Square Co-Founder on “Innovation Stacks”; Spotify Launches Fundraising Feature: 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 Quarterly Earnings

Phreesia announces strong ending to fiscal year ending January 31. The company reported fiscal 4Q revenue of $32.8 million, up 24% from the same time last year. And it ended fiscal 2020 reporting $124.8 million in revenue, an increase of 25% from the previous year. It also reported growth in its average revenue per provider client for fiscal 2020, up 21% from the previous year. From Phreesia.

Executive Outlook

PayPal CEO: “We’re not going to go backwards to what was.” In this interview with Fortune, PayPal CEO Dan Schulman talks about how the coronavirus has changed the way we live, and how that has impacted all things online. Not only have people increased their overall usage of digital payments, they are using them in ways they never have before. From Fortune (subscription required).

Square co-founder explains how to build a business that is “almost untouchable.” In his position as a co-founder of Square and now deputy chair of the St. Louis Fed, Jim McKelvey has had a front-row seat to how the pandemic crisis is hitting small businesses. In this interview, he explains what an “innovation stack” is and why companies that create them are better able to weather a crisis like the coronavirus. From Chief Executive.

COVID-19 Help

Music platform Spotify has launched a new feature that allows artists to fundraise for themselves, their crews or other causes. The company is partnering with Square’s Cash App, which is donating $100 to artists that submit a “$cashtag” username as their fundraising destination and secure at least one donation, through a $1 million artist relief initiative. PayPal and GoFundMe are other donation acceptance partners for Spotify in some markets. From TechCrunch. 

India’s digital payments providers – including some big-name payment facilitators – are adapting their solutions to better suit the new COVID-19 reality. Paytm has updated its interface to focus on providing users with access to payments for essential items such as bill payments and insurance premiums. Razorpay is working on eliminating physical touchpoints, including using video calls for account opening. And PayU is expanding to help provide tech services as well as payments. From livemint.

Acquisitions & Partnerships

Indian payment facilitator Infibeam Avenue has agreed to acquire a U.S.-based company called AI Fintech, with plans to expand digital payments in the U.S. From India Infoline.

Facebook is working with three companies in Indonesia to launch mobile payments there. The social media giant is planning to apply for regulatory approval for a plan that would allow users to make payments within its platforms without leaving the apps. The partners include ride-hailing companies and wallet providers Gojek and Grab. From Reuters.

Industry news

RealPage: RealPage Solutions Prove Their Flexibility During COVID-19

Paysafe: Paysafe Achieves CarbonNeutral® Company Status

RunSignup: RunSignup Releases New Virtual Race Websites and Pre-Race Bibs for Virtual Runners

Grab Philippines: Grocery, Bills Payment, Food, Parcel and More: GrabPay Doubles Down on Cashless Services to Promote Safer Payments

Mastercard: Mastercard Joins Coalition to Support Displaced Workers

Phreesia: Memorial Health System and Phreesia Partner to Respond to COVID-19

Blackbaud: Blackbaud Launches Technology to Help Arts and Cultural Organizations Cultivate Meaningful Relationships with Supporters During and After COVID-19

RunSignup: RunSignup Announces Free Virtual Results Bot for Virtual Events

Blackbaud: Blackbaud Solutions Power Record COVID-19 Donations for Humanitarian Aid Organization

AsiaPay: AsiaPay partners with Plug and Play Singapore Fintech Program

MYPINPAD: MYPINPAD Enables Secure Payments on Both Android And iOS Devices

Paytm: Together Against COVID-19: Here’s How Lockdown is Shaping Digital Payments and How We Are Supporting Our Nation

Wirecard: Wirecard and Visa collaborate on Visa Fintech Fast Track Program

ParkMobile: NYC DOT Announces New Effort to Encourage Contactless Payments for City Parking Meters

RunSignup: RunSignup Reduces Reserve Requirement from 20% to 10%

CardFlight: CardFlight Partners with Payroc to Support Small Businesses Through COVID-19 Pandemic

Finder: Cash You Later: 1 in 3 Kiwis Have Ditched Physical Currency

Fiserv: Deluxe and Fiserv Launch Merchant Services Offerings for Deluxe Small Business Customers

Pushpay: Pushpay and Church Community Builder Launch Integrated Solutions to Help Drive Deeper Engagement in the Church