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IndustryUpdate

Women in Payments EME honors Lena Hackelöer

Lena Hackelöer, founder & CEO of Brite Payments, was
awarded the Inspiration Award by Women in Payments
at the EMEA Symposium. Recognized for her leadership
and role in advancing the payments industry, Hackelöer
has led Brite Payments, a provider of instant bank pay-
ments, to significant growth. Under her guidance, Brite
expanded into key European markets and launched
Brite Instant Payments in Germany. Hackelöer's work
exemplifies her commitment to innovation and fostering
an inclusive environment, contributing to the success
of women in the payments sector, Women in Payments
stated.

RESEARCH
ANNOUNCEMENTS
SMBs concerned about fraud, inflation
Elevate wins 2024 HR Tech Award for AI
KeyBank's 2024 Small Business Survey revealed that
Elevate, a consumer-directed benefits administration 65 percent of SMB owners are confident they can
platform, was awarded the Best Advance in Practical AI cover a month's operating expenses with cash reserves.
in the Total Rewards and Employee Wellbeing category However, 37 percent expect a slight increase in operating
by Lighthouse Research & Advisory for its 2024 HR costs due to inflation, and 27 percent foresee a significant
Tech Awards. Elevate's AI-driven platform speeds up rise. Main challenges respondents mentioned include
claim processing for flexible spending accounts, with 90 fluctuating sales (35 percent), delayed payments (29
percent of claims approved instantly, which enhances percent) and high overhead costs (28 percent). Owners
the user experience for administrators and employees, are proactively cutting costs, boosting cash reserves
making benefits more accessible and efficient, award and exploring financing options to ensure resilience.
judges noted. The HR Tech Awards recognize leading Additionally, SMBs are seeking advice from banks on
companies for solving customer needs effectively. cost management, emergency funds and revenue diver-
sification. The survey reflects optimism amid economic
Fractal boasts cheapest payment rails in U.S. uncertainties, including concerns over payment fraud
and potential policy changes after the U.S. presidential
Fractal, a new fintech platform for SaaS companies election.
founded by payment veterans Brian Nichols and James
Greaves, said it launched efficient payment processing U.S. bankruptcies continue upward trend
services in the United States. Offering up to 30 percent
savings, Fractal competes with industry giants through G2 Risk Solutions (G2RS) noted increasing bankruptcy
lowest-cost routing and attractive revenue-sharing plans, filings despite strong economic indicators. Bankruptcy
the company stated, adding that the platform provides filings rose 16.2 percent in the first quarter of 2024 com-
pre-built payment flows and an API for customization. pared to the previous year, continuing a trend from 2022.
Nichols and Greaves emphasized that Fractal's service In addition, if the trend continues, G2RS projects a 32
enables SaaS companies to add payments easily, boost- percent increase in filings from 2022 to 2024, with nota-
ing revenue without raising prices. ble rises across all U.S. regions. The Pacific and Mountain
regions have seen the highest increases, with California
NFC Forum streamlines testing requirements and Arizona leading in volume. This trend could surpass
pre-pandemic levels in a few years, impacting various
The NFC Forum added Test Release 13.2 (TR13.2) to industries, according to G2RS's Ryan Sanders.
its certification program to simplify testing and make
it more cost-effective. This update allows for testing USPF studies connected car, contextual payments
of market-ready products with release candidate soft-
ware, reducing the time-to-market for NFC-enabled The U.S. Payments Forum released Connected Car and
products and streamlining the number of required tests Contextual Payments, a new white paper on the integra-
without compromising coverage or functionality, the tion of automated payments within the connected car
forum stated. With its specifications, the NFC Forum ecosystem. As McKinsey research predicted that 95
strives to ensure device compliance, promoting interop- percent of new vehicles will be connected by 2030, this
erability across markets. TR13.2 impacts specific NDEF- paper provides essential knowledge about this evolving
application tests and does not affect other industry bod- market, the forum stated. It covers the transaction pro-
ies using NFC Forum testing practices. cess, connected car technologies, implementation con-
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