ANNOUNCEMENTSMPC: The Digital Commerce Event revealed that tech channel leaders will speak at the 13th annual MPC conference coming up Aug. 23 to 25 in Atlanta. Attendees will be able to meet industry leaders who will share perspectives on the network economy, which is growing exponentially, according to experts who noted the combined global revenue pool may reach an estimated $70 trillion by 2030.
Marla Ellerman, MPC executive director and publisher of Mobile Marketing & Technology, noted that with vertical solutions top of mind among attendees, speakers and exhibitors, these solutions can help technology service brokers and agents close more deals more rapidly while opening adjacent upstream opportunities for strategic partnerships and growth.
U.S.-based fintech solutions provider North American Bancard LLC reported that Dublin’s Analytics Institute honored Dr. Pawel Lee, PhD, a data scientist with NAB, with the Analytics Practitioner of the Year Award in the institute's annual Analytics & AI Awards. Lee was recognized for his work on using advanced machine learning capabilities for managing and mitigating risk.
The award, NAB said, aims to celebrate the success of Ireland's top analytics practitioners and acknowledge their individual achievements in the data science industry. NAB’s Enterprise Risk Management Data Science Team was also a finalist for Team of the Year, for its holistic approach in using data science throughout the payments risk lifecycle.
Pavilion Payments, an omnichannel payments provider exclusively serving the gaming industry, is participating in the Las Vegas Host Committee Ambassador Program (LVHCAP). It is an inaugural program to support the community of Las Vegas during important events such as Super Bowl LVIII. In the lead-up to the Super Bowl, the LVHCAP is aiming to recruit esteemed local leaders in business, medicine, the arts, education, athletics and more, who will serve as ambassadors for Las Vegas.
As ambassadors, participants gain exclusive access to LVHCAP events, news and business-to-business networking opportunities, all while demonstrating their unwavering support for the Las Vegas community.
PACE Anti-Piracy reported its White-box Works software toolkit for securing algorithms, cryptographic keys and data has completed its EMVCo 2023 security evaluation. PACE added its white-box cryptography product is the only such solution to be approved under EMVCo’s Software Protection Tool certification program.
EMVCo creates and manages the specifications and programs that enable seamless, secure card-based payments for businesses and consumers worldwide. White-Box Works was evaluated against EMVCo’s Software-Based Mobile Payment security standards.
RESEARCHA new study from Juniper Research found the total value of digital wallets transactions will rise from $9 trillion in 2023 to surpass $16 trillion in 2028, growing by 77 percent. This trend is driven by growth across developed and developing markets, as increased adoption of advanced services such as buy now, pay later, microloans and personal financial management drives end-user engagement, researchers stated.
The study also found that in a highly congested wallets landscape, diversifying their appeal to users is vital. A digital wallet is a software-based system that can act as a storage mechanism for a user’s payment, identity, loyalty or ticketing information.
The Payments Association released Navigating the rising cost-of-living: Payments innovation as a game-changer, which explores the UK's cost-of-living crisis and poverty premium in great depth and examines how fintech innovation, if harnessed correctly, can help mitigate the impacts of the current economic hardship, support the government's welfare reform, and build a more inclusive and resilient financial system in the UK.
Completed from interviews with payments companies, third-sector bodies and local councils, the report identifies communities that require more support during the cost-of-living crisis, including those on the lowest incomes, as well as the market solutions already available in supporting them.
Utimaco released Circles of Trust 2023: Exploring Consumer Trust in the Digital Society, a white paper that examines how consumers view trust in an increasingly digital world. In 2022, researchers surveyed people in the UK, Spain and Germany and found that consumers were enthusiastic about digital offerings, from connected vehicles to digital health services, but they were equally wary of security risks associated with them.
This year’s research found those contradictions remain, but by expanding the geographic scope to the United States, Mexico and Singapore, Utimaco believes it deepened its understanding of trust in digital life. Researchers found only 19 percent of respondents don’t worry about the security of their data; 36 percent have been victims of data loss, identity theft or digital fraud; and 41 percent believe a connected world would make their everyday lives easier.
PARTNERSHIPSMember Access Processing, a provider of the Visa DPS debit, credit, ATM, prepaid, and mobile processing platform to credit unions, will now offer the ampliFI Loyalty Solutions’ real-time rewards suite to its mutual client credit unions that use MAP for their credit and debit card processing.
The ampliFI suite of real-time reward solutions enables cardholders to redeem points at checkout, at the pump or after a transaction to gain exclusive discounts and credits for using their rewards card. The real-time redemption suite includes Fuel With Points, Pay With Points, and Checkout With Points.
European paytech Nexi and German ecommerce provider Shopware agreed to expand their collaboration, establishing a platinum partnership in Europe. Nexi stated it continues to invest in strategic partnerships to shape and define the future of payments in Europe, supporting its ambition to drive the transition to a cashless Europe by making digital payments simpler, faster and safer for everyone.
The partnership with Shopware, Nexi added, represents another step forward in its mission. Nexi is helping Shopware consolidate its market position in Central Europe, while expanding its presence in Italy and Southern Europe.
Stax Payments is now working with PayPal to offer a comprehensive solution for accepting payments online for its customers. Eligible Stax Payments customers can now accept payments with PayPal, Venmo and PayPal Pay Later options. Beyond new payment options, the collaboration with PayPal offers Stax customers near instant access to funds, fraud detection, seller protection on eligible transactions, and PayPal's built-in compliance standards, Stax stated, adding the collaboration between Stax and PayPal reflects a shared vision to deliver seamless experiences that help merchants grow their businesses and sell more.
SunCash, a mobile and digital payments company licensed and regulated by the Central Bank of the Bahamas and the Securities Commission, inked a partnership with LISNR, a provider of proximity verification, to enable ultrasonic authentication for online, offline, and central bank digital currency (CBDC) transactions. SunCash said it continues to drive large CBDC adoption after onboarding the world’s first business and customer that processed a CBDC transaction.
By combining LISNR’s ultrasonic payment capabilities and SunCash’s regional experience with consumer and merchant CDBC platforms, the Caribbean and Latin America will become a leading adopter of digital economy solutions, the partners stated.
True Digital Group—a provider of a digital vendor optimization network that supports banks in their discovery, diligence, implementation, and monitoring of technology vendors—formed a strategic partnership with the Texas Bankers Association.
The True Digital Platform, available to TBA bank members, is expected to further enhance the association’s Magnet innovation program by providing a more accurate and complete picture of the current issues and technology voids challenging the competitiveness of community banks. TBA’s Magnet program is designed to be an innovation facilitator that bridges the technology gap between community banks, customers and industry needs.
ACQUISITIONSCanada-based fintech Mogo Inc. reported that Coinsquare Ltd.—in which Mogo had a 34 percent ownership stake—WonderFi Technologies Inc. and CoinSmart Financial Inc. closed their previously announced business combination transaction. This transaction positions the resulting entity, WonderFi, and its registered operating subsidiaries, as one of the largest regulated crypto investing ecosystems in Canada offering Canadians a range of diversified products and services, including retail and institutional crypto trading, staking products, B2B crypto payment processing and digital asset custody. It will also soon include sports betting and gaming.
Mogo is the largest shareholder of the combined company, owning approximately 14 percent.
Merchant Lynx Services acquired National Credit Card Processing Group as part of the company's strategic expansion. NCCP Group provides payment acceptance services and technology solutions to the B2B sector. Its core verticals are construction and heavy-duty trucking parts and repairs, concrete ready mix, asphalt and aggregate supply, and highway civil construction.
Merchant Lynx Services is an award-winning ISO with a core focus on the hospitality and auto service verticals as well as many other fast-growth SaaS businesses. The company said it has experienced exponential growth organically and via acquisitions, with more acquisitions planned. MAPP Advisors acted as advisor on the transaction.
APPOINTMENTSModern card issuing platform Marqeta appointed Karna Crawford, a veteran marketing executive who has held leadership roles at J.P. Morgan Chase, Verizon and Ford, as its chief marketing officer. Crawford will be driving the company’s global marketing efforts, including marketing and brand strategy, demand generation, product marketing, and communications.
“Karna matches big picture brand vision with a keen eye for data and understanding how customers and prospects interact with a product,” said Todd Pollak, Marqeta's chief revenue officer, adding that she was a clear choice to help the company bring its story "to an even bigger stage."
Versapay appointed Greg Stivers as chief revenue officer. He will be responsible for overseeing expansion of all revenue generating activities, strengthening Versapay's position in AR automation and B2B payments. Before joining Versapay, Stivers was senior vice president of sales at Avalara, where he was integral to the senior leadership team during a period of growth and planning a successful initial public offering.
Directly prior, he held leadership positions at ADP and Concur/SAP. Stivers has more than 25 years' experience leading and scaling go to market revenue teams and is known for his ability to build high performing teams. 
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