Papaya Global, the workforce payments fintech, invested two years and 864,000 engineering work hours building the first end-to-end workforce platform that executes worker payments.

This investment comes to a head with Papaya's Super Bowl debut.

"Payroll companies without embedded payments and AI technology, will simply not survive," says Zvika Liblich, Chief Strategy Officer at Papaya Global. "We believe that customers will demand solutions that cover them end-to-end, from payroll calculation to payment execution on one platform, and will support any employment model in any currency worldwide."

Papaya's AI-powered payroll validation engine enables the management of all types of workers and paying them in local currencies in any location, providing native connectivity with existing payroll systems. Thanks to these capabilities, global organizations can now scale their workforce, while protected by Papaya's full compliance and liability.

Papaya is making its first Super Bowl appearance, bringing ping-pong to football's main event. Its 30-second "Small balls. Big Game" ad features multiple self-bouncing ping-pong balls, showcasing Papaya's game-changing AI-powered workforce payments platform.

The creative team includes Emmy Award winner Matt McCarron, Webby and Cannes Award winner Jonathan Vingiano, and Super Bowl ads veteran Alon Seifert. The spot was directed by Rob Leggatt and shot by Billions cinematographer Jake Polonsky. This is the first Super Bowl ad by McCann Tech.

Liberis, the leading global embedded finance platform, today announced a partnership with Alloy, the identity risk management company behind over 500 of the world's leading banks and fintechs. The partnership will enable Liberis to leverage Alloy's platform to fast-track its global growth, and simplify the merchant experience by integrating automated compliance verifications into the funding application process. Additionally, it will facilitate the creation of custom, white-labeled onboarding experiences for partners.

"We're excited to partner with Alloy to help us achieve our global growth goals," said Alexis Alexander, Chief Legal & Compliance Officer of Liberis. "Alloy's platform will allow us to enter new markets quickly, optimise our merchants' fully digitalised application for funding and scale to meet our partners' demand, while also maintaining our high standards for compliance."

Alloy's platform provides Liberis with access and integrations to a global network of over 190 data sources that help streamline KYC, KYB, and AML processes while also preventing financial crime.. This will enable Liberis to onboard merchants in new markets quickly and efficiently.

"We are thrilled to be partnering with Liberis to add them to our growing list of global clients," said Tommy Nicholas, CEO at Alloy. "Alloy is designed to help businesses take control of fraud, credit, and compliance risk, while growing with the clearest picture of their customers. We're confident that our partnership will help Liberis achieve its goals and provide its merchants with a seamless onboarding experience."

The collaboration between Liberis and Alloy will streamline the funding application process for merchants, minimizing the paperwork involved. Most merchants will experience a smooth and seamless application process, with compliance verifications happening behind the scenes. In cases where further documentation is necessary, Liberis will offer a bespoke, white-label experience that aligns with the needs and standards of both merchants and their partners.

"We hold ourselves to high standards on compliance, and we know it's very important to our partners," said Alexander. "But adding compliance checks can mean friction in the application journey. Using Alloy, we will be able to reduce this for most customers, whilst never compromising on a fully compliant process".

Liberis is committed to growing in a scalable way. By partnering with Alloy, Liberis can reduce the engineering resources required to support its international expansion and meet its compliance requirements. This allows Liberis to focus resources on its core mission of providing merchants with the funding they need to grow and thrive through their partners.

bolttech Insurance, the Hong Kong general insurance arm of international insurtech bolttech, has launched MyTravel, a comprehensive travel coverage plan for customers, their families, pets and belongings.  The product is available exclusively through FWD's online insurance platform, a direct-to-customer platform providing a faster and smoother insurance experience.

MyTravel distinguishes itself by covering customers for changes in travel dates or trip cancellations for any reason. This benefit is offered in the MyTravel Superior plan, providing reimbursement for up to HKD25,000, subject to a cap at 50% of the applicable public transportation and accommodation charges. Additionally, under MyTravel, customers will be reimbursed for the costs of a missed event, such as a concert, in cases where insured members experience sickness or accidents.  This coverage extends up to HKD3,000 and HKD15,000 under the Premium and Superior plans respectively.

"With many of us having exciting travel plans ahead, we are delighted to give our customers peace of mind with bolttech Insurance's MyTravel product, offering coverage benefits for travel reimbursements and medical coverage. Whether you are travelling for leisure or business, MyTravel is the perfect plan to protect against the many risks of travel," said Alister Musgrave, Regional General Manager, Hong Kong & Taiwan, bolttech. 

Paul Tse, Chief Marketing and Digital Officer, FWD Hong Kong and Macau, said, "At FWD, we're committed to changing the way people feel about insurance by consistently developing digitally-enabled and customer-led insurance products and services. MyTravel exemplifies our commitment to presenting an innovative product that caters to customers' growing protection needs and enhances the experience of purchasing insurance online. We look forward to supporting more people to celebrate living by traveling with MyTravel."

MyTravel covers a broad range of age groups from 60 days to 80 years of age. All insured members can enjoy the same medical expenses limit of up to HKD1,500,000, along with access to 24-hour worldwide emergency assistance services. This ensures comprehensive protection for the entire family during vacations. MyTravel also includes special pet coverage, such as emergency pet boarding in the event of travel delay at HKD500 per day under the Premium and Superior plans.

MyTravel safeguards personal items such as mobile devices or laptops in the event of theft or robbery during travel. Any loss of sports equipment, including ski gear, is protected with the MyTravel Premium and Superior plans for up to HKD5,000 per item.

Levenue, Europe’s largest revenue-based financing marketplace, is pleased to announce the appointment of Rolf Hickmann to its board of directors. The addition of Hickmann, a distinguished data modelling expert and well-respected industry veteran, reflects Levenue's commitment to creating a more transparent model for connecting entrepreneurs and investors by materially enhancing Levenue’s underwriting capabilities.

With a well-documented background in data-driven solutions and a proven track record of transforming the SME landscape, Rolf began his entrepreneurial journey as the Founder and CEO of pH Group, later acquired by Experian. He also led analytics at ThinCats, an SME peer-to-peer lending platform; his specialisation in this domain complements Levenue’s existing knowledge base, particularly in the strategic utilisation of private company data to streamline informed financing decisions. He has also been actively involved with the Centre for Alternative Finance at Cambridge University (CCAF), where he served as a Research Fellow. His commitment to advancing knowledge in alternative finance aligns seamlessly with Levenue's mission.

Hickmann said of the appointment “Joining Levenue as a board member is exciting for three reasons; Firstly, Levenue's business model and product structure showcase a remarkable level of ingenuity. The adaptability and flexibility inherent in the Levenue approach addresses a long-standing challenge: the absence of bankable assets in growing SMEs, while still leveraging their future cash flows. This approach sets Levenue apart. Beyond that, what intrigues me is Levenue's proactive stance in tackling the financial constraints faced by growing SMEs. Lastly, the synergy of the team adds a compelling dimension to the Levenue experience. Reflecting on my own entrepreneurial journey, I recognize the pivotal role a strong team plays in success. Levenue embodies the ideal combination of a revolutionary business concept and an exceptional management team.”

Rolf envisions Levenue making a significant impact not just in its current focus areas but also in expanding its reach to different market segments. Highlighting the potential to partner with entities like neobanks and explore new algorithms to support a broader range of companies. As Levenue continues to make advancements in the data and funding landscape, the addition of Rolf to its board further solidifies its position in providing financing to the dynamic needs of growing recurring revenue businesses.

Ben Rieder, CEO and Co-founder of Levenue, expressed his excitement about Rolf's appointment, stating, "We are delighted to welcome Rolf to Levenue's board of directors. His extensive career dedicated to leveraging both public and private data sources for modelling risk in the SME lending space is a perfect companion to our existing proficiency in utilising private company-specific data. Through his experience at pH Group and strategic leadership at ESF/ThinCats, he will bring invaluable insights to our team. His vast experience, particularly in understanding SME behaviour, will play a pivotal role in shaping our approach. We are confident that Rolf's commitment to being a thought leader in the alternative finance space will be instrumental in driving forward Levenue’s growth.”

Consumer card spending grew 3.1 percent year-on-year in January – less than the latest CPIH* inflation rate of 4.2 percent, yet higher than December’s growth of 2.3 percent. Retail, hospitality, and leisure spending slowed as Brits stayed at home to shelter from the cold weather and save money after a busy festive period. However, pointing to improving optimism, consumers’ confidence in both their household finances and ability to spend within their means reached its highest point in over two years.

Spending on essential items increased by 4.2 percent – noticeably higher than in December (1.8 percent). This was largely driven by a recovery in fuel spending, in light of the new energy price cap coming into effect on 1 January, which saw a smaller decline (-9.7 percent) compared to December (-12.5 percent). Growth in supermarket spending increased to 5.2 percent – up from 2.8 percent in December – on par with the growth seen in October (5.2 percent) and November last year (5.0 percent), as UK consumers returned to their regular routines after the Christmas break.

Supermarket deal-seeking continues in 2024

As concerns around rising food prices remain high (87 percent), two-thirds (67 percent) are continuing to look for ways to reduce the cost of, or get more value from, their weekly shop.

Of these consumers, half (47 percent) are using loyalty schemes or vouchers to get money off shopping. Two in five (39 percent) are shopping at multiple supermarkets to source a range of deals, while a similar proportion is buying discounted products nearing expiration, or “yellow sticker” items (38 percent). In addition, almost a fifth are cutting back on buying meat, fish, or other animal products as well as alcohol (both 18 percent), while 16 percent have even been buying discounted festive food to save money.

‘Staying in for the win’ this Valentines Day

Supermarket savings are also expected to impact Valentine’s Day celebrations, especially when it comes to gifts and food. Valentine’s Day is typically one of the busiest dates in the calendar for florists, second only to Mother’s Day – last year, transactions at florists on 13th February were up 450 percent compared to the daily average for the year*. However, half of those intending to buy flowers this year say they will save money by buying them from the supermarket instead of a florist. Similarly, a supermarket meal deal is on the menu for just over two in five of those making a home-cooked meal.

Other cost-saving strategies include spending the evening at home instead of going out (21 percent), setting a spending limit for gifts (18 percent), and forgoing presents altogether (16 percent).

Even with these cutbacks, Brits expect to spend slightly more this Valentine’s Day compared to last year (up £6.40), likely due to rising prices. In total, the average love bird expects to spend £80.30 – with men expecting to spend over 50 percent more than women (£96.70 compared to £60.70 for women).

Home comforts over big nights out

Spending on non-essential items increased 2.6 percent in January – consistent with the growth seen in December and November last year, at 2.5 percent and 2.7 percent respectively. This comes as over two-fifths (43 percent) of consumers say they are planning to cut down on discretionary spending due to rising household bills, with many tightening their belts after the festive season.

Spending on takeaways and fast food was up 5.5 percent year-on-year in January, with those that spent money on food-to-go forking out £55 on average each. Meanwhile, digital content and subscriptions had yet another bumper month, up 11.4 percent, following December’s 11.6 percent boost, as Brits embraced nights in, enjoying new releases such as ‘Mean Girls’, ‘The Traitors’ and ‘Fool Me Once’.

This shift in behavior, as well as the popularity of Dry January, meant that bars, pubs, and clubs saw a smaller uplift (6.5 percent) than in December (7.9 percent), while restaurants faced a steeper month-on-month decline (-11.6 vs -8.8 percent). Of those planning to limit discretionary spending throughout the winter, three in five (59 percent) said they will be cutting back on eating out at restaurants.

Colder weather chills high-street spending

More shoppers opted to browse the post-Christmas sales from the comfort of their homes instead of the high street in January. On Boxing Day itself, face-to-face retail spending was down 10.9 percent year-on-year, likely due to the cold weather and the arrival of Storm Isha and Storm Jocelyn, as well as several major retailers opting to keep their doors shut. Encouragingly, this was offset by a 10.7 percent jump in online retail spending.

Looking at January as a whole, 57.6 percent of all retail shopping (excluding groceries) was online – the highest share of online spending in this category since February 2022. Meanwhile, clothing stores saw a -0.6 percent decline, though this was a slight improvement compared to December (-2.0 percent).

Optimism prevails

While rising household bills remain a concern for the majority (88 percent), the nation is feeling more optimistic overall, with consumers’ confidence in both their household finances and ability to live within their means reaching its highest point since November 2021 (70 percent and 74 percent respectively).

Karen Johnson, Head of Retail at Barclays, said: "After a December filled with festive indulgence, Brits took on a more frugal approach in January, choosing to stay at home more often to save money and shelter from the winter weather.

“This meant that online retail performed strongly, as shoppers browsed the sales from the comfort of their sofas, while demand for digital content and takeaways remained robust, boosted by the release of popular new film and TV releases such as ‘The Traitors’ and ‘Fool Me Once’.

“While this shift in behavior resulted in subdued growth for hospitality and leisure, it’s encouraging that confidence is improving, with consumers remaining resilient and finding savvy ways to manage their finances.”

Jack Meaning, Chief UK Economist at Barclays, said: “Increasing consumer confidence is a positive message for the UK outlook in 2024, as we see inflation continue to fall, real incomes rising, and growing signs that interest rate cuts are coming. Spending looks to be on an upward trajectory, set to increase more than inflation in the coming months, which will be an important milestone for consumers and businesses who were squeezed throughout 2023.”

PayU, India’s leading payment solutions provider, today announces it has successfully migrated its credit service, LazyPay, to Thought Machine’s cloud-native core banking platform, Vault Core, and is now live. This partnership has enabled LazyPay to build innovative lending and credit products, deliver a superior, secure, and efficient user experience, and set a new standard for credit financing in India.

LazyPay migrated its existing customers to Vault Core within just one year. In addition, Vault Core has streamlined PayU’s real-time financial statement generation and simplified multi-account management, providing a unified view of products. Furthermore, Vault Core’s real-time Ledger has improved PayU’s reporting and regulatory requirements.

The Indian market offers significant opportunities for PayU's credit products as alternative lending services expand. PayU’s India credit revenue grew by 31%, totalling US$43 million, and loan book size grew by 66% to US$338 million by the end of September 2023. A total of US$362 million in credit was issued during the first half of 2024 (1H24).

With Vault Core, PayU can effortlessly create differentiated and personalised financial products at scale. Following the successful initial migration project, PayU plans to continue migrating more products and using Vault Core to build, test and deploy innovative lending and credit products.  

Speaking on this exciting development, Deepak Mendiratta, CEO, PayU Finance, stated: "Our collaboration with Thought Machine signifies our commitment to offering the best-in-class financial services to our customers. Vault Core's scalability and flexibility align perfectly with our growth ambitions, and we are excited to offer a wide array of services to our customers. We are committed to expanding our footprint in the Indian market, and this partnership will position us well for the future of credit."

Nick Wilde, Managing Director, Asia Pacific, Thought Machine, comments: “We are delighted to partner with PayU to bring our cloud-native technology to the Indian market. With a successful migration now complete, we look forward to working together to deliver efficient, secure and innovative credit and lending solutions in India.”

A BCG report highlights the potential for B2B fintechs to disrupt the market and address the $5 trillion annual unmet credit needs of small to mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) globally. With traditional players struggling to keep pace with innovation, B2B2X services, particularly embedded finance providers such as LazyPay, which currently account for 25% of all fintech revenues, are poised to play a crucial role in meeting the growing demand for fintech solutions.

Thought Machine is solving the long-standing legacy technology problem in banking. Global Tier 1 banks, including Standard Chartered, Lloyds Banking Group, Al Rajhi Bank (Malaysia), and Intesa Sanpaolo, and challenger banks and fintechs, such as Nikel, C6 Bank and Atom bank, are clients of Thought Machine. In addition to its regional headquarters in London, New York, and Singapore, Thought Machine operates as a registered entity in India.

“We are pleased to continue to support Setpoint’s impressive momentum and their critical position within the technology and fintech ecosystems. Setpoint has a highly-scalable and proven fintech solution built around leading-edge technology, and robust data security and controls,” said Matt Servatius, Wells Fargo Technology Banking central market executive. “We applaud Setpoint for their innovation to streamline warehouse funding to help borrowers gain faster access to the capital they need.”

“We have been incredibly impressed by the Wells Fargo team’s tech-forward vision and approach,” said Ben Rubenstein, Setpoint co-founder and President. “Accuracy, security, speed, and operational efficiency are shared principles, and we are excited to come together to use technology to save time and money for our shared loan originators.”

In 2023, the rate of return in the European P2P market has risen to 10.4% with leaders from Croatia and Ireland, where it promises to be at 15% p.a.

Robocash analysts have evaluated the level of profitability of 77 P2P platforms from 19 European countries. The study examined both the proposed nominal rates and the real risk premiums, which may vary depending on market conditions, inflation expectations and other factors.

According to experts' assessment, platforms from Croatia show the highest nominal rate of return at the end of 2023. The weighted average rate here with an expected maturity at the end of 2024 reaches 15.1% p.a. The top three also include Ireland (14.1%) and the Czech Republic (13.4%). 

"Given the capital mobility in Europe, an investor is more likely to choose a higher rate of return because there is no point in investing at 7%, for example in Denmark or Sweden, when for the same level of risk you can find an offer with a return twice as high." - the analysts comment on the study. 

The lowest nominal yields are seen in platforms from Finland, which offer to invest at around 4.6% p.a.

In terms of assessing the real risk premium, the attractive countries for P2P investments for 2024 are still Croatia and Ireland. They offer the highest return of up to 11.9%. Estonia, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Cyprus, France, and Latvia with an average market risk premium of 7.9% are also at the top.

Overall, real yields in the European P2P market are now 7.1% above the average rate on deposits and government bonds in Europe.

Ebury, a fintech specializing in cross-border payments and FX solutions, based in London and present in 25 countries, has introduced to the market a pioneering solution for direct transactions between the Brazilian real and the Chinese yuan. The new solution will facilitate and expedite trade between Brazil and China, which in 2023 alone totaled exports and imports of over US$145 billion, according to Brazilian Government data. The solution benefits companies in both the traditional industrial and digital technology sectors. 

Transactions between Brazil and China are complex and could involve multiple intermediaries due to the difference between the Chinese currencies and their liquidity in the global market. Due to the yuan's low liquidity in the global market, most transactions involve intermediary currencies such as the dollar, euro and pound. 

The Ebury solution eliminates this complexity, enabling companies to carry out transactions directly between the currencies. This is already a reality for FX transactions via dealers, which conduct transactions involving BRL and yuan for companies engaged in foreign trade. Besides facilitating transactions, Ebury also provides access to a global account that enables payments to be made in various countries as a local entity, using various currencies and not just the Chinese yuan. By eliminating the need for intermediary currencies, transaction costs and times are reduced since only one currency conversion occurs. 

In addition to import and export transactions, the solution also benefits international digital businesses operating in Brazil, such as Chinese marketplaces, gaming companies, SaaS, among other digital segments. "It's great to witness this evolution in international transactions, which makes cross-border trade more dynamic and swifter. In recent months, we ran a successful pilot project with a PSP in charge of the payment processes of several Chinese digital merchants, and we have seen optimized margins on transactions, with a faster and frictionless process - factors that further spur the operations of Chinese merchants in Brazil”, said Luiz Henrique Didier, CEO of Ebury in Brazil. 

This innovative solution from Ebury is aligned with the impressive growth in cross-border trade between Brazil and China, which increased 150% in the last five years, according to Brazil’s Federal Revenue Service. 

In 2023 alone, Brazil's exports to its main trading partner – China - exceeded US$95 billion, while imports came to a little over US$49 billion, according to Brazil’s trade balance data. Since 2009, China has been Brazil’s main trade partner. With direct transactions between the real and yuan, companies now have a more efficient and cost-effective alternative to expand their international business, which should continue the upward trend in both directions. 

“With this $300 million in funding from Clear Haven, we'll expand our reach and further fulfill our mission to empower all Americans to live the life that they can afford to live, protected from predatory fees and lending products,” said Fred Choquette, Chief Operating Officer at Rain. “By giving employees access to their hard-earned wages when they need them the most, we’re alleviating the reliance on financial products that further push them into debt. We’re committed to further empowering Americans on their journey to true financial freedom.”

"Clear Haven is proud to commit $300 million in funding to Rain as part of its dedication to empowering both employers and employees to thrive in challenging economic circumstances and embark on a more resilient financial wellness journey,” said Mark Simmer, Managing Partner at Clear Haven Capital Management. “Rain's unwavering mission to transform the financial wellness landscape by granting employees access to their earned wages perfectly aligns with Clear Haven's vision for a more inclusive and equitable financial future. We are excited to collaborate with Rain, working together to empower employees and redefine traditional concepts of financial wellness."