(The Paypers) Fintech startup PFC has raised EUR 5 million in funding, in a significant investment from Nordea, which operates in 20 countries around the world.
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The global system WebMoney Transfer announced its market entry to Uzbekistan and introduced a WMY wallet in Uzbekistan Som.
WMY title units allow to pay for mobile communication, the Internet, utilities and online games. WMY will be accepted by global and national service providers. It is possible to pay WebMoney not only online - the system provides solutions for accepting cashless payments with a QR-code for owners of cafes, restaurants and shops.
Using WebMoney, entrepreneurs in Uzbekistan interested in exporting their goods will be able to accept payments in US Dollars, Euros and other currencies from their foreign customers.
Funds to WMY wallets can be deposited from UZCARD bank cards, via the OSON payment system and the PAYNET.UZ mobile application, as well as in cash at PAYNET cash points and ATMs. Withdrawal of funds from a wallet can be made to UZCARD cards and bank accounts. In addition, WMY can be exchanged to any other type of the system title units, which allow users to make payments to over 100,000 online shops that accept WebMoney worldwide.
The Guarantor status of the WebMoney system was granted to Brio Group Ltd, which is famous for the development of OSON payment system. Brio Group Ltd and Turkiston Bank signed an agreement for issuing WMY title units.
First Deputy Chairman of the Bank, Furkat Aliyev notes: `The Turkiston Bank started cooperation with a number of international e-commerce companies to promote the development of innovative projects and e-commerce in Uzbekistan. The arrival of WebMoney to Uzbekistan will become an important driving force for the growth of e-commerce in Uzbekistan and it will aid the building of citizens` trust towards making cashless payments in online stores. Sellers and buyers will benefit from dozens of services and solutions provided by the WebMoney system such as auto-payments, mass payments, escrow transactions and many other services. We started the development of this project in partnership with Brio Group Ltd in 2018. Brio Group Ltd and Turkiston Bank signed an Issuing Agreement on the emission of WMY title units`.
Paytm is pleased to announce the opening of a research and development centre in Montréal. Paytm, whose international headquarters are in India, is a leader in innovative mobile payment, commerce and banking solutions.
The company plans to create some 60 high-quality jobs in the Greater Montréal region over the next three years, particularly in software engineering.
"We have expanded our Canadian operations significantly over the last five years. And it felt like a natural strategic opportunity for Paytm Labs to extend its operations to Montreal," said Harinder Takhar, CEO of Paytm Labs. "We are very excited that our talented employees can leverage our big data and machine learning expertise to develop scalable products that meet the expectations of half a billion prospective Paytm customers."
Founded in 2010, Paytm is India's largest mobile payment and commerce platform, with over 350 million users. Its Canadian subsidiary Paytm Labs opened its doors in Toronto in 2014 and is in charge of all R&D operations for the corporation, leveraging big data, artificial intelligence and machine leaning to develop new products. To expand its Canadian operations and capitalize on Montréal's expertise in these areas, Paytm is now turning to Québec and opening an office in the province's largest city. Paytm Labs plans to invest more than $50 million to ramp up its activities in Canada over the coming decade.
Launched in spring 2017, the first mobile app developed by Paytm Canada enables Canadian consumers to pay their bills from their smart phones and choose from various payment options. The app also allows users to send and receive money from across the country. The company has roughly 15,000 employees in India and 150 in Canada.
"We welcome Paytm's decision to open a facility in Montréal, confirming the importance of the city's talent and creativity as well as our ability to attract investment from Asia. I am confident that our quality of life, economic vitality and cosmopolitan makeup were key factors in drawing Paytm to our city," added Valérie Plante, Mayor of Montréal and President of the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal.
Investissement Québec, whose mission is to attract new foreign investment to Québec and assist international subsidiaries so that they can continue to grow and invest here, welcomed the investment project from Paytm. "We are delighted with Paytm's decision to expand its Canadian operations here in Québec. Montréal's AI ecosystem boasts a strong scientific network and one of the world's top pools of deep learning talent: it is a major drawing card for key actors like Paytm. We are proud to have helped facilitate the company's expansion into Montréal," stated Guy LeBlanc, President and CEO of Investissement Québec.
Montréal International, Greater Montréal's economic promotion agency, is also expressing its support for the company's start-up project. "We are delighted to welcome Paytm, a major player in India and the mobile commerce industry," stated Hubert Bolduc, President and CEO of Montréal International. "Montréal is currently enjoying unprecedented global success with the strongest economic growth of any Canadian city. We have to capitalize on that economic momentum to increase our city's visibility in Asia and redouble our efforts to promote the expertise, creativity and know-how of our talent."
Gunilla Garpås, Swish Product Portfolio Manager at Nordea, spoke at EBADay 2019 in Stockholm about why the Swedes have embraced mobile payments so quickly, how Swish is now being offered in corporate settings and what the development of mobile payments means for cash and society in general in the future.
Hays Littlejohn, CEO of EBA Clearing speaks at EBADay 2019 in Stockholm about value-added services are needed and delivering compelling customer propositions based on instant payments, how the EBA's instant payment system RT1 is doing and how they are ensuring that their R2P solution will meet the needs of the European market.
Vijay Kasturi, Banking Presales & Solutions Head (Europe), Oracle, speaks at EBADay 2019 in Stockholm about who will build the bank of the future between the Banks, FinTechs or the BigTechs, what will be the shape of banking in the future with these multiple players and how the role of incumbent banks is going to change.
Nordic banking giant Nordea has invested EUR5 million in P.F.C (Personal Finance Co.), a recently launched Swedish neobank.
Launched late last year, P.F.C combines a Mastercard with a personal finance app that lets users set budgets, see spending categories, freeze and order cards, and chat with customer service reps.
With the backing of the region's biggest bank, the startup aims to hit 100,000 users by the end of the year, moving into other Nordic markets and developing saving and credit products.
Eli Daniel Keren, CEO, P.F.C, says: "There’s an opportunity in the market for companies that personalize financial services. We provide a personal, transparent and simple banking experience for our customers."
Ewan Macleod, chief digital officer, Nordea, adds: "We see the investment as a great opportunity for us to team up and support P.F.C. in their growth."
Switzerland-based payments technology firm BPC has opened an office in Pakistan to serve the growing financial services market in the Middle East.
The office location is Karachi, the country’s largest metropole and financial centre. The BPC team, with global and local staff, covers the need for innovative payments solutions while taking advantage of the rich and growing pool of finance and technology talent available in the country. The team will service the existing clients in Pakistan locally but will also support projects elsewhere so global clients can benefit from the team’s excellent skills and superb work ethics.
With BPC’s technology solutions, the company’s Pakistan clients will be able to let their customers benefit from the emerging financial services possibilities and also include consumers that are not fully connected to the banking system yet. BPC typically co-creates integrated solutions with its clients that help an entire local ecosystem thrive.
Angelo Bertini, Managing Director at BPC says: “The growth of the financial services market, the abundance of tech talent and the high ambitions of our local partners, are proving the true potential of the Pakistan market. We look forward to seeing our solutions be of importance in opening up financial services to a growing number of inhabitants.” The new location in Pakistan adds as the 20th presence of BPC worldwide. This local presence has enabled BPC to build successful partnerships with financial institutions. BPC will continue to serve its clients in Pakistan with a global team, but will also recruit local talent enabling them to work with global products and enhance their skill sets in this highly dynamic environment.