Last week we highlighted the effect (or lack thereof) of political uncertainty on the volatility of the Pound. This week we wanted to explore whether that uncertainty is having any effect on investment in the broader payment industry.
The graph above shows the number of funding deals payment companies have closed in the U.S., U.K. and Europe through Q1 2017, and the total value of that funding: If this pace continues, the payment companies in the U.K. are on track to raise ~$244 million during 2017 - down from a peak of nearly a billion in 2015.
A few notable raises have come from liquidity provider CurrencyCloud ($24.3m), payment service provider Veem ($24m, formerly Align Commerce), and web-based remittance platform Dwolla ($6.8m). We'll be updating these figures throughout the year, and monitoring for any changes in investor appetite.
Smartest People in the Room
Since the new year we've had the opportunity to interview a series of high-profile CEOs working within the international payments industry. We've highlighted some of these interviews in past newsletters, but for anyone who missed them here's a run down of who we've interviewed and their key insights:
Jeremy Allaire and Sean Neville, Founders of Circle on Fintech changing our day-to-day activities:
"In our view, the entire category of cross border payments, at least for consumers, will disappear in the coming years. As we often like to ask, when is the last time you sent a cross border email or SMS or had an international web browsing session?"
Jonathan Quin, Founder and CEO of WorldFirst on the future of payment technology:
"The buzz around payments and the opportunities presented are because we are at transformation stage, which will continue to lure in businesses that traditionally would not have considered financial services."
Richard Kimber, former CEO of OFX on maintaining customer relationships in the face of changing technology:
"We want our customers to have the benefits of the latest technologies, which is why we provide online and mobile trading, but we also maintain a strong emphasis on personal interactions. ... Digitisation is of increasing importance in financial services and drives how we interface with clients."
Paresh Davdra, Co-founder and CEO of RationalFX on banks:
"Our approach is very much long term focused. I think that that’s what sets us apart, especially from the banks. Banks aren’t thinking, what else does this customer need? We’re thinking about the client from the very beginning."
Steve LaBella, Founder and CEO of BillMo on the challenges of the financial services space:
"Traditional remittance companies consider their job done once money is paid out. For BillMo, our job is just beginning upon receipt of funds."
Last week, we highlighted the effect (or lack thereof) of political uncertainty on the volatility of the Pound. This week we wanted to explore whether that uncertainty is having any affect on investment in the broader payment industry.
This graph shows the number of funding deals payment companies have closed in the U.S., U.K. and Europe through Q1 2017, and the total value of that funding: If this pace continues, the payment companies in the U.K. are on track to raise ~$244 million during 2017 - down from a peak of nearly a billion in 2015.
A few notable raises have come from liquidity provider CurrencyCloud ($24.3m), payment service provider Veem ($24m, formerly Align Commerce), and web-based remittance platform Dwolla ($6.8m). We'll be updating these figures throughout the year, and monitoring for any changes in investor appetite.