New data released today by Klarna, the global payments and shopping service, reveals how retailers will need to adapt their offering to win shoppers in the future. With recent advancements in technology, AI, AR and robots are likely to dominate the in-store and online landscape with shopping services like Klarna already integrating AI personalisation into their products.

Over the past 18 years, Klarna has been instrumental in driving transformative change within the retail industry, during which time the online retail industry in the US grew as a percentage of retail sales by 484%*. To celebrate the brand reaching this milestone year, Klarna spoke to more than 5,000 consumers across 5 countries and teamed up with retail expert Kate Hardcastle, MBE, aka the Customer Whisperer, to explore how the future of shopping could evolve. The Future of Retail report also includes future-gazing predictions from some of the world’s leading retailers and ChatGPT, the artificial intelligence chatbot developed by OpenAI, which recently teamed up with Klarna to bring smoooth shopping to the hugely popular ChatGPT.

The study examined shopping habits 18 years from now, when Gen Zers will turn 40 and together with Millennials be the dominant consumers. Results revealed their predictions on how emerging technologies will influence future shopping experiences, such as:

• More personalization is top of the wishlist.
  65% want the shopping experience to become more personalized in the future, and 36% are sure it will be, both in-store and online.
• Most fashion shoppers won’t try clothes on physically.
  Only half believe they will try clothes in the same way as today (53%). Instead, 48% want to use virtual dressing rooms, 28% Augmented Reality (AR), and 23% will rely on Artificial Intelligence (AI) to advise which clothes best fit their body and fashion style.
• Well-mannered robot fashion advisors and virtual personal shopping assistants are in high demand.
  More than half (59%) are open to the idea of a robot approaching them in-store to take their measurements and recommend styles, with an additional 18% considering it depending on how the robot looks and behaves. In addition, 34% want access to virtual ‘personal shoppers’ which can provide recommendations based on their fashion style and taste when they shop online
• Augmented Reality (AR) will elevate the future in-store shopping experience.
  The vast majority (81%) expect Augmented Reality (AR) to enhance their in-store shopping experience and one-third (37%) think that this technology will eventually become standard across retail stores.
• Virtual Reality (VR) won’t replace the real-life shopping experience.
  Less than half of Gen Z'ers (43%) believe that shopping in Virtual Reality (VR) will come to surpass the real-life shopping experience within the next two decades.
• The future is cashless.
  Gen Z’ers and Millennials (64%) agree with the prediction that the majority of physical stores will be completely cash-free in 18 years time, and 31% of them believe that shift will take place already in 5 years time.

In addition to technological advancements, the future of the planet and the growth in the circular economy are also at the forefront of consumers' minds.
The younger generations also agree that the circular economy should take a larger share of the total shopping industry and that fashion needs to become more sustainability-oriented in the future.

• 52% want more sustainable fashion in the future.
• 57% want the circular economy to take a larger share of the total shopping industry, and 1 in 3 believe they will sell (26%) and buy (37%) pre-owned items more often.

David Sandström, Chief Marketing Officer at Klarna, commented: “In the western world, approximately 80% of all online purchases are made through search, while the remaining 20% are based on personalized recommendations. In contrast, in China, 80% of online purchases are driven by personalized recommendations. This study confirms that shoppers in the western world desire a comparable shopping experience, which is now available on the Klarna app feed, powered by AI and purchase history data. The next generation of consumers will expect a highly personalized shopping experience where products find them instead of the other way around.”

Kate Hardcastle MBE, The Customer Whisperer and independent expert, added: "Retail and shopping trends have evolved significantly over the last decade and it's clear there are more changes to come. Technologies like augmented reality have the potential to transform rundown physical shops and revamp the in-store experience for shoppers. Klarna's latest research shows that consumers want greater convenience and a more personalised shopping experience - and seamless technology must be at the heart of this."

ChatGPT, the artificial intelligence chatbot developed by OpenAI, commented: “The biggest change for consumers when they shop in 2041 will likely be the widespread use of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies, allowing them to virtually try on products and experience them before making a purchase. Additionally, personalized recommendations based on their past behaviour and preferences will become even more accurate and prevalent, making shopping experiences more efficient and tailored to individual needs.”

Professional Wealth Management, a publication of the Financial Times, will be hosting the Innovation in Wealth Management Summit on 8 June 2023, at Glaziers Hall in London.

The Summit will discuss the need for digital literacy among wealth managers, investors and technology experts. Topics will include emerging technologies, from crypto and cleantech to machine learning.

The agenda will cover the trending topics for the wealth management industry such as AI, client acquisition process, digital assets and NFTs, ESG, cybersecurity, investment strategies and more.

The Summit will feature global leaders of private banks and disruption throughout a full day of content and networking including:

● Dr Lisa Cameron MP, MP and Chair, Crypto and Digital Assets All Party Parliamentary Group, UK Parliament
● Zeynep Ozturk, Chief Investment Officer for Europe, Deutsche Bank International Private Bank
● Nimish Shah, CTO Investment Products & Advisory for Private Banking & Wealth, HSBC
● Mariam Rassai, Chief Digital Officer and Data Officer, BNP Paribas
● Stacey Parrinder-Johnson, Chief Investment Officer, Investec Wealth & Investment
● Damiano Baj, Chief Operating Officer, EFG Private Bank

To secure your place, use the Financial IT code - FIT15 for a 15% discount.

For more details, including the full agenda and speaker line-up, visit the event website.

Book here: https://bit.ly/44RipVt

Vienna-based IXOLIT Group and its subsidiary IXOPAY have been merged to form a single company, IXOPAY. Daily operations and the ownership structure of IXOPAY will remain unaffected, and there will be no changes to the teams working on IXOPAY. The goal is to simplify operations and eliminate administrative overheads while maximizing the potential of the IXOPAY platform.

IXOLIT was founded in 2001, and developed several innovative e-commerce platforms: IXOPLAN (recurring payments), IXOCREATE (CMS), IXOCARE (promotions and loyalty programs) and IXOPAY (payment orchestration platform). IXOPAY was initially created in 2014 to facilitate the process of integrating online payments for users of IXOPAY’s other e-commerce platforms. However, IXOPAY has gone from strength to strength since then, outgrowing its parent company IXOLIT, and becoming by far the largest of IXOLIT’s e-commerce solutions.

Merging IXOLIT with IXOPAY is the logical conclusion to these developments, making official what had already been practical reality for some time. Daily business operations will remain unchanged by the merger and the ownership structure will remain the same. Founder and Executive Chairman Rene Siegl and CEO Nathalie Siegl, owners and leaders of both IXOLIT and IXOPAY, will continue to lead the merged company. IXOPAY will continue to be financed by the Siegl family, without the involvement of any strategic investors or financial partners.

"This merger is the natural next step for our companies, which have always focused on providing innovative eCommerce solutions," said Nathalie Siegl, CEO of both IXOLIT and IXOPAY. "By combining our resources under the IXOPAY brand, we can streamline our operations, invest in new areas of growth and expansion, and dedicate our resources to extending the range of payment options and features available in IXOPAY."

This means that while the company has changed on paper, nothing has changed in practice. The company will continue to offer its payment orchestration platform, fraud prevention, value-added services and payment processing solutions under the IXOPAY brand. Customers, partners and employees will remain completely unaffected by the merger. The goal of the merger is simply to reduce the bureaucratic overheads that come with managing multiple corporate entities. This will allow IXOPAY to consolidate the administrative side of the business, while making clear that its focus is now on growing the IXOPAY orchestration platform. For IXOPAY clients - who made up by far the largest share of IXOLIT’s customers - this means that more resources will be available for developing and optimizing the platform to meet their needs.

As Rene Siegl, Founder and Executive Chairman of IXOLIT and IXOPAY puts it, "IXOPAY has already proven to be a game-changer in the payment industry, and with this merger, we will continue to lead the way in providing cutting-edge payment and digital commerce solutions to our clients worldwide."

While IXOPAY’s daily business, ownership structure and desire to revolutionize the market will remain unaffected, there will be some administrative changes: IXOPAY now assumes all of IXOLIT’s obligations and responsibilities. Our legal framework has been updated accordingly. The same will apply to other forms of communication, which will now all take place under the IXOPAY brand.

We understand that you may still have questions regarding the merger, and have put together an FAQ. If you still have questions, please contact our Customer Success Management team. Thank you for supporting IXOPAY and helping us to grow so successfully. We look forward to many more years of payment orchestration with you.

Clearpay, a leader in Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL), has announced partnerships with household and garden retailer wilko, parenting favourite Online4Baby and one of Europe’s fastest-growing ecommerce businesses OnBuy - allowing these retailers to offer online customers more flexible payment options. Following successful customer uptake at their online checkouts, leading beauty brands MAC, Jo Malone, Cosmetic Company Stores, Le Labo, Tom Ford, Too Faced and URBN (owners of Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie and Free People) have expanded Clearpay’s pay-in-4 service from online to now include their in-store checkouts.

Latest UK figures show that BNPL was used in 14% of all online purchases in March 2023, up from 12% in January 2023, indicating that consumers are increasingly preferring the flexibility of BNPL, which allows them to manage their budgets and spend responsibly, without the risk of falling into revolving debt.

For its retail partners, Clearpay is more than a payment provider as it provides increased brand visibility, increased conversion rates and higher average order values. Its recent bi-annual shopping event, Clearpay Day, took place at the end of April and saw growing consumer demand. There was a 31% increase in the number of customers referred to merchants via Clearpay’s Shop Directory. Other highlights include:

● 33% average uplift in merchant sales; 

● 38% average increase in new customers making purchases using Clearpay

● 63% increase in daily average sales in the “home” vertical

● More than 90% of customers shopped via mobile devices 

● 96% of transactions were made by debit card, indicating that shoppers took advantage of the deals on offer, while continuing to use Clearpay as a budgeting tool. 

Rich Bayer, UK Country Manager at Clearpay, said: “In March 2023 alone, Buy Now, Pay Later was used by consumers to make £1.2 billion worth of orders1 and we expect this number to continue to grow. Our retail partners are seeing the value that Clearpay brings to their businesses, as we help to drive more customers to them - globally we send one million customers to our merchants every day. We’re delighted to welcome our new retailers on board and to expand our services in-store with partners who already see the benefits of Clearpay online, and we look forward to helping them grow their businesses.”

Ben Exall, wilko digital director, said: “Respecting our customers’ time and hard-earned cash are key drivers for any improvements to our customer experience.  Working with Clearpay means we’re able to offer even more choice and easier ways to pay and we’re excited by this new partnership.”

Clearpay is transforming the way customers pay for products with purchases in four interest-free instalments over six weeks. 

Five facts about Clearpay: 

• The service is completely free for customers who pay on time

• If a customer misses a payment, their account is paused so that they cannot accrue more debt or fall into revolving debt

• Capped late fees apply for late payment instalments

• Globally, 90% of Clearpay transactions are made with a debit card 

• Globally, over the 12 months ended March 2022, 95% of instalments were paid on time and 98% of purchases incurred no late fees

Avivatech LLC, an innovative software business specializing in cash and check automation solutions for branch banking and retail payment environments, today announced the availability of the CashWare Advisor^® dashboard, reporting and analytics solution, an application that provides end-to-end visibility into a financial institution’s cash network - from transaction activity to personnel and device performance.  

According to the 2023 Findings from the Diary of Consumer Payment Choice report published by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, consumer use of cash as a payment method declined slightly from 2020 to 2021, accounting for 18 percent of all payments, which was driven by an increase in non-cash payments and not an actual decrease in cash payments.  

“During the pandemic, opportunities to use alternatives to cash as a payment method increased dramatically, but the consistent number of cash payments over the past two years suggests there may be a floor to cash use.  Banks and credit unions need to establish efficient processes to handle cash for years to come. Today’s financial institution (FI) leaders continue to spend a disproportionate amount of their time performing manual cash handling processes without the insights they need to improve their cash operations,” said Jeff Hempker, President, Avivatech LLC. “The CashWare Advisor solution supports FI leaders by providing cash visibility to facilitate better planning and greater efficiency. Working in tandem with the CashWare^® branch automation solution deployed in thousands of FI locations since 2009, the CashWare Advisor dashboard provides near real-time visibility into cash levels and cash management activities in the branch and across the entire branch network.”  

Unlike other solutions, the CashWare Advisor dashboard frees FI leaders from the hassle of monitoring their cash operations data from disparate applications and devices. The system aggregates data from cash handling devices, teller systems and other sources, providing easy access to pertinent cash operations data across the entire enterprise. 

The dashboard’s Key Performance Indicators feature triggers automatic alerts when selected, predefined conditions occur. In addition to other management views, the solution features Key Activity Charts, which graphically display core operation statistics throughout the day for monitoring. Additionally, the CashWare Advisor solution empowers users with query capabilities to examine operational data to uncover performance trends and exceptions, as well as document activity over time.  

The CashWare Advisor dashboard lets users create unique role-based views encompassing their area of responsibility. Users can then easily monitor and report on performance indicators that are relevant to them and receive alerts when predefined conditions occur. This function enables branch managers and teller supervisors to easily monitor how the branch’s cash recyclers and cash dispensers are performing while enabling the technical support team to measure the performance and utilization of cash recyclers and dispensers immediately. As a result, financial institutions can leverage actionable insights to bring greater efficiencies to their cash-handling network. 

“We are proud to be the premier cash and check software automation solutions provider for banking and retail payment environments. Our customers are seeing the benefits of cash automation, saving time and reducing their operational costs,” said Hempker.  

Trulioo, a leading global identity verification platform, announced the appointment of Erika Rottenberg to its board of directors. Rottenberg brings extensive technology and business expertise to the Trulioo board and reinforces the company’s position as the platform global businesses turn to for growth, innovation and compliance.

Trulioo works with many of the world’s largest financial, payment and marketplace organizations to navigate complex identity verification challenges. The company supports global enterprises in optimizing the cost of onboarding verified good customers while mitigating fraud and maintaining regulatory compliance. Rottenberg’s decades of operational and boardroom experience, including during periods of hypergrowth, will support Trulioo as it continues to scale while providing best-in-class identity verification capabilities and expertise. 

“Erika brings sharp business acumen and deep legal and regulatory expertise to the Trulioo board of directors,” Trulioo CEO Steve Munford said. “She understands what our customers face every day because she has been at the forefront of helping ensure data integrity and regulatory compliance for technology companies. We welcome her to our organization as we continue solving complicated identity challenges on a global scale.” 

Rottenberg’s most recent operational roles include serving as general counsel for the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, a leading philanthropic endeavor, as well as LinkedIn, a leading business and employment-focused social media platform. As LinkedIn’s general counsel, she was responsible for building and leading the company’s global legal and regulatory affairs, data privacy and security, and policy-oriented work. She’s currently a board member for NYSE-listed Twilio, a leading customer engagement platform, and Girl Scouts of the USA.  

“Identity verification is the cornerstone of the digital economy, and I am excited to support Trulioo as it continues to scale globally and lead this important industry,” Rottenberg said. “Trulioo provides trusted, sophisticated solutions to the complex problem of identity verification, and I look forward to utilizing my expertise as Trulioo enables everyone to join the global economy through its world-class identity verification platform.”

Moss, the award-winning software solution for holistic expense management, is today announcing a new partnership with Deutsche Bank. The development comes after Moss was granted a European E-Money Institute (EMI) license last year by one of the EU’s most rigorous financial regulators, BaFin. The partnership with Deutsche Bank is the first step for Moss to be able to offer payment services under its own license in the future.

Stephan Haslebacher, COO and co-founder of Moss said, "Deutsche Bank is a pioneering, trusted partner for many FinTech startups and was able to convince us in the selection process. After a long and detailed examination, we decided on this partnership to advance our European business. Deutsche Bank will handle the receipt, custody and shipping of all funds for Moss. As the first new change, our European customers will receive German IBANs, as requested.”

In Q3, Moss’s EU Debit customers will be migrated to Deutsche Bank, which will hold all funds moving forwards. With a German IBAN and the ability to make instant transfers, customers will experience less friction when topping up and withdrawing funds and will be able to do so 24/7.

As a result of the partnership, more than 2,000 SMEs in eight countries will have access to Europe's strongest card product. Moss focused on three criteria when selecting a partner; it was important to the team that the potential partner had significant and meaningful references in the industry and represented the same standards of quality and care. In addition, priority was placed on the bank's technical infrastructure as a means to map the future growth of Moss internationally as well. 

“There is a strong desire in the market to further digitise and automate financial processes and payments. With our solution, we want to help companies reach their full potential. This vision drives us every day and motivates us to always think one step further,” explains Moss co-founder Stephan Haslebacher. In order to advance the team's common mission, the product is to be continuously adapted to customer requirements and improved, as is now happening with the assignment of German IBANs.

“A partner must understand our business and take us seriously as a regulated institution. We attach great importance to goal-orientated cooperation,” Haslebacher stated, explaining the choice. 

Together, Moss and Deutsche Bank mastered the challenges they encountered during the initial stages of the partnership, setting the stage for frictionless and dynamic collaboration: "We had to get used to the processes of a global bank, and Deutsche Bank, in turn, had to adapt to our pace," says Haslebacher.

The partnership with Deutsche Bank is the first step for Moss to be able to offer payment services under its own license in the future. According to Haslebacher, customers can look forward to instant transfers and completely new products in addition to the German IBANs. The company plans to announce more details in the second half of the year.

Kilian Thalhammer, Head of Merchant Solutions, Deutsche Bank: “Moss won us over with its pioneering product and technology. We want to support the Moss team to grow in the core market of Germany and to expand into other markets. The partnership is a good example of how Deutsche Bank supports innovative business models in the FinTech industry with global financial services.”

Tipalti, the leading global payables automation platform, announced today it has raised $150 million in incremental growth financing from JPMorgan Chase Bank and Hercules Capital, Inc. Coming on the heels of a $270 million Series F in 2021 that brought the company’s total funding to over $550 million, this latest raise will enable Tipalti to further invest in product innovation and supporting its customers.

With transactions soaring by 50% in 2022 to a total annualized payments volume of $43 billion, Tipalti’s cloud-based platform automates the entire accounts payable process, making it easy for its more than 3,000 mid-market customers to pay suppliers across over 196 countries. With the support from these new partners, Tipalti will be able to help even more companies that need to manage complex payables operations at scale.

“Hercules Capital prides itself on being the partner of choice for innovative entrepreneurs and companies and Tipalti not only fits this mold, it breaks it,” said Catherine Jhung, Senior Managing Director at Hercules Capital. “From the top tier payables automation platform to the pioneering expertise of its executive team, Tipalti is operating from a position of strength and we are pleased to be partnering with the company to support continued growth.” 

Tipalti also announced that three new executives have joined its C-suite highlighting the company’s commitment to excellence at every level:

• Perla Stoeckert, Chief Compliance Officer, who re-joined Tipalti in March 2023, has more than 15 years of experience in financial services, including foreign exchange, online payments, funds transfers and deposit operations. Prior to Tipalti, Perla served in executive global roles in risk and compliance at OFX, FXCM and Commonwealth Foreign Exchange (MoneyCorp).

• Alice Davidson, General Counsel, who joined Tipalti in April 2023 is a Securities/M&A lawyer by trade with over 15 years of experience, including deep fintech, paytech and crypto expertise. Before Tipalti, Alice was the Chief Legal Officer at Mogo, Inc. where she provided counsel on acquisitions, investments, financings and partnerships, and led government relations. Prior, she was an associate at Stikeman Elliott LLP, focused on public M&A, corporate finance and corporate governance. 

• Des Cahill, Chief Marketing Officer, who joined Tipalti in May 2023 has spent the majority of his 35-year career helping companies in Silicon Valley B2B SaaS software scale and execute successful exit strategies. Des most recently served as Global Vice President overseeing product marketing at Oracle and held leadership roles at companies including Kerio Technologies, Ensighten, AOL, HP and Apple.

“Tipalti is seeing tremendous growth as more and more companies adopt our platform to automate their finance operations,” said Sarah Spoja, CFO of Tipalti. “It’s a privilege to work with world-renowned leaders like J.P. Morgan and Hercules Capital whose support of Tipalti enables us to accelerate the evolution of our innovative solutions so we can continue to deliver exceptional value to our customers around the globe.”

This transaction also extends the relationship between JPMorgan Chase Bank and Tipalti. Since 2016, JPMorgan Chase Bank has served as one of the three major global banks Tipalti uses to route billions of dollars worth of supplier payments each month on behalf of its customers.

Zip, the world’s only intake-to-pay platform, today announced its $100 million Series C funding round at a $1.5 billion post-money valuation, with investment from Y Combinator, CRV and Tiger Global. This brings Zip’s total funding to $181 million with its prior seed, $25 million Series A and $43 million Series B rounds. Today the company also announced its product launch of Zip Intake-to-Pay, extending its industry-first Intake-to-Procure platform for modern spend approvals to now provide Procure-to-Pay (P2P) capabilities. With new purchase order (PO) management, accounts payable (AP) automation and global B2B payments functionality, Zip provides a unified platform for the end-to-end procurement lifecycle. Zip’s latest funding will allow the company to accelerate product and user experience innovations to increase employee adoption across its rapidly growing customer base, including new applications of generative AI that maximize efficiency and synthesize insights across the intake-to-pay process. Zip now boasts hundreds of customers globally including Snowflake, Coinbase, Northwestern Mutual, Canva, Webflow and Databricks—ranging from startups to Fortune 500 public companies.

“We continue to invest in Zip because we believe in this outstanding team’s ability to achieve their mission to solve a ubiquitous business problem: spend control,” said Garry Tan, president and CEO at Y Combinator. “Zip is one of YC’s most successful B2B companies from the last few years. We are thrilled to have been one of Zip’s earliest partners as they revolutionize one of the most critical functions in the enterprise.”

Taking into account that procurement starts at the point of intake, Zip Intake-to-Pay is the first procure-to-pay platform with built-in intake capabilities. With deep integrations across internal tech stacks, Zip gives customers the flexibility to choose how they would like to use Zip to fit in with their current procurement needs. Zip Intake-to-Pay users are already seeing significant benefits to their bottom line with nearly $1 billion per month being approved in Zip and $937 million in total savings tracked through the Zip platform to date.

“There are few enterprise software companies that build products for multiple stakeholders and users within large, fast-growing companies,” said Ali Rowghani, investor and board member. “The launch of Intake-to-Pay is further evidence of Zip’s groundbreaking innovation in this space. With the rapid expansion of their product in record time, Zip proves yet again that it is the central platform for end-to-end procurement.”

“Zip’s procurement platform gives us greater collaboration and visibility into spend while delivering a seamless experience for our employees,” said Joe Frederick, senior director, procurement and strategic sourcing at Snowflake. “We chose Zip for its world class visualization and an experience that requires no additional training for our team. The platform is highly customizable and gives us flexibility to make changes on the fly.”

Zip Expands to Support Rapid Company Growth

In the last year, Zip has grown from 60 to 250 employees to support its extensive customer and product growth. With the latest funding, the company plans to continue to invest in top talent across geographies. Zip will also expand its footprint with a new office in Dallas, Texas, adding to its existing headquarters in San Francisco and office in Toronto, Canada.

“Businesses are no longer able to turn a blind eye when it comes to controlling spend, operating efficiently, and mitigating risk. Our recent survey of finance and accounting professionals found that nearly half of organizations are looking to meaningfully reduce operating expenses this year, yet only 11% said that the majority of spend in their organization is under management, or PO-backed,” said Rujul Zaparde, co-founder and CEO of Zip. “It all starts with a renewed focus on employee adoption and end-user experience. In a space that is notorious for providing tools that cause confusion, lack of adoption and costly deployment errors, we’ve built a holistic, consumer-style and enterprise-grade Intake-to-Pay platform. It doesn’t require any training—and employees are excited to use it.”