BNPL on the Rise in UK; Nigerian PF Flutterwave Reaches Unicorn Status: News Roundup

PaymentFacilitator’s News Roundup is a curated mix of the past week’s news and articles from around the web, including company announcements, global payments news, and other coverage and analysis of topics relevant to payment facilitators.

PF Funding

Nigerian PF Flutterwave recently closed a Series C funding round, bringing the company to unicorn status. The round raised $170 million for the company, which is now valued at more than $1 billion. In total, Flutterwave has raised $225 million, one of a few African startups to pull in more than $200 million in funding. The Lagos-based company also has a base in San Francisco. From TechCrunch.

Buy Now Pay Later

The buy now pay later (BNPL) trend is seeing a rapid rise in the UK, accounting for more than 3.6% of online retail sales there during 2020. This is according to a recent survey conducted by Capital Economics and commissioned by BNPL provider Klarna. BNPL users said that spreading out payments without interest charges and feeling more secure when buying from unfamiliar sellers were their primary reasons for using the services. And most (64%) of BNPL users responded that it helped them manage their finances. From Klarna.

Digital India

PayPal has big hiring plans in India this year. The company recently announced that it is ending its domestic payments service there, choosing to instead focus its India business on international transactions for Indian businesses. It plans to hire 1,000 engineers during 2021 to staff its development offices in three locations. From The Hindu.

Indian payment facilitator Paytm has launched a new Smart POS application that will enable businesses to accept cards using their Android phones. The payments will use near-field communication to enable contactless payments. The solution is part of the company’s Paytm for Business app. From Business Standard.