The Green Sheet Online Edition
February 2, 2025 • 25:02:01
Industry Update
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Alchemy Pay achieves AUSTRAC approval
Alchemy Pay, a fiat-crypto payment solutions provider, successfully registered as a Digital Currency Exchange Provider with the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC), enabling secure fiat-to-crypto services in Australia. This regulatory milestone strengthens its compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulations, builds stakeholder trust and unlocks growth opportunities in the Australian market, Alchemy Pay stated.
It is also part of the company's global expansion strategy, which includes licenses in Canada, the United States, and key Asian and European markets, Alchemy Pay aims to connect traditional finance with the decentralized crypto economy, enhancing local payment facilitation at competitive rates.
BRICS Project Network established
The BRICS Project Network launched to support business expansion between Western companies and BRICS nations, comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates and representing nearly half of the global population and over a third of global economic output. Led by Karlheinz Zuerl, CEO of the GTEC Profit Growth Academy, the new network provides consulting, business development, and interim management across industries. Amid trade tensions, the network facilitates partnerships, market entry, and restructuring. Zuerl emphasized BRICS' vital role in global trade and technology, helping businesses navigate challenges and unlock economic opportunities across regions.
CFPB fines Equifax for 'improper' investigations
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau disclosed that it took action against Equifax for failing to properly investigate consumer credit disputes. Equifax, the CFPB noted, ignored consumer evidence, reinserted deleted inaccuracies, sent conflicting letters and used flawed software that generated inaccurate credit scores. The CFPB found these practices violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act and ordered Equifax to comply with federal law. Equifax must pay a $15 million civil penalty to the CFPB's victims relief fund, the bureau noted, adding that the enforcement highlights systemic failures in credit reporting, impacting consumers' financial decisions and protections.
Nuvei launches in Japan
Nuvei Corp. expanded into Japan by acquiring Paywiser Japan Ltd. and its acquiring license, enabling direct acquiring capabilities across major card schemes and alternative payment methods. With a new Tokyo headquarters complementing offices in China, Hong Kong, Australia and Singapore, CEO Philip Fayer emphasized Nuvei's commitment to localized payment solutions. Nuvei reported it now has over 200 payments experts across Asia-Pacific.
This move, the company added, positions Nuvei to support Japanese businesses in scaling in-market and cross-border, while helping global businesses enter Japan's booming ecommerce market, expected to grow from $230 billion to over $650 billion by 2032.
Papaya Global tackles the Super Bowl again
Papaya Global aired its second Big Game ad on Feb. 9, 2025, building on the success of last year's campaign, which tripled the company's website traffic and reached 114 million viewers. This year's ad humorously depicted the relentless challenges faced by finance teams through a life-size Whac-a-Mole game, showcasing how Papaya's platform streamlines global payroll and payments, Papaya stated. The company noted that its technology empowers organizations to improve payment accuracy, reduce administrative complexity and ensure secure global payouts in more than 130 currencies. The company feels the ad, created by McCann Tech and directed by Bruce St. Clair, highlighted Papaya's bold, innovative approach to marketing and technology.
RESEARCH
Alkami unveils top 2025 business banking trends
Alkami Technology identified five key business banking trends for 2025 to help financial institutions enhance efficiency, reduce risk, and strengthen client relationships. The trends identified are digital innovation, data analytics, fraud prevention, relationship-building and centralized cash management. Alkami mentioned that AI and automation play a crucial role in modernizing processes, while predictive analytics enable hyper-personalized services. Financial institutions, the company added, are prioritizing smarter decision-making, fraud prevention and treasury enhancements to meet evolving business banking needs.
NCR: Shoppers favor self-checkout for fast service
NCR Voyix's 2025 Commerce Experience Report highlights changing consumer behaviors in grocery, fuel convenience and dining. Researchers found that self-checkout remains popular, with 77 percent preferring it for speed, especially among Gen Z (63 percent). Grocery stores are adopting smart tech to reduce shrinkage, while rising prices are pushing 57 percent of shoppers to seek deals and loyalty programs. In addition, report authors noted, convenience stores attract customers with food options (27 percent), loyalty perks (37 percent), and inflation impacts dining habits, with 55 percent cutting back on delivery. Consumers also increasingly favor self-service kiosks, digital payments and personalized experiences, a factor driving businesses to adopt more technology.
PXP researches payment preferences
PXP, a global payment services provider, unveiled new research with Censuswide, analyzing payment trends among 4,000 UK and U.S. consumers. Debit cards dominate in-person and online transactions, except for cruises and high-value purchases, where credit cards are preferred.
Digital wallets are rising, especially among younger users, while security remains the top concern. This new white paper, titled From Cash and Cards to APMs, provides strategic insights for businesses and coincides with PXP's launch of PXP Unity, a next-gen commerce platform enhancing real-time payments and global integration, the company said.
Customer data unlocks untapped lending opportunities
Rapid Finance released The Missed Opportunity in Modern Commercial Lending, a white paper highlighting how underutilized customer data leads to inefficiencies, lost revenue and increased risk for lenders. The report advocates for a proactive, data-driven strategy to enhance lending portfolios and meet evolving customer expectations.
It outlines key steps, including breaking down data silos, investing in AI and fostering a data-driven culture. Rapid Finance CEO Will Tumulty emphasized the importance of leveraging data for growth and efficiency, offering a blueprint for financial institutions to optimize lending strategies and strengthen customer relationships.
PARTNERSHIPS
CAKE POS, Popmenu to aid restaurants
CAKE POS, Sysco's POS partner and a Mad Mobile product, partnered with Popmenu to enhance restaurant technology. Phase I, launched this winter, gives CAKE customers access to Popmenu's interactive menus, Google-optimized websites, and automated marketing tools to boost engagement and traffic, the partners stated. Phase II, to debut later in 2025, will introduce integrated online ordering with payments for seamless digital sales. With nationwide installation via Best Buy, CAKE and Popmenu aim to simplify operations, enhance guest experiences, and help restaurants grow through AI-driven digital solutions and trusted POS technology.
KCB Bank, UnionPay to support ecommerce payments
KCB Bank Kenya and UnionPay International partnered to enhance ecommerce payments and enable UnionPay cardholders to transact seamlessly online. This collaboration is designed to boost digital payments across key sectors, including supermarkets, government services and hotels, and foster convenience for consumers and merchants. Inspired by China's advanced digital payment landscape, UnionPay said it brings expertise in security and scalability. With Kenya's ecommerce sector projected to grow to 53.6 percent penetration in 2025, this partnership is anticipated to strengthen digital transformation and offer secure, efficient transactions that support the country's expanding fintech ecosystem.
Sheffield, Scarab team up on retail financing
Sheffield Financial, a division of Truist Bank, and Scarab are working together to provide streamlined, competitive financing for high-performance jet boats across the United States. This collaboration leverages Sheffield's 32 years of expertise in consumer financing and Scarab's nationwide dealer network to simplify the boat-buying process, the partners stated, adding that with Sheffield's pre-qualification technology, customers can check eligibility without affecting their credit score. Both companies said they aim to enhance accessibility to boat ownership through fast, flexible financing, benefiting Scarab dealers and customers with a seamless, mobile-friendly loan experience.
Skipify, Retail Realm tackle ID-powered payments
Skipify partnered with Retail Realm to integrate its Commerce Identity Cloud technology into Microsoft Dynamics 365 merchants' payment systems. This enables 50,000 global merchants to offer seamless, one-click Paylinks via SMS or email, reducing friction and security risks, Skipify stated, adding that its system auto-identifies shoppers, surfacing their payment options instantly.
The integration, the partners noted, improves conversion rates, authorization rates and customer loyalty. Rachel Smith, Retail Realm's vice president, highlighted the added convenience and security, while Skipify CEO Ryth Martin emphasizes the future of identity-powered checkout for reducing inefficiencies and enhancing the customer experience.
Tink, Adyen, Recharge collaborate on pay by bank
Tink, Adyen and Recharge have agreed to work together to introduce Pay by Bank in Germany, enabling direct bank-to-bank payments for Guthaben.de customers. The partners believe this open banking-powered method enhances security, speed and convenience for customers. Recharge CEO Günther Vogelpoel emphasized payment choice, while Tink and Adyen highlighted growing merchant adoption. With over 10,000 merchants using Pay by Bank via Tink's PSP partnerships, the collaboration reflects increasing demand for seamless digital payments, the partners noted, adding that this represents a step toward broader innovation in financial technology.
ACQUISITIONS
Banking Circle set to acquire ASL
Banking Circle agreed to acquire a 100 percent stake in Australian Settlements Ltd., strengthening its presence in Australia's financial sector. Pending regulatory approvals, the acquisition will enable Banking Circle to expand its next-generation banking services and enhance cross-border payment infrastructure. CEO Laust Bertelsen highlighted Australia's strategic importance due to its significant trade flows. The deal is expected to enhance local financial institutions' access to international payment solutions while opening Australian dollar settlement services to global players, making cross-border transactions more seamless and cost-effective.
MoonPay gains Helio
MoonPay, a leading crypto payments platform, acquired Helio, a blockchain payment processor based on Solana technology, for $175 million. Founded in 2022, Helio, designed to enable merchants and creators to accept cryptocurrencies like SOL, ETH and BTC, said it serves more than 6,000 merchants and processes more than $1.5 billion in transactions. This acquisition is expected to enhance MoonPay's on-chain payment capabilities to provide efficient, secure and scalable solutions for crypto commerce and trading infrastructure. The combined expertise of both companies now offer a comprehensive product for on-chain payments, MoonPay stated.
APPOINTMENTS
George Parks Davie signs on with Brite Payments
George Parks Davie, the new vice president product at Brite Payments Product, will leverage more than 15 years in fintech, A2A payments and open banking in his new role. Formerly at Klarna, he led the development of Klarna Kosma and played a key role in shaping PSD2 regulations. Davie will be responsible for expanding Brite's product offerings, enhancing user experience, and leading the company's Payments Domain. In addition, his expertise in the German market is expected to strengthen Brite's position as it scales across Europe. With instant payments regulation and PSD3 evolving, Davie aims to drive Brite's growth in the competitive open banking landscape.
Deluxe hires Brian Mahony
Brian Mahony was appointed president of Deluxe's merchant services business, effective Feb. 3, 2025. With over 20 years of fintech and payments experience, Mahony previously served as chief revenue officer at Elavon, a subsidiary of U.S. Bank, where he led marketing, revenue management and distribution teams. He also held roles as Elavon's chief financial officer and head of product and strategy. Known for his strategic vision and leadership, Mahony aims to drive growth for Deluxe's merchant services. He succeeds industry veteran Debra Bradford, who will retire in March 2025.
PayRetailers appoints Natalie McGowan
PayRetailers, a payment processor in Latin America and Africa, selected Natalie McGowan as its vice president of acquiring and EU payment partners. McGowan will be responsible for supporting the company's European expansion, enhancing merchant acquiring and EU partnerships.
With more than 20 years of experience in payment networks and international growth, McGowan has held senior roles at ClickandBuy, Skrill and Paysafe Group. César Rodríguez, PayRetailers vice president, highlighted this move as part of the company's 2025 EU growth strategy, following its expansion into 12 African countries last year.
Thad Sheffield joins PayBright
PayBright appointed Thad Sheffield as its first director of agent success and experience, who brings 25+ years in the payments industry in his new role. A seasoned leader in sales, marketing and business development, Sheffield has a proven track record in market expansion, team building and fostering strong partner networks, PayBright pointed out.
Previously, he co-founded a wholesale ISO and held executive roles at major payment processors. Committed to shaping the industry's future, Sheffield is expected to enhance agent and ISO experiences, helping to drive PayBright's growth and expansion into 2025 and beyond. 
Whether you want to upgrade your POS offerings, find a payment gateway partner, bone up on fintech regs or PCI requirements, find an upcoming trade show, read about faster payments, or discover the latest innovations in merchant acquiring, The Green Sheet is the resource for you. Since 1983, we've helped empower and connect payments professionals, starting with the merchant level salespeople who bring tailored payment acceptance and digital commerce tools, along with a host of other business services to merchants across the globe. The Green Sheet Inc. is also a proud affiliate of Bankcard Life, a premier community that provides industry-leading training and resources for payment professionals.
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