Top News In Payments: SoftBank Reports $6.5B Loss; FIS Sees Strong Merchant Sales In Q3

Top News In Payments

In today’s top payments news, Japan’s SoftBank reported a $6.5 billion loss on Wednesday (Nov. 6) with its first quarterly drop-off in 14 years. Also, Fidelity National Information Services (FIS) reported Q3 results that beat expectations for adjusted earnings. And Visa called Tencent’s announcement that it will support international card schemes in its mobile wallet “a great step forward” for the payments industry.

 

Simplification Serves LendingClub Well As It Pushes for Profitability

The last few years have been an exciting ride for LendingClub watchers. The firm went public in 2014 and had just managed its first quarter of profitability in early 2016 when scandal rocked the business. While the climb back has been long and at times arduous, LendingClub announced it had finally returned to adjusted net income profitability when earnings dropped.

FIS Sees Strong Merchant Sales, Jump in Cross-Selling Activity in Q3

Approximately three months after closing its $43 billion deal for payments processor Worldpay, Fidelity National Information Services (FIS) reported Q3 results that displayed some initial impacts of the revenue and cost synergies outlined when the deal was struck earlier this year. Adjusted earnings of $1.43 were eight cents better than the Street expected, while revenues of $2.8 billion for the combined firm were up over 35 percent, roughly $20 million under consensus.

WeWork Write-Off Triggers $6.5B Loss for SoftBank

Japan’s SoftBank reported a $6.5 billion loss on Wednesday (Nov. 6), its first quarterly drop-off in 14 years and far bigger than analysts’ estimates. The $10-plus billion WeWork bailout — an investment that CEO Masayoshi Son called an error in judgment — triggered a loss of $8.9 billion at SoftBank’s Vision Fund as well as a smaller fund.

Visa Teams With Tencent to Support Mobile Payments in China

Visa has released a statement saying Tencent’s announcement that it will support international card schemes in its mobile wallet is “a great step forward” for the payments industry. As the firm noted in a release, “Visa believes this is a great step forward, both for consumers traveling to China and the overall payments industry. In a truly global commerce environment, collaboration is essential to providing consumers with a seamless payments experience.”

Why Barclaycard Says Consumers Are Key to SCA Success

The authentication challenges that SCA presents to merchants and their payment partners mean that many must significantly restructure how they treat online payments. But customers have their own payment demands, and verification tools cannot undermine the convenience that many consumers have come to expect from online shopping, said Paul Adams, director of payment acceptance for card acquirer Barclaycard. In a feature story, Adams explained how merchants, as well as payment providers, are approaching the relationship between compliance and speed under SCA.

Building a Challenger Bank That Challenges Traditional Banking

Consumers might complain about the services provided by their traditional bank for many reasons. Perhaps the worst, HM Bradley CEO Zach Bruhnke told Karen Webster in a recent conversation, is when one gets the feeling their bank isn’t all that interested in them — until it is suddenly. He decided to build a bank, which is named HM Bradley. While it has yet to launch, it has already attracted a fair amount of interest from potential consumers and active investors.