FinTech Futures: Top five news stories of the week – 6 September 2024
Here’s our pick of five of the top news stories from the world of fintech this week, featuring McLEAR, Tarabut, The Bank of London, Paylocity and more.
Mastercard to pilot Payment Passkey Service in India
Mastercard launches new pilot scheme in India
Paytech titan Mastercard is set to debut its new Payment Passkey Service in India with a pilot engaging some of the country’s “largest payment players”.
Included in the initiative are online merchants like BigBasket, banks such as Axis Bank, and payment aggregators including Juspay, Razorpay and PayU.
The Payment Passkey Service uses passkeys and tokenisation to facilitate secure online checkout interactions, with the aim of replacing one-time passwords.
If the pilot proves successful, the paytech plans to expand its Payment Passkey Service to more consumers and financial institutions globally “over the coming months”.
McLEAR sunsets payment ring programme
McLEAR, a wearable technology company for payments, security, and fashion, has announced the closure of its flagship RingPay programme, which comprises a prepaid account, a mobile app, and a payment ring.
In a statement on the McLEAR website, the company attributes the decision to discontinue RingPay, which is underpinned by PayrNet Limited to “the increasing complexity and costs of maintaining” it.
The Ring programme will be closed on 31 October 2024 and users have been requested to spend or withdraw the balance before the expiry date.
Going forward, McLEAR says it “will be focusing on strengthening and supporting strategic business relationships and continuing to develop new and more efficient technologies”.
Tarabut buys A2A payments platform Vyne
Tarabut acquires UK’s Vyne for undisclosed sum
Middle Eastern open banking platform Tarabut has acquired UK fintech Vyne, a real-time account-to-account (A2A) payments platform for online businesses, for an undisclosed sum.
With the acquisition completed on 1 August, Vyne will now be integrated into Tarabut’s existing tech stack of data and compliance products.
Tarabut says the move will enable it to bring “A2A payment capabilities to the Middle East”, with a go-live in Bahrain expected “by the end of the year”.
This will be followed by further rollouts in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, where new regulations for payment initiation services and open finance are coming into effect respectively.
Anthony Watson steps down from role as CEO of The Bank of London
The Bank of London founder Anthony Watson is stepping down from his position as CEO and will transition to a new role as senior adviser at the firm.
Commenting on the announcement, Watson describes the move as “one of the most challenging decisions of my career”, adding that now is “the right time after eight years leading the company”.
He is to retain his position as non-executive director of the group’s holding company and also remains a shareholder.
Stephen Bell, who has served as the bank’s chief risk and compliance officer for the last three years, is set to take the reins as the company’s new CEO, subject to regulatory approval.
Paylocity to acquire spend management platform Airbase for $325m
Paylocity inks $325m deal to acquire Airbase
US-based tech firm Paylocity has finalised a deal to acquire spend management platform Airbase for $325 million in an effort to expand the capabilities of its HR and payroll software solutions.
Paylocity will fund the deal, expected to close “in the first or second quarter of fiscal 2025”, through its revolving credit facility.
Once completed, Paylocity will work to integrate Airbase’s finance and spend management software solution into its human capital management (HCM) platform.
According to Toby Williams, president and CEO of Paylocity, the acquisition will allow the company to provide businesses “with an integrated software platform to manage all aspects of their operational spend”.
