC partner and alliance leader Matt Moran said: “From our first meeting with Galytix in 2018 we recognised the potential for their smart-data platform to accelerate solving the data engineering challenges faced by clients.”

PwC Luxembourg entered an alliance with Galytix to power Societe Generale with these new technologies.

Galytix was advised on the contract by Tech City lawyers Temple Bright LLP.