A cash-free society is only getting closer, especially with the pandemic showing no signs of slowing. In fact, “People are using cards and contactless payments because they don’t want to have to touch anything,” reports The New York Times. After all, the fear of the pandemic is forcing many consumers to rethink how they shop and pay, with many retailers opting for clicks rather than cash. In addition, while cash is unlikely to disappear, central banks are also looking at whether electronic currencies can actually replace physical cash, added The New York Times.
Plus, nearly a third of consumers want a cashless society, says the Houston Chronicle. According to an online survey from Rapyd, 54% OF “people are worried about touching paper money and coins due to COVID and another 60 percent said they will be using a digital form of payment from now on. Thirty-two percent, or nearly one-third, of consumers want to see paper money and coins phased out, 45 percent want to do away with pennies, and another 30.5 percent wants all coins to disappear.” As we see bigger shifts to a cashless society, some of the top companies to watch include NetCents Technology Inc. (CSE: NC)(OTCQB: NTTCF), Visa Inc. (NYSE:V), XTM, Inc. (CSE:PAID), Paypal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL), and Square Inc. (NYSE:SQ).
NetCents Technology Inc. (CSE: NC)(OTCQB: NTTCF) BREAKING NEWS: NetCents Technology Inc., a cryptocurrency payments technologies company, is pleased to announce that it has entered into a partnership with XTM, Inc. (CSE:PAID)(FSE:7XT), a Toronto-based Fintech company in the challenger banking space, providing mobile banking and payment solutions around the world, to enable cryptocurrency payments and loading of payment cards.
Through this partnership, NetCents will be supplying the underlying technology to power cryptocurrency transactions for XTM’s card programs enabling near real time loading of funds to XTM mobile wallets. Cryptocurrency account holders can redeem the amount needed to complete an online or card transaction.
Cash payments have been declining for a long time – but the decline has been accelerated with the recent push to contactless payments. Cash payments in Canada were 54% of transactions in 2009 and now they are less than 30%. With cash continuing to decline as a method to transact, this partnership facilitates an additional method of transferring funds to any Todaytm mobile wallet. “Our strategic partnership with NetCents demonstrates our continuance to extend the breadth and depth of the value we offer our user base,” said Marilyn Schaffer, CEO of XTM Inc. “With the upcoming launch of our closed loop community currency solution in California, adding cryptocurrency as a method of funding the wallet fits as an innovative digital load option in our quest to dominate a cashless ecosystem.”
This partnership marks the second Net Cents collaboration that leverages the Company’s deep technology base. The first collaboration on technology has been Net-Cents work with VISA as part of their Fast Track technology incubator.
“The Company has a dual path strategy to be both vertically integrated as a consumer facing brand as well as to develop and deploy a suite of products that can be shared within a broad crypto based ecosystem” stated Clayton Moore, CEO of Net-Cents. “This strategy will allow us to continue to embed ourselves into the mature traditional payments infrastructure, and we will grow organically as Crypto becomes a larger asset class and more of a transaction medium. Embedding our tech as a back end for many systems becomes a barrier to entry for other competitors while also driving revenues, and increasing transaction flow for our market-making and exchange operations” he concluded.
Before the bankruptcy of WireCard, it was the heir apparent to dominate the Crypto Debit Card space according to Luke Fitzpatrick of Forbes. “The Payments industry is in transition –The bankruptcy of WireCard, the European pre-paid card business is up for grabs - and has created massive market opportunity and dislocation, large players like VISA joining the Fray by partnering with us, small Crypto players seeking to align with NetCents in order to flourish and grow – all with a forceful tailwind caused by a rally in Cryptocurrency, and global users abandoning cash as a method of payment. I know that the NEXT 6 months will be the most interesting in the history of the Company and I look forward to sharing our achievements with you when they are ready to be unveiled” enthused Clayton Moore in conclusion.
Other related developments from around the markets include:
Visa Inc. (NYSE:V), a leading global payments technology company, announced that yesterday it successfully priced its inaugural green bond offering, totaling $500 million, paying a semi-annual coupon of 0.75% and maturing August 15, 2027. The green bond, believed to be the first issued by a digital payments network, will be used to help advance the company’s commitment to environmental sustainability and a sustainable payments ecosystem. In support of that commitment and in addition to its inaugural green bond, Visa is also announcing the appointment of its first chief sustainability officer, Douglas Sabo. “At Visa, we see a responsibility and an opportunity to use the power of our network to drive broad shifts toward a sustainable future,” said Al Kelly, chairman and chief executive officer of Visa Inc. “Our green bond offering will help us accelerate the transformation of our infrastructure and operations to reach our environmental goals. This commitment extends to appointing Visa’s first chief sustainability officer, tasked with ensuring we continue to take bold and industry-leading actions on the environment.”
XTM, Inc. (CSE:PAID), a Toronto-based Fintech company in the challenger banking space, providing mobile banking and payment solutions around the world announces the filing of its Q1 2020 Financial Statements and Management Discussion and Analysis for the period ending March 31, 2020. A comprehensive discussion of XTM financial position and results of operations is provided in the MD&A for the quarter ending March 31, 2020. “Despite typical seasonality resulting in reduced revenues in January in hospitality and in salons post the holiday season, coupled with revenue reductions in late February and complete business shutdowns as of March 15, 2020 due to COVID-19, XTM only experienced an 11% decrease in revenue as compared to Q1 2019” commented Marilyn Schaffer CEO. “We quickly added delivery as a Today Card vertical in Q2 2020 and now with businesses beginning the next phase of reopening we are confident we will see a very strong finish to 2020.”
Paypal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) released new research looking at purchasing behaviors of credit card rewards holders during the COVID-19 pandemic, revealing people around the country are turning to rewards balances to help them stretch their budgets (29%) and purchase the things they need most, such as groceries. However, with 39% of credit card rewards holders unaware of their rewards balances, there's an opportunity for more people to uncover funds which could extend their budgets and help them buy the things they need most. "More and more people across the country are turning to their credit card rewards as a helpful and easy way to make their dollars go further, and in the current environment, two thirds of Americans (66%) now view these rewards balances as a way to buy the things they need such as groceries and other essentials," said Jill Cress, vice president of consumer marketing at PayPal. "With travel and luxury items still less of a priority for many right now, our research shows that people are instead tapping into their rewards balances to support small businesses in their community and to give back to causes."
Square Inc. (NYSE:SQ) has posted its results for the second quarter of 2020 on the Financial Information section of its Investor Relations website at square.com/investors.
Square will host a conference call and earnings webcast tomorrow, August 5, 2020, now scheduled at 5:00 a.m. Pacific time/8:00 a.m. Eastern time to discuss these financial results. To register to participate in the conference call, or to listen to the live audio webcast, please visit the Events section of Square’s Investor Relations website at square.com/investors. A replay will be available on the same website following the call.
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