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Finovate Blog
Tracking fintech, banking & financial services innovations since 1994
Payment and transaction services company Worldline and credit decisioning firm Algoan are joining forces.
The two are developing a credit assessment tool that will help lenders make better, faster, and more efficient lending decisions.
The credit assessment solution will leverage Worldline’s open banking experience as well as Algoan’s credit decisioning expertise.
Payment and transaction services company Worldlineannounced a partnership with credit decisioning firm Algoan. As part of the agreement, the two firms will work together to develop a credit assessment solution to help lenders and services providers make better credit decisions.
Specifically, the partnership will leverage Worldline’s open banking experience. “At Worldline we look for innovative partners who share our vision and enable us to enrich and expand our open banking services,” said Worldline Managing Director Financial Services Michael Steinbach. “As a lead and one of the largest Open Banking providers in Europe, we are committed to unlocking the full potential of Open Banking. With Algoan, we will be able to offer our customers an end-to-end and cost-efficient white-label solution to assess credit worthiness.”
According to Alogan CEO Michael Diguet, it is an ideal time to launch this solution. “Open Banking credit scoring is experiencing momentum that big players should embrace,” said Diguet.
Another key resource behind the credit assessment solution is Alogen’s four years of credit scoring expertise. Financial institutions can use the new tool to receive more accurate credit scoring and increased processing efficiency. Underwriting use cases include personal finance, consumer lending, auto finance and leasing, retail lending, BNPL, insurance, and utility providers.
The credit assessment solution will also bring benefits to borrowers. The enhanced data means that more borrowers may be approved and will receive their approval faster.
Having won its first contract to facilitate card transactions in 1973, Worldline currently has 20,000 employees in more than 50 countries and counts annual revenue of almost $4 billion. Gilles Grapinet is CEO.
With the new year just two weeks away, it’s a good time to reflect.
We spoke with Justin Passalaqua, Chief Market Officer of North America for Worldline, on what he has seen in the payments space this year and the payments trends he anticipates taking over in 2022.
Were there any payments trends that emerged this year that you didn’t expect to see?
Justin Passalaqua: I wouldn’t say any trends caught me by surprise necessarily. However, I did not expect how quickly businesses started adopting payment methods like contactless, e-commerce, and order ahead payments.
These trends have been in the works for a while. But the accelerated growth of these payment methods due to the pandemic, I think, caught everyone off guard. Not only have we seen tremendous growth in contactless and online payment options, but the more we see these used in the market, the more enhancements are made to make payments seamless.
How have embedded payments altered the course of fintech thus far?
Passalaqua: Users can make payments anywhere, at the touch of a button and, as a result, the industry has seen an increase in conversions by almost 40%. The fewer steps it takes a user to make a payment, the more likely they will complete a purchase. And if they have a great experience shopping with a merchant, they are more likely to shop there again.
Loyalty has become a huge growth driver, especially in the order ahead/food industry. The rise of mobile apps makes it easy for businesses to offer more rewards for repeat customers, establishing trust between the business and consumer. When software and app providers implement the right tools that simplify the checkout process and strengthen loyalty, everyone benefits.
What payments trends do you anticipate dominating in 2022?
Passalaqua: One trend I have seen a lot of over the years that I expect will evolve in 2022 is Integrated Software Vendors (ISVs) building their own payment gateway or leveraging a Payments-as-a-Service (PaaS) platform and white labelling it with their own brand. As ISVs aim to be an all-in-one solution for their customers, owning the end-to-end payments piece essentially transforms them into a payment provider.
Another trend that will continue to dominate next year is the further decline of cash and the increased adoption of cards and mobile wallets. In 2021 we saw a 12% global decline in cash payments due to COVID-19. People will continue to adopt card and mobile wallets at a faster rate, and not just for safety and sanitary reasons. With the more rapid and convenient experience offered by cards and mobile wallets, we will probably never see a backwards shift to cash again.
What’s in the pipeline for Worldline in 2022 and beyond?
Passalaqua: Without giving away our secret recipe, we have big plans for expansion next year. First, we are investing heavily in the U.S. market. Although Bambora and Ingenico are well known in Canada and the U.S., Worldline is relatively new to North America. Our goal is to make Worldline a trusted household name for ISVs and the payments industry.
We are also focusing on growing our contactless/card-present payment solutions with new technologies to make card-present payments even more effortless. We are enhancing our bank-to-bank technologies to expand our payment types, focusing on our ACH solution, which aligns with our plans for the U.S. market.
The combination of Worldline and Ingenico will create the world’s fourth largest payment services provider with 20,000 workers in 50 countries serving nearly one million merchants and 1,200 financial institutions.
Worldline announced today that it would acquire Ingenico for $8.6 billion (€7.8 billion) in a stock and cash deal. The combination would give the new entity broad reach across Europe – blending Ingenico’s strength in Germany, the Nordic countries, and France, with Worldline’s strong presence in Switzerland and Austria. The acquisition also will help the companies expand and take advantage of opportunities in the U.S., Asia, and Latin America.
Worldline Chairman and CEO Gilles Grapinet will be CEO of the combined entity. Bernard Bourigeaud, Ingenico Chairman, will take the role of non-executive Chairman of the Board of Directors once the deal is closed.
“I am proud to announce that today is a great day for Worldline and for Ingenico, and more widely for our Payment industry,” Grapinet said in a statement. “Together we create the European World-Class leader in digital payments.” In praising the Ingenico team and its leadership, Grapinet also highlighted two areas – online payments and merchant acquiring – where he expected the new entity to excel.
In his statement, Bourigeaud put the deal in the context of the other recent mega mergers – FIS and Worldpay, Fiserv and First Data, TSYS and Global Payments – in the payments space. “The combination of Worldline and Ingenico offers a unique opportunity to create the undisputed European champion in payments on par with the largest international players,” he said. “This transaction comes at (a) time of accelerating consolidation of the industry and I am convinced that the joined forces of both leaders will deeply transform the industry.”
Worldline estimates that the new company will have projected 2019 net revenues of $5.8 billion (€5.3 billion) and operating margins of $1.3 billion (€1.2 billion).
An alum of our FinovateEurope conference, Worldline demonstrated its Worldline Connected Piggy Bank solution at our London event in 2017. The offering helps provide financial education for children, encouraging savings at an early age by combining an actual, physical piggy bank with a mobile app and savings account.
It is hard to imagine having a better start to your week than Plaid had seven days ago when the innovative fintech (and Finovate alum) announced that it had agreed to be acquired by Visa for $5.3 billion.
But the €90 million ($100 million) raised by Swedish open banking platform Tink on Monday is nothing to sneeze at. In fact, the funding, which is the company’s largest to date, is a reminder that investment interest in (and funding for) companies dedicated to developing the infrastructure that connects consumers, banks, and the financial technologies is very much in abundance.
“Our aim is to become the preferred pan-European provider of digital banking services and to offer the technology needed for banks, fintechs, and startups to leverage the opportunities of open banking and enable them to successfully develop financial services in the future,” Tink co-founder and CEO Daniel Kjellén said in a statement.
Tink demonstrated its platform most recently at FinovateEurope 2019. For more on this year’s Finovate event in Europe kicking off next month, visit our FinovateEurope 2020 page.
Azimo, one of our earliest FinovateEurope alums, announced a pair of big changes at the top to begin the new week.
The London-based money transfer firm, founded in 2012, promoted its COO Richard Ambrose to CEO back in August, as Azimo founder Michael Kent took what TechCrunch referred to as a lateral move to become executive chairman. Today, Fintech Futures, Finovate’s sister publication, reports that the company has appointed Dora Ziambra to the post of Chief Operating Officer. Azimo also promoted its head of finance Tatiana Okhotina to the post of Chief Financial Officer.
“We’re fortunate to have the depth of talent to fill these top roles internally,” Ambrose said in a statement. “We’re lucky too that Azimo will continue to benefit from the experience and leadership of these two outstanding women.”
Here’s our weekly roundup of the latest news from our Finovate alumni:
Union Bank to leverage technology from FIS for core banking.
Italy-based CREDEM leveragingWorldline’s Payment and Liquidity Hub software CRISTAL to process Target2 payments
POS software Vend partners with Klarna to offer retailers more flexible payment options.
U.K. food retailer The Co-operative to deployACI Worldwide’s fraud management solution, ReD Shield.
A partnership between TransferGo and Currencycloud will enable the money transfer company to enter 14 new markets.
YellowDogforges reseller agreement with Annex Pro.
Bankable cozies up with Plaid to allow its bank customers to connect with their users’ bank accounts.
Ohpenappoints former Tesla marketing leader Corinne Aaron as new head of marketing.
Segmint to acquire WAND’s Product and Service Taxonomy division.
CuneXuscelebrates 2019 success with a 40% year-over-year increase in consumer reach.
Three Key Lessons We Learned from Plaid – Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard that Visa is acquiring Plaid for a deal that’s worth $5.3 billion. The fact that they were so widely used at such an early stage is a testament to the quality of their code, but there are also a few key lessons to take away from their success.
ITSCREDIT’s Joao Pinto on the Digital Lending Opportunity – ITSCREDIT is a spinoff from ITSECTOR and is a fairly new player in the digital lending space. In this interview, Pinto talks to us about the digital lending opportunity, how his company fits into the current state of this fintech subsector, and what we can expect to see next.
Kasasa Enhances its Take-Back Loan – Community bank marketing expert Kasasaannounced a partnership with Carleton today in which Kasasa will integrate Carleton’s insurance and debt protection calculations into its Kasasa Loan.
Plinqit Brings Rewards-Powered Financial Literacy to First Community Bank – One day in the distant future, children will be educated in basic financial literacy as readily as they are taught algebra. Until then, solutions like Plinqit from HT Mobile Apps will be valuable tools for credit unions and community banks looking for novel ways to engage and educate their members and customers.
Credit, Data, and Cryptocurrencies: Graychain Rebrands as Credmark – The company that is bringing credit data clarity to the cryptocurrency industry is entering 2020 with a new name.
Tradeshift Lands $240 Million as it Inches Toward Profitability – The San Francisco-based company will use the investment to boost expansion efforts and gear toward a “direct path to profitability in the near future.”
Fintech, Financial Services, and the Case for 5G – Calling 5G “something banks aren’t even thinking about,” Celent SVP Dan Latimore said, “we believe the effects of 5G are going to be subtle and profound over time.”
Backbase-as-a-Service Helps Banks Leverage the Cloud to Innovate and Scale – The solution makes the company’s broad portfolio of digital banking offerings available to FIs looking to accelerate their ability to develop and offer new technologies to customers.
Also on Finovate.com
Visa to Acquire Plaid in $5.3 Billion Deal – “Today marks an important milestone for our company and for fintech,” company co-founder and CEO Zach Perret wrote on the Plaid blog earlier today. “What started with two founders building in a cramped conference room has become an incredible network that enables millions of consumers to interact with over 2,500 digital finance products.”
Not Another 2020 Trends Prediction Post (Seriously, It’s Not!) – We’re taking a look at the trends you can expect to see on stage next month at FinovateEurope. To keep things simple this year, we assessed the themes at a very high level and broke them down into three categories: the big, the little, and the trends in-between.
Singapore’s Digital Banking License Space Race Accelerates – Is there anyone out there who is NOT trying to secure a digital banking license in Singapore? The Monetary Authority of Singapore announced last week that has received 21 applications for digital bank licenses.
MogoSpend Offers Credit, Cashback, and Help Reducing Your Carbon Footprint – The new digital spending account from Canadian fintech Mogo does more than help Canadians get control of their finances. The solution also offers cardholders generous cashback rewards and a way to make a positive impact on the environment by reducing their carbon footprint.
Getsafe Expands its Insurtech to the U.K. – If your insurance company is offering you drone insurance, you know it’s not your grandmother’s insurance agency. Germany-based insurtech Getsafe does just that– and the company announced today it is expanding its home contents insurance offering (though, sadly, not its drone insurance offering) to users in the U.K.
Raisin’s New Acquisition Gives Company Access to the U.S. Market – European deposit marketplace Raisin announced today it acquired New York-based Choice Financial Solutions.
French Fintech Lydia Locks in $45 Million – TechCrunch reported this morning that French mobile payment app Lydia has raised $45 million (€40 million) in a round led by Tencent.
Visa’s Tap to Phone Brings Contactless Payments to mPOS – With Visa’sTap to Phone app arriving pre-installed on the new, enterprise grade smartphone from Samsung, a broad range of merchants will have access to yet another way to accept payments from customers.
INTL FCStone Acquires International Bank Transfer Firm – Headquartered in Germany, GIROXX offers international bank transfers and currency hedging. INTL FCStone plans to leverage this technology to expand its current client base to small-and-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
ti&m and aixigoPartner to Digitize Wealth Management.
TransferWiseInks International Payments Deal with EQ Bank.
Coinbase’s New Partnership Helps Give Back with Crypto.
Around the web
ThetaRayNames Edward Sander as Chief Product Officer.
Frontier Communications deploysNeustarCertified Caller STIR/SHAKEN technology across its IP network to digitally certify phone calls.
Citi and PayPalexpand partnership for institutional clients.
Worldline and CashSentinelpartner to provide a payment solution to comply with Swiss and European online marketplaces.
Alaska USA Federal Credit Union selectsMX to power mobile banking platform.
Minna Technologiesdeepens partnership with OP Financial Group.
Chetucontinues European expansion, opens new UK office.
This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.
Tinkhires Stripe’s former head of EMEA banking as its new Country Manager for the U.K. and Ireland.
DemystDatamakesEquifax data assets available on its marketplace in expansion of current partnership.
Fenergoearns recognition from Chartis Research in its RiskTech 100 2020 report as a category leader for Client Lifestyle Management and Know Your Customer.
RISQ Intelligent Software International and Compliywin finalist spots in the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Global FinTech Hackcelerator.
Sensibillnamed a “Company to Watch” in Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50 Awards.
This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.
Worldline closes 36.4% stake acquisition in equens Worldline.
Moven parent company receives patent for financial wellness product.
MastercardlaunchesThreat Scan to assess bank fraud exposure.
This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.
Worldline and Trapeze deliver a hands-free payment solution for public transport.
Sberbank to Open First Branch in McDonald’s Restaurant.
James Hale appointed Head of Product at alternative investing firm Artivest.
Finastranamed2019 Microsoft Alliance Global ISV Partner of the Year.
This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.
NetGuardianspartners with the University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Western Switzerland to improve ML and AI software for financial fraud detection and prevention.
Brewin Dolphin, one of the U.K.’s largest wealth managers, selectsAvaloq’s software as a service solution for its back office infrastructure.
The Paypers: Worldlinerolls out payment solution for online marketplaces.
Payjo relaunches as Interface.ai with a new interface, a new brand, and a platform for intelligent virtual assistants.
TurnKey Lenderreceives accreditation from the Singapore government’s IMDA, a certification that enables companies to expand into international markets easier.
Mambuto open a second North American-based office this year.
Authority Magazine interviews Ed O’Brien, CEO of eMoney Advisor.
This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.
Fiservlaunches new mortgage lifecycle integration solution, Mortgage Momentum.
Worldlineannounces expansion of its partnership with Rambus to provide ITSO smart tickets in the U.K.
The Paypers interviews Luke Flomo, Head of Ecommerce for Trustly.
BlueRushannounces two new board members, Michael Beckerman and Paul G. Smith.
This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.
As Finovate goes increasingly global, so does our coverage of financial technology. Finovate Global: Fintech News from Around the World is our weekly look at fintech innovation in developing economies in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and Central and Eastern Europe.
Middle East and Northern Africa
Turkey’s Albaraka Turk introduces interest-free digital banking app designed for Europe’s Muslim community.
National Bank of Bahrain launches digital payment and trade finance portal.
Ziraat Bankası KSA, a Saudi Arabian subsidiary of Turkish banking Group Ziraat, upgrades its core banking system to TemenosT24.
Central and South Asia
JP Morgan establishes Financial Inclusion Lab in partnership with the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad’s Centre for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE).
India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) scheduled for August launch with core banking technology from Infosys Finacle.
City Bank unveils end-to-end digital supply chain finance facility in Bangladesh.
Latin America and the Caribbean
EBANX and Wordlinepartner to launch new debit card payment option for Spotify Brazil.
Brazil’s Zen Finance to offer $1 billion in working capital to SMEs courtesy of funding from BRL Trust and BRZ Investments. In Portuguese.
Crypto Insider sees a lot to like in Mexico’s fintech industry.
Asia-Pacific
United Overseas Bank plans digital-only bank to appeal to South East Asia’s mobile-first consumers.
Australian challenger bank Judo Capital raises $140 million in funding.
Singapore Ministry of Education launches IBF Careers Connect to help train and retrain financial professionals.
Sub-Saharan Africa
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) develops risk-based cyber security framework for banks and PSPs.
Absa Group of South Africa launches WhatsApp banking.
Nigeria’s Paylater reaches one million download milestone for its financial services app.
Pan-African banking group Ecobank names finalists for its annual fintech challenge competition.
CFE Federal Credit Union implementsLarky’s Engagement Platform.
LedgerlaunchesLedger Live, the all-in-one companion app to your Ledger device.
Xerointegrates with BBVA’s API Market for small businesses.
Lendioexpands the Lendio franchise in Rochester, New York.
This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.
