Acquirers

Facing Wall Street analysts for the first time after the murder of George Floyd, CEOs of major payment companies joined other financial services firms in promising to improve fairness and opportunities for Black people and other underrepresented groups.

The coronavirus outbreak initially looked like it might torpedo U.K.-based Paysafe’s plan to expand in the U.S. in 2020. But several months into the pandemic, the payments conglomerate sees ways it can grow by helping bruised small businesses retool operations.

Square's gross payment volume tumbled by 15% year-over-year due to COVID-19’s impact, but revenue jumped as online selling rose, Cash App doubled in users and Square enabled almost $900 million in PPP loans.

The point of sale terminal industry was already under pressure to go digital before the coronavirus pandemic made this transition much more crucial to its survival.

Payment processor Elavon purchased Sage Pay four months ago, completing the acquisition on March 11. Two days later, Elavon's entire workforce was operating remotely as the coronavirus forced it into lockdown.

A letter from the National Taxpayers Union requested changes, such as requiring federal credit unions to fill out a certain IRS form for non-profits, before lawmakers considered easing member business lending limits.

Businesses affected by the pandemic are accepting online and touchless in-person payments from consumers with the help of technologies developed originally for B2B invoicing and payments.

The coronavirus outbreak is still very much an economic crisis, but that doesn't mean the best solution is to keep on selling.

Even the independent sales organizations that heeded the warnings of colleagues and experts for the past decade about not letting advancing payments technology pass them by weren't fully prepared for what the coronavirus pandemic would throw at them.

While a business seeking payments and business management services could piece together what it needs from a few different providers, it's increasingly easier to find fintechs and startups demonstrating how all services can funnel through one platform.

Square has begun holding onto a portion of some sellers’ payments, demonstrating how liquidity shortages challenge the recovery for both businesses and the companies that process their payments.

Backed by its consumer survey acknowledging a significant shift in payment preferences to contactless options since the COVID-19 pandemic, Fattmerchant is launching software that can quickly add contactless payment acceptance for its merchants.

Square has added fuel to its growing Cash transfer service by agreeing to buy Verse, a Spanish P2P app.

Alfie’s Beer Bus found a niche as an offbeat character at events in the U.K. — like an ice cream truck, only with alcohol. Then the coronavirus came.

Cross-border payment fintech dLocal is partnering with Canadian e-commerce company Shopify to enable small businesses to offer local payment methods in more than 19 currencies in emerging markets.

When Fiserv purchased First Data in 2019, it was part of an industrywide push to combine bank and merchant technology under one roof. A year later, a key piece of First Data’s technology — and its top executive — have become Fiserv’s path through the coronavirus crisis.

When the coronavirus pandemic began, Square pushed hard to get a bigger share of merchants' online sales and consumers' stimulus spending — and even received its long-desired bank license — but found that this wasn't enough to offset the effects of the crisis.

Worldline has acquired a 53% stake in Czech Republic-based GoPay, furthering an Eastern European expansion effort with an option to acquire the remaining shares in 2022.

Merchant acquiring is a very face-to-face, sales-oriented business. And that culture has to change before any acquirers can convince their clients that they know how to adapt to the coronavirus pandemic.

Suneera Madhani, CEO of the digital acquirer Fattmerchant, tells PaymentsSource how the coronavirus pandemic has affected how her employees go to market with new payments technology — and how making the shift to digital helps both the acquirer and its clients.