<div>
  <ul>
    <li>
      <p>
        Airwallex, a cross-border payments infrastructure platform, has obtained a payment business license in China through the acquisition of (100% stake in) Guangzhou Shang Wu Tong Network Technology Co Ltd (Shang Wu). The acquisition has received approval and endorsement from Chinese regulatory authorities.
      </p>
    </li>
  </ul>
  <ul>
    <li>
      <p>
        Shang Wu is a licensed information and online payment services company, and therefore, through the acquisition, Airwallex becomes a third-party payment provider in China with local market access.&nbsp;
      </p>
    </li>
    <li>
      <p>
        <b>Analyst QuickTake: </b>
        This adds to the several licenses held by Airwallex across the globe, including in Australia, Europe, Hong Kong, the UK, 
        <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/5151">
          the US
        </a>
        , and 
        <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/5253">
          Malaysia
        </a>
        , among others. This acquisition is in line with Airwallex&rsquo;s expansion plans highlighted during its 
        <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/13646?industryIds=53">
          USD 100 million
        </a>
         funding round last October, where it partially earmarked the funds to invest in M&amp;A and geographic expansions. 
      </p>
    </li>
  </ul>
  <p>
  </p>
</div>


<div>
  <p>
    <a href="https://www.airwallex.com/newsroom/airwallex-secures-china-online-payment-license">
      Press release
    </a>
  </p>
  <p>
  </p>
</div>


FinTech Infrastructure

Airwallex acquires Guangzhou Shang Wu Tong Network Technology Co Ltd to expand operations to China

ANALYST_QUICK_TAKE

INCUMBENTS_PRESENT

PROMINENT_CATEGORY

<div>
 
 <p>Dwolla, a provider of account-to-account (A2A) payment infrastructure, has formed a partnership with Visa to improve account verification features in its A2A service. By utilizing Visa's open banking capabilities with its A2A payment technology, Dwolla aims to let users confirm account ownership, check balances and examine available A2A payment options in real time.</p>
  
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
</b> This follows Dwolla <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/27919"> partnering with MX Technologies </a> two months ago to leverage MX’s instant account verifications (IAV) and account aggregation offerings to provide faster, secure bank verifications and balance checks for businesses.</p>

Dwolla partners with Visa to enhance account-to-account verification capabilities

<div>
 
 <p>Flywire reported a Q1 2024 loss per share of USD 0.05, an increase from a loss per share of USD 0.03 in Q1 2023 and higher than the estimated USD 0.02. However, total revenue increased by 21% YoY to USD 114.1 million in Q1 2024, up from USD 94.4 million in Q1 2023, surpassing the analyst estimate of USD 109.9 million. </p>
 <p>Contributing to this revenue growth was a 23% YoY increase in total payment volume, reaching USD 7.0 billion in Q1 2024. Q2 FY2024 saw an adjusted EBITDA of USD 13.2 million, rising sharply from USD 7.0 million the previous year. Q1 2024 also marked a record for the company with more than 200 new clients signed, making over 4000 clients globally. Additionally, a record number of signings within the travel vertical was reported for one quarter.</p>
 <p>In Q1 2024, Flywire <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/26524"> partnered </a> with the <a href="https://sp-edge.com/companies/35340"> State Bank of India </a>, enabling digital cross-border payments between Indian students and foreign higher education institutions. Additionally, Flywire partnered with <a href="https://sp-edge.com/companies/211099"> VTEX </a>, providing an integrated digital payment experience to higher education institutions in Latin America.</p>
 <p>Flywire's projected total revenue for Q2 FY2024 ranges between USD 99 million and USD 108 million, indicating a YoY growth of 16.7%–27.3%. However, the full-year FY2024 total revenue forecast has been lowered to between USD 491 million and USD 519 million. For Q2 FY2024, the adjusted EBITDA is expected to range from USD 1 million to USD 4 million, while full-year FY2024 adjusted EBITDA is anticipated to be between USD 64 million and USD 75 million.</p>
 
</div>

Flywire beats revenue estimates for Q1 FY2024; reports highest quarterly client signing and revises down full-year FY2024 guidance

<div>

 <p>Marqeta's Q1 2024 loss per share decreased to USD 0.07 from USD 0.13 in Q1 2023, exceeding analyst expectations. However, its total revenue saw a 46% YoY decrease to USD 118.0 million in Q1 2024, missing analyst estimates slightly. </p> 

 <p>The firm reported a 33% YoY increase in total processing volume (TPV) to USD 67 billion for Q1 2024. The GAAP net loss for the quarter was USD 36 million, whilst adjusted EBITDA was positive USD 9 million, resulting in an adjusted EBITDA margin of 8%.</p>

 <p>Business updates include the global expansion of Marqeta's UberEats partnership into eight additional markets. The firm also partnered with <a href="https://sp-edge.com/companies/35375">Klarna</a> to launch a new flexible payment card and with <a href="https://sp-edge.com/companies/999264">Rain</a> to launch a debit card that allows employers to access earned wages.</p>
 
 <p>The board authorized a new share repurchase program for up to USD 200 million of Class A common stock, demonstrating confidence in the company's prospects. Following this announcement, Marqeta’s share price rose 1.57% in after-hours trading.</p>

</div>

Marqeta narrowly misses Q1 FY2024 revenue estimates despite growth in transaction volume and expanded reach

<div>

 <p>Checkout.com, a UK-based payment infrastructure provider, has forged a partnership with Mastercard to improve virtual cards for B2B payments in travel businesses including online travel agents. This partnership will let Checkout.com's travel sector users access the Mastercard Wholesale Program. Furthermore, they can utilise Mastercard's virtual card technology and pricing model. This will lead to decreased transaction costs and increased conversion rates.</p>

</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
 </b> Checkout.com expanded its embedded finance offering by launching a <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/17243"> card issuing infrastructure </a> (physical, virtual, and on-off cards) in March last year. Today’s partnership with Mastercard focuses on building on the card issuing offering within the travel sector while enhancing payment processing capabilities and efficiency.</p>

Checkout.com collaborates with Mastercard to enhance virtual cards for travel sector

<div>
 
 <p>The Federal and Trade Commission (FTC) has initiated proceedings against payment processing platform, BlueSnap, and its former executives. It has charged former CEO, Ralph Dangelmaier and Senior Vice President, Terry Monteith, with processed payments for fraudulent and deceptive companies. To settle the case, the defendants agreed to pay USD 10 million to the affected consumers and cease processing payments for high-risk customers.</p>
 <p>The FTC's case revolved around the fact that BlueSnap and its officers continued to process significant amounts of credit card transactions for a company called ACRO Services, despite multiple proofs of its fraudulent practices. ACRO was sued by the FTC in November 2022 for committing consumer fraud from 2019 to 2021.</p>
 <p>As per a federal court's complaint, BlueSnap had also processed payments for several other companies accused of fraud. One such company on the list is Powerline Group, which is currently facing a law enforcement action led by the New York Attorney General.</p>
 
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
 </b> Multiple FinTech infrastructure companies have been under legal scrutiny over compliance breaches. This includes 1) Veriff, which settled a <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/16805"> class action lawsuit for USD 4 million </a> in February 2023 over failure to comply with the Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) when collecting facial geometry scans for identity verification, and 2) Plaid, which settled a <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/4785"> class action lawsuit for USD 58 million </a> in August 2021 over claims that the company used banking login credentials to share data with third-party firms without prior consent.</p>

BlueSnap settles with FTC for USD 10 million over processing payments for fraudulent companies

<div>
 <p>Payment processing platform Episode Six (E6) has joined forces with DCS Card Centre, a Singapore-licensed financial institution. Their aim is to help FinTech companies launch their own branded credit cards through their customer interfaces.</p>
 <p>E6 intends to use DCS's expertise to introduce a unified platform that simplifies the process of launching a new credit card. By addressing regulatory, operational, and technical issues, this unified platform will reduce the time to launch a new credit card from four to six months to just a few weeks.</p>
 <p>The new platform will initially be launched in Singapore before being expanded to other markets in the Asia Pacific region.</p>
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
 </b> With this launch, E6 enters the space of cards as a service, a market catered to by several players in our coverage, such as <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/23011"> Marqeta </a> and <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/23012"> Highnote </a> , who provide credit card issuing and management offerings targeting consumer and commercial card programs.</p>

Episode Six partners with DCS Card Centre to launch a card-as-a-service platform

<div>
 
 <p>TabaPay, a platform for instant money transfers, has acquired the assets and affiliates of Synapse, a provider of banking-as-a-service (BaaS) infrastructure. The acquisition followed Synapse's voluntary bankruptcy filing under Chapter 11. The financial details of the transaction have not been disclosed.</p>
 <p>TabaPay plans to use Synapse's assets and technology to expand its own financial services offerings. The deal also ensures continuity for Synapse’s clients and associated banks.</p>
 
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
 </b> Leading up to the acquisition, Synapse went through two rounds of layoffs during 2023. The <a href="https:<br>
//medium.com/@sankaet/a-hard-decision-to-position-us-for-the-future-7f8a38f0fa69"> initial round </a> (~18% of its workforce) was part of a restructuring initiative in June 2023, and <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/22521"> its second round </a> (~40% of its workforce) in October 2023 was due to worsening macroeconomic conditions unfavorably impacting business circumstances, clients, and platforms.</p>

TabaPay acquires Synapse to expand offerings

<div>
 
 <p>Card issuing infrastructure provider, Marqeta, has teamed up with Rain, a financial support and wellness platform for employers. They are launching the Rain Card, a branded debit card that enables employers to access earned wages instantly.</p>
 <p>With this partnership, Rain aims to utilize Marqeta's card issuing abilities to launch a branded debit card. This debit card offers users access to their earned wages, encouraging less reliance on credit and better financial management. Marqeta, on the other hand, enjoys broader product reach and increased transaction processing volumes due to this collaboration.</p>
 <p>Among Rain's current clientele are global brands such as Hilton, McDonald’s, Arby’s, and Subway, spanning various industries like restaurants and hospitality, healthcare, and retail.</p>
 
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
 </b> Marqeta also launched a <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/23011"> credit card-issuing platform </a> supporting consumer and commercial credit programs in October last year. This partnership follows nearly two months after <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/companies/999264"> Rain </a> secured USD 300 million via a <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/27208"> credit facility </a> to expand product offerings, which also marks the highest amount in funding raised for the year by a disruptor in the financial wellness space.</p>

Marqeta announces partnership with Rain to launch Rain Card

<div>

 <p>Payment processing and digital ledger platform, Episode Six (E6), has entered into a partnership with Saudi Arabia's e-money institution, Loop. The aim is to extend their product influence throughout Saudi Arabia.</p>
 <p>As a result of this alliance, E6 will merge its TRITIUM platform with Loop's services such as card management, wallets, and immediate payments. This fusion aims to facilitate product roll-outs and enhance payment technologies across the Middle East.</p>
 <p>This collaboration is in line with Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 strategy, which looks to propel Saudi Arabia as a dominant player in the digital technology field within the region.</p>

</div>

Episode Six partnered with Loop to expand reach in Saudi Arabia

<div>

<p>Parafin, a platform offering lending services, has recently acquired USD 125 million via a warehouse facility courtesy of Silicon Valley Bank (a component of First Citizens Bank) and Trinity Capital Inc. This pushes Parafin's total financing up to an impressive USD 369 million. Additionally, back in August 2022, the firm secured a <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/12044"> credit line worth USD 150 million </a> contributed by Atalaya Capital Management and Jefferies Financial Group. This funding was specifically for the launch of new products aimed at small businesses.</p>

<p>The funding is expected to be used by the company for providing capital financing to businesses, including well-known companies like Amazon and DoorDash.</p>

<p>Currently, Parafin is trusted by thousands of businesses worldwide, with nearly USD 5 billion in loan offers being provided.</p>

</div>

All Updates

Airwallex acquires Guangzhou Shang Wu Tong Network Technology Co Ltd to expand operations to China

Dwolla partners with Visa to enhance account-to-account verification capabilities

Flywire beats revenue estimates for Q1 FY2024; reports highest quarterly client signing and revises down full-year FY2024 guidance

Marqeta narrowly misses Q1 FY2024 revenue estimates despite growth in transaction volume and expanded reach

Checkout.com collaborates with Mastercard to enhance virtual cards for travel sector

BlueSnap settles with FTC for USD 10 million over processing payments for fraudulent companies

Episode Six partners with DCS Card Centre to launch a card-as-a-service platform

TabaPay acquires Synapse to expand offerings

Marqeta announces partnership with Rain to launch Rain Card

Episode Six partnered with Loop to expand reach in Saudi Arabia

Parafin secures USD 125 million through warehouse facility

FinTech Infrastructure

Airwallex acquires Guangzhou Shang Wu Tong Network Technology Co Ltd to expand operations to China

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