A brief look back at week 50 at some of the news that’s not always picked up.
Global card payment growth
Global card payment is set to grow 13% by 2022, reaching $46 trillion in 2022, up from $29 trillion in 2018.
The estimates come from Commercial Cards and B2B Payment Services: U.S. and Global Markets and Trends, 11th Edition, a new report by market research firm Packaged Facts.
The report concludes that from 2018-2022, commercial card payment value is expected to grow at a higher average annual rate than consumer card payment value. Commercial card payment value is also expected to outstrip consumer card payment value in the US and internationally during the period.
It was also estimated that during the previous period from 2014 and 2018, global card payment value grew at a 12% average annual rate, led by consumer payment card value. Of the $29 trillion in global payment card value in 2018, slightly more than $2 trillion was generated by commercial credit and debit cards.
In 2018, consumer payment cards contributed 92% of global payment card value, up from 90% in 2014. This share gain is attributable to strong non-US consumer payment value growth.
FlexPay raises $6m
Over in Montreal, we heard that FlexPay, which uses AI and machine-learning to help merchants recover lost revenues from declined transactions, has raised $6m.
The round was led by Impression Ventures, with participation from BMO Capital Partners, Anges Québec and strategic partners.
The backdrop is that credit card issuers report that 24% of recurring credit card transactions are falsely declined, costing online and telephone merchants $300bn in lost sales and customers in the US alone.
As the economy continues to shift to online and subscription-based revenue, the problem of falsely declined transactions for customers and merchants is, said FlexPay, will get worse.
Using AI and machine-learning, FlexPay analyzes billions of transaction records to reverse-engineer exactly why risk-mitigation systems are falsely declining transactions. FlexPay then uses this real-time data to optimize credit card recovery and get valid transactions approved.
FinecoBank adds support for Garmin Pay to contactless payment devices
Back in London and we hear that FinecoBank had added Garmin Pay to its list of contactless payment devices.
This means that Fineco customers can now link their Fineco card to Garmin Pay through the Garmin Connect app for iOS or Android.
Fineco Head of Global Brokerage Alessandro Capuano said: "Our customers are increasingly looking for their banking providers to be fully integrated into their everyday lives. Garmin Pay provides another quick and simple way to make payments while on the go – whether you are working out, in the office, or shopping."
Ben Clark, Product Management for Garmin Pay in the UK, added: "We are delighted to be able to offer Garmin Pay to Fineco customers, revolutionizing the way users pay. With Garmin Pay, customers can keep a digital collection of payment cards directly on their smartwatch and can easily choose between the payment cards on display."
Customers can use their Fineco card with Garmin Pay securely at all contactless readers and on the world's leading transport systems.
Klarna opens Berlin tech hub
In Berlin and Klarna, a leading payment provider, is to open a tech hub at the beginning of next year.
From there, Klarna aims to further build out its product portfolio and services, better serve its fast-growing merchant and consumer base across Europe and the US and tap into the cities' rich talent base.
The new Berlin site will be based in the very heart of Berlin's thriving technology scene in Berlin Mitte and will eventually house more than 500 employees focusing on product, engineering and commercial growth.
"Berlin is one of the most exciting tech and entrepreneurial hubs worldwide and attracts exceptional local and international talents from all over the world. We are very proud and humbled to be part of that thriving ecosystem now. This site will enable us to further scale our footprint in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and new markets, but at the same time build new products and services to solve people's shopping pain points across Europe and the US. We are on a very exciting journey from a pure payment provider to a global shopping ecosystem and our team in Berlin will play a decisive part to reach our ambitious goals." said Sebastian Siemiatkowski, CEO of Klarna.