Payments

Bank bill-payment sites have become less relevant over the last decade as more people go to billers’ websites to pay directly or use billers' mobile apps — often at the last minute. But the COVID-19 pandemic could flip the script on the $4.6 trillion bill-payment sector.

Tipalti, whose platform supports cross-border B2B supplier payments, has raised $150 million in its latest funding round, bringing the total it’s raised from outside investors to $280 million.

Bank bill-payment sites have become less relevant over the last decade as more people go to billers’ websites to pay directly or use billers' mobile apps — often at the last minute. But the COVID-19 pandemic could flip the script on the $4.6 trillion bill-payment sector.

With a target of doubling its customer base to six million by 2021, Saudia Arabian digital wallet STCPay will operate through banking software company Temenos to expand its payments and mobile banking reach throughout the Middle East.

The trends were already pushing new payment experiences, which now seem less futuristic, says VeriTran's Omar Arab.

With travel spending still largely sidelined by the coronavirus pandemic, Amazon is looking to harness more of the spending that small and medium-sized businesses are focused on for recovery.

The threat has been exacerbated during the pandemic, as shelter in place orders forced consumers inside and businesses to close their physical doors, while simultaneously opening online ones, says Sift's Kevin Lee.

Parking payments have long been a pain point for many motorists, but it's a category that has also resisted a shift to mobile or digital payments in many regions.

Emerging market payments and foreign exchange provider Crown Agents Bank Ltd. is partnering with MTFX Group, a similar company based in Canada, to expand digital payments access across Africa.

Longtime finance entrepreneur Jackie Reses, who led Square Capital for the last five years, is leaving the company at the end of the month. Square has not yet named a successor.