Number crunching is a key component of the payment industry, with digits scattered across the sector’s key stories.
Each week, Payment Expert digests these digits and brings an overview of the past payments week in numbers. This edition brings the UK’s Autumn Statement into the limelight and how it plans to nurture innovation.
Autumn Budget sets aside £500m for payment innovations
Last week’s Autumn Statement suggested that the UK needs to invest more in the financial sector to retain its global fintech leadership.
During his speech, Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt pledged that the new budget will set aside £500m to put into innovation centres across the country and maintain the growth of the payments sector, which was a welcomed step by industry stakeholders.
Paysafe: 81% of customers ready to spend less this holiday season
Paysafe has released a new study that explores the average UK consumer’s spending habits in preparation for the holiday season.
According to the research, 81% of shoppers will reevaluate their spending due to the ongoing cost-of-living crisis and rising bills – with 32% planning to spend less on gifts, 23% mindful about their food and drink spending, and 19% ready to pay less for entertainment.
To circumvent the expected drop in spending during the Christmas season, Paysafe has called on merchants to consider the adoption of alternative payment methods, which would attract more customers due to the flexibility they offer.
ID fraud rates rising with 22% yearly increase in cases
According to Experian, identity fraud rates in the UK are on the rise after the company highlighted a 22% increase compared to 2022 data.
Furthermore, authorised push payment fraud remains the biggest reason behind UK consumers losing money to criminals – a total of £239m lost just in 2023.
Eduardo Castro, Managing Director of Identity and Fraud at Experian UK&I, cautioned: “All unsolicited messages should be approached cautiously unless they are sure it’s genuine, and if there is an offer online which seems too good to be true, it more than likely is.”
Monzo reportedly close to securing £300m from Google’s Alphabet
Media reports suggest that Monzo is looking at a £300m investment from Google’s parent company Alphabet to secure a leadership position in the UK’s Open Banking scene.
If successful, the digital bank will significantly strengthen its financial portfolio, which so far has been resilient on the backdrop of various economic uncertainties such as COVID-19, reaching a valuation of £3.1bn in 2021.
Alphabet’s potential investment would raise Monzo’s value to around £4bn, the reports further highlighted.
Remitly & Visa enter five-year cross-border payments deal
Remitly has renewed its partnership with Visa for five more years which will see both companies work on innovating global finance for more than 100 jurisdictions.
Customers across the UK, US, Canada and Australia, among other countries, will be able to use their Remitly accounts to transact internationally, directly to eligible Visa cards through the Visa Direct programme.
