A brief look back at week 45 at some of the news that’s not always picked up.
Ireland's fintech sector at Singapore Fintech Festival
We start with the news that the world’s second largest investor in fintech companies flagged up the fact that it is showcasing the capabilities of Ireland's fintech sector at the Singapore Fintech Festival which started yesterday.
Enterprise Ireland led the way for 13 global leading Irish fintech companies, many with strong links to Singapore, to participate in the event. The companies represent a range of fintech capabilities from regtech to biometrics, currency exchange to insurtech.
Irish fintech exports to the Asia Pacific region grew over 200% in 2019. And Irish fintech companies are establishing a significant footprint in the region through local partnerships, and an expanded presence in the region. In 2018, Enterprise Ireland invested in 23 fintech startups and has invested in over 85 fintech startups since 2014. Enterprise Ireland's portfolio of 200 plus financial services and fintech clients generated over €1bn in revenue annually.
Speaking ahead of Singapore Fintech Festival, Mr. Kevin Ryan, Enterprise Ireland's Director for ASEAN said: "Ireland and Singapore's journeys in fintech have numerous similarities – not least the fact that both are small countries with a large impact on the global economy. Ireland is now the fourth-largest exporter of financial services in the EU, with over 250 of the world's leading financial services firms operating here and nearly half of all global hedge fund assets are serviced in Ireland. It has also become a source of fintech innovation and in particular a centre for regtech and paytech innovation."
"We are seeing increased demand for the kinds of services that Irish fintech companies excel at delivering and we hope to see increased partnership between Irish and Asian companies in driving further innovation in the creation and delivery of fintech solutions."
Papaya Global raises $45m in Series A funding round
Over in Tel Aviv, we heard that Papaya Global, the global payroll and payment management platform, has successfully closed a $45 million funding round led by Insight Partners, with participation from Bessemer Venture Partners and existing investors New Era Capital Partners and Dynamic Loop Capital.
Papaya Global was founded three years ago with a vision to reinvent the global payroll and payment industries. The funding will be used to support the company's future growth, invest more in scaling and automation, and launch new products to further support global companies, such as benefits management and salary benchmarks.
"Payroll is an exciting industry and relevant to any enterprise, especially those that intend to expand internationally," said cofounder Eynat Guez. "However, it is painfully complex to manage payroll in different countries with multiple suppliers while maintaining a grasp of the nuances of local compliance and particularly local payroll components. These pain points are experienced by companies of all sizes."
Merchant Payment Platforms as a Service Market could exceed $16bn by 2024
Latest forecasts suggest that the various merchant and digital payment industry as a service market size is expected to grow from $5.7bn in 2019 to $16.7bn by 2024, at a compound annual growth rate of 23.9%.
This is the conclusion of a new report by MarketsAndMarkets.
It also said that the optimized customer/merchant experience with quick and secure payment methods are the major factors driving the growth of the payment as a service market.
The report said: "The vendors offering these services are keeping their eyes on the ever-evolving payment industry landscape and are offering competent services to deal effectively with the resolution of next-generation API-enabled payment platform services. These services help reduce infrastructure costs, increase overall revenues, and improve performance."
It added: “Retailers are also adopting innovative technologies, such as cloud computing, big data analytics, digital stores, and social networks, to increase their visibility and presence in the market. They are realizing the benefits of contactless payments, which include reduced transaction time, increased revenue, improved operational efficiency, and minimized operating costs."
Mylo raises $10m
Over in Canada, a hotbed of fintech activity, and the news came that Mylo, the Montreal-based fintech, had secured $10m in financing for its app that helps Canadians automate their saving and investing.
The Series A round was led by National Bank's corporate venture capital arm, NAventures, with follow-on investment from Desjardins Capital, Ferst Capital Partners and Tactico. This brings the company's total funding up to $14M.
"Mylo's mission has always been to help Canadians achieve their financial goals. With over half a million Canadians creating accounts to save and invest on our platform in only two years, we know we're on the right track," said Mylo Founder and CEO, Phil Barrar. "This investment from important strategic partners lets us start the next phase of our mission. Our team is focused on building innovative new products to help Canadians overcome any financial roadblocks that stand in the way of their goals."
Global Fintech market size is expected to grow to $124.3bn by 2025
A new report suggests that the global fintech market size is expected to grow to $124.3bn by 2025.
It concludes that North America is the worldwide fintech market's major contributor and should reach $80.85bn by 2023.
However, throughout the rapidly evolving Asia-Pacific fintech landscape, opportunities are plentiful and investment is rushing to tap into them. The report said that open banking and other regulatory projects are redefining financial services markets, with third-party suppliers ready to access client information from previously proprietary banks.
And, in terms of fintech growth, Latin America is slowly emerging as one of the prominent areas, driven mainly by projects in Mexico and Brazil.
TradingView officially part of the Italian Fintech ecosystem
In New York, it was announced that TradingView is now officially part of the Italian Fintech ecosystem and will gauge the potential of the region by exploring partnership opportunities it offers.
TradingView, one of the biggest financial platforms for traders and investors, is joining the Fintech District in Milan, Italy. It will increase its relevance and explore the regional fintech ecosystem, in order to connect more easily with business partners in its mission to democratize the access to the financial tools that were once available only to high-end investors.
The Fintech District represents a gateway to the Italian Fintech ecosystem that has over 130 startups and numerous collaborations with public institutions, investors, professionals, financial institutions, international innovation hubs, universities and corporations.
Achiko lists its shares
Achiko, a leading provider of game payment services in Indonesia, has listed its shares on the SIX Swiss Exchange at a reference price of $0.70 per share. The free float amounts to 41.2% at the time of the listing.
"Our decision to list on the Swiss stock exchange SIX is a strategic choice, taken with a long-term view. Switzerland is a vibrant and growing hub for Fintech innovation with a strong and supportive regulatory environment. We are planning to open a local branch here in Switzerland to support strategic partnerships in Europe," said Allen Wu, Chairman of Achiko. "We are delighted to be listed at SIX Swiss Exchange and look forward to continuing Achiko's success story with our expanded investor base."
Achiko provides payment solutions for games and digital commerce through different channels such as telephone bill, stores, e-wallets and ATMs.
In Achiko's starting primary market in Indonesia, about half of the approximately 260 million inhabitants do not have a bank account, and for those who have a bank account the level of credit card and consumer credit options remain low. Worldwide, the number of people who do not have their own bank account is estimated at around 1.7 billion.
Rapyd creates first all-in-one "Singapore Platform"
Appropriately enough, we finish in Singapore, with news that Fintech-as-a-Service provider Rapyd has brought together Singapore's key payment methods into the first all-in-one "Singapore Platform" to help businesses go cashless
The company said that its first-of-its-kind integration lets businesses go cashless and benefit from the rich ecosystem of electronic payments in Singapore to collect or disburse funds instantly; unlock FAST and PayNow instant bank transfers, make local bank payments with DBS PayLah!, OCBC Pay Anyone, or NETS, pay in person at AXS or SAM terminals, electronify cash payments in stores via SoCash, or use eWallet payments with GrabPay
"I am thrilled to be able to bring the Singapore Platform to life for merchants and consumers. Singapore has been a leading payments innovator for years, but as payment options have increased, it hasn't gotten easier for merchants to offer the full breadth of options to their customers. With the Singapore Platform, we are enabling the most important local payment options in a single package that makes it easy for merchants to offer," said Joel Yarbrough, Vice President for Rapyd in Asia Pacific.
"Singapore is a great market for us because of the progressive regulation by MAS to enable and foster innovation within the digital payments space, and the great network of local partners we have been able to integrate into Rapyd's Global Payments Network and unlock the benefits of a cashless Singapore for consumers and merchants around the world."
Funding
According to our friends at BlackFin Tech, it was a quiet week for raising money, with activity centred on seed rounds. Some eight deals accounted for €34m, with bank tech generating the most interest.