Fintech, Finance, Technology, Banking Highlights – 15 October 2018
Worldpay Extends Real-Time Payouts to Over 50 Countries
Worldpay has announced the launch of new dynamic payout solutions that give multi-national eCommerce businesses more choices to disburse funds to partners and customers – quickly, easily and across country borders.
Worldpay’s dynamic payout solutions combine the enhanced Worldpay Bankout solution, which now delivers 154 direct bank disbursement destinations (up from 65), and Worldpay FastAccess – enabled by Visa Direct.
With these versatile payout options, partners and customers need no longer wait for days to receive funds or refunds as they now can obtain them via card in near real-time – through mobile wallet or directly to a local bank account.
Bankout is an ideal solution for businesses needing to make a large number of global payments to – or on behalf of – their customers and suppliers. With 89 new local markets, Worldpay now provides seamless cross-border payouts for businesses in local currencies without the expense of making multiple international bank transfers.
Dynamic payouts allow businesses to make faster, seamless card-based payouts in near-real time within a maximum of 30 minutes. Building on its launch in the United States last year, FastAccess is now available to Worldpay customers in over 50 new markets across Europe and Asia.
A wide-range of industries benefit from these new flexible payout solutions. For example, travel and tourism companies and marketplaces can pay out funds to accommodation vendors or disbursements to travellers in a variety of countries and currencies; gaming businesses can provide near-instant payouts to customers; insurance companies can save costs by replacing local checks with bank transfers; and marketplaces can allow independent sellers to retrieve funds more quickly.
Shane Happach, executive vice president, Head of Global Enterprise eCommerce at Worldpay, Inc., said: “As more and more companies send payments at lower values, cross-border, it will become a competitive differentiator to send quicker payouts to consumers and inexpensive disbursements to vendors and suppliers. It is estimated that by 2025, the sharing economy will generate Europe-wide revenues worth over €80bn and facilitate nearly €570bn of transactions[5]. At the heart are seamless, transparent, secure payouts, which can be made via card, mobile wallet or bank transfer in any currency, anywhere in the world.”
Precise Biometrics presents its revised strategy
As the use of smart devices such as cellphones, vehicles, consumer electronics, watches and other accessories has increased the demand for convenient and secure biometric technology grows. To be able to read biometric data through fingerprints, iris, face, behaviour and geo data enables a convenient and secure user experience.
Precise Biometrics’ core operation has historically been within fingerprint biometrics with a focus on mobile devices. With help from a number of partnership collaboriations’ Precise Biometrics now work on developing solutions with the objective to unite various biometrical modalities. These will be able to apply to new user areas and sectors such as finance, gaming, medical and security.
These biometric solutions, where continuous user identification can be applied ensure a convenient and secure experience, and is adapted to what application the end user wish to use. As a result, Precise Biometrics gets closer to the end users. The revised strategy will primarily focus on the Nordic market.
”We are confident in the current biometric technology which enables us to take the next step of our development. Looking at the market and how the technology is developed, I see opportunities to expand our current business to new areas of use. Biometric systems with fingerprints, face, voice, behaviour and iris enables a digital identity that makes it more convenient and secure in the daily life”, said Stefan K Persson, CEO Precise Biometrics.
UniCredit Bank first bank in Hungary to sign an agreement with Alipay
UniCredit Bank Hungary and Alipay have signed an agreement, the first in the country, making China’s most widespread mobile payment method available to Chinese visitors coming to Hungary from 2019
The agreement signed by UniCredit Bank Hungary and Alipay Europe makes the start of a partnership that will allow the increasing number of Chinese visitors abroad to purchase goods and services in Hungary simply using the app they are accustomed to in their homeland.
Thanks to this agreement, UniCredit’s merchant clients will have the possibility to provide Alipay payment service to their Chinese customers.
The introduction of Alipay services in Hungary represents an opportunity to capitalise on the rapidly growing number of Chinese tourists in the country. According to the Hungarian Tourism Agency, Budapest had 178,000 Chinese visitors in 2017, with China being among the top 10 countries from where tourists are arriving to the capital. Based on governmental statements, the number of Chinese tourists visiting Hungary grew by over 34 per cent last year to 227,000 in 2017, while 140,000 Chinese tourists came here in the first 6 months of 2018, corresponding to a further 11 per cent increase.
