Fintech

Breakdown: Buy Now, Pay Later’s bill is coming due

14 October 2021

The instalment-lending tool is reshaping how consumers buy online and could reach $300 bln by 2024. Banks are scrambling to catch up with upstarts like Klarna and Affirm, while regulators worry about unsustainable debts. Breakingviews explains why a reckoning is on its way.

Remitly cash-transfer IPO names a high-wire price

16 September 2021

The fintech firm that helps immigrants send money home could value its shares at up to $7 bln. Its founders have hit on a genuine need – there’s a $500 bln market for global remittance payments. Yet vast competition and lack of profit make this an expensive kind of transfer.

Goldman fintech deal serves borrowers on a plate

15 September 2021

Like all banks, the Wall Street firm wants to lend to consumers at credit-card-like returns without the hassle of attracting them. Buying buy-now-pay-later firm GreenSky for $2 bln means merchants like Home Depot act as recruiters. Other lenders will jump on this bandwagon.

Capital Calls: Amazon’s wage rise

14 September 2021

Concise views on global finance: The e-commerce giant’s salary strategy could catch on.

Ant may find it easy to move on after breakup

14 September 2021

Beijing wants Jack Ma's fintech giant to separate payments, credit scoring and lending, and is diluting it with assorted government investors. But these stakeholders might be helpful, and the loan operation looks to get a wider business remit. If this is bottom, it’s not too bad.

Capital Calls: Lagarde channels Thatcher

9 September 2021

Concise views on global finance: The ECB boss will buy fewer bonds but tells markets: “The lady isn’t tapering.” A tough decision on whether to scale back bond purchases more decisively will come later.

Capital Calls: New York City is on climate notice

2 September 2021

Concise views on global finance: Cities with a higher number of wealthier residents will be able to combat climate related events.

Italian data land grab comes at a price

31 August 2021

Fintech group ION has upped its bid for risk intelligence provider Cerved to 2 bln euros. An overall premium of 45% reflects growing demand for financial information. Offloading Cerved’s debt collection unit, worth perhaps 400 mln euros, would help recoup some of the cost.

South Korea’s fintech wars put banks on back foot

6 August 2021

Web giant Kakao’s digital bank and payments affiliates are going public while rival Toss raised funds at a $7.4 bln valuation. Up for grabs is the country’s $1 trln lending market. The digital disruptors’ early gains in retail loans spell trouble ahead for incumbents.

Viewsroom: Jack Dorsey takes a trip Down Under

5 August 2021

Square’s $29 bln takeover of Aussie fintech darling Afterpay shines a light on the “buy now, pay later” craze, which poses a big challenge to many established players in the banking and payments businesses, argue Melbourne-based editors Jeff Goldfarb and Antony Currie.

Klarna’s list of suitors may not be that extensive

4 August 2021

Following the $29 bln swoop on Afterpay by Jack Dorsey’s Square, its $46 bln Swedish instalment-payment rival could be in play. Yet Klarna is pricey, not a pure pay-later player, and might not sell to a credit card giant. Stripe and PayPal look the most likely bidders.

Capital Calls: GM, Hugo Boss, NYT, Frontier tech

4 August 2021

Concise views on global finance: The U.S. automaker finds inflation cuts both ways; the German-listed fashion brand hopes to double sales by 2025; advertising is a bright spot for the New York Times; Zymergen vaporized 75% of its value under four months after a $3 bln IPO.

Capital Calls: Grab, Gaming, SocGen, Stellantis

3 August 2021

Concise views on global finance: The Southeast Asian super-app delivers some of the goods; Tencent shares tank after Chinese state-media criticism; the French lender’s investment bank overhauls goals; the carmaker hikes operating margin targets to a chunky 10%.

Square backs a truck onto Wall Street’s front yard

2 August 2021

The $29 bln purchase of pay-later firm Afterpay makes Jack Dorsey’s fintech outfit more bank-like but without the historical baggage, dense regulation and lengthy rap sheet. Square is still small next to lenders like JPMorgan, but big enough to force them to change their ways.

Capital Calls: Aussie oil deal, Fund services M&A

2 August 2021

Concise views on global finance: Santos’ improved and agreed offer for Oil Search comes at a discount to its rejected first attempt; Sanne’s dealmaking poker face looks set to be vindicated.

Alibaba can shake off its China discount

2 August 2021

The e-commerce titan's shares have tumbled 40% from an October 2020 peak as Beijing cracks down on tech. It’s now trading at a big discount to Amazon even though both are growing profit at about the same rate. Alibaba's resilient businesses should help the valuation gap narrow.

Capital Calls: China, Disney, Banks, P&G, Fintech

30 July 2021

Concise views on global finance: The SEC wants more disclosures on IPO risks related to Beijing regulators; plus Scarlett Johansson’s lawsuit, EU stress tests, consumer prices, and Qatar’s investment in an African fintech.

Grab’s tiny deal spotlights big Indonesia turf war

30 July 2021

A deal to shore up ties with a Jakarta conglomerate recalls the country’s importance for the super-app’s growth ahead of its $40 bln New York debut, and as top local rivals merge. Grab’s Southeast Asian footprint has benefits, but Indonesia carries outsize strategic value.

South Korea plays foolish game of IPO Whac-A-Mole

23 July 2021

Dizzying valuations are prompting regulators to meddle in stock listings including Krafton’s. It's a misguided attempt to rein in retail traders and an overheating market. Kakao Bank escaping scrutiny is just one indication of how hard it will be to keep up with the frothy deals.

Revolut’s $33 bln value rests on limitless growth

15 July 2021

The digital bank raised $800 mln from SoftBank and Tiger Global at six times its early 2020 price tag. To make the numbers add up, founder Nik Storonsky has to more than double revenue every year and keep a lid on costs. Competition and a slowdown in trading fees are key threats.