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IndustryUpdate

terms, our user-friendly experience, or our expanding
universe of retail partners, Sezzle is definitely gaining
traction as the marquee 'buy now, pay later' solution in
the U.S."
TSG launches TransactionWatch

The Strawhecker Group, an analytics and consulting
firm focused on payments acceptance, reported that
it launched TransactionWatch, a weekly newsletter for
payments executives covering the most important, rel-
evant merchant acquiring M&A activity. "It is a first-
of-its-kind product and was developed for the world's
cutting-edge payment executives, corporate strategists,
and private equity groups that operate or have a focus
in the industry," TSG noted.

RESEARCH

ETA reports on fintech, underserved consumers

The Electronic Transactions Association released its
ANNOUNCEMENTS annual white paper exploring fintech products and ser-
vices that broaden access to the payments and financial
Finicity among 2020 'Best Places to Work' services ecosystems. According to the ETA, the report,
How FinTech is Addressing the Needs of the Underserved,
Arizent and the Best Companies Group named Finicity highlights the innovative products and services revolu-
one of the 2020 Best Places to Work in Financial tionizing the way commerce is conducted through safe,
Technology. This is the third time Finicity has received secure, convenient and rewarding solutions.
this award.
Open banking facilitating FI transformation
This annual survey and awards program is designed to Fiserv Inc. published a white paper outlining how
identify, recognize and honor the best employers in the financial institutions (FIs) that take a strategic approach
fintech industry. Companies recognized on this year's to open banking can enable competitive differentiation,
list operate in and serve companies and consumers in a better customer experiences and accelerated growth. In
wide range of financial services including banking and the paper, Fiserv details three ways FIs can use open
mortgages, insurance, payments, and financial advi- banking to enhance their competitiveness: moving faster
sory, Finicity stated. to develop and deliver high-value experiences, part-
nering with complementary fintechs to expand their
Mastercard invests in Trust Stamp services, and offering banking as a service to fuel a tech
Trust Stamp, an AI powered authentication services com- company's banking functionality.
pany received a strategic investment from Mastercard. Paysafe predicts 5G will boost sports betting
Trust Stamp is a graduate of the 2018 Mastercard Start
Path accelerator program. Trust Stamp CEO Gareth N. Paysafe unveiled research into the impact of 5G on
Genner said, "Our initial work with Mastercard has been mobile sports betting in the United States, UK and
focused upon enhancing privacy and data security in Germany. Researchers found that 42 percent of regular
environments with low connectivity, and we have been sports bettors across countries anticipate increasing
impressed by the breadth and depth of Mastercard's their in-play sports betting activity with the emer-
commitment to that space." gence of 5G; 21 percent indicated 5G means they plan
to increase the number of sports they bet on; only 14
Sezzle surpasses 1 million active users percent stated they currently have no concerns about

North American digital payments platform Sezzle Inc. placing bets during events. With 34 percent of all active
reported it now has more than 1 million active end-cus- U.S. players preferring to place bets on a smartphone
tomers. About this milestone, Paul Paradis, Sezzle's chief or tablet, the advent of 5G suggests American bettors
revenue officer and co-founder, stated, "Whether it's our will feel more comfortable wagering more, as the risk of
commitment to transparency, our flexible payment slow connectivity will be reduced, Paysafe noted.

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