The Weekly Wrap: all you need to know by Friday COB | Jan 28th

By Gaia Lamperti

The Weekly Wrap is published every Friday and recaps the week’s main stories and deals, as well as upcoming events and announcements. For Prime subscribers only.

The Big Story

Apple announced that is working on an update that will turn iPhones into payment terminals, allowing merchants to take payments with their smartphones.

Bloomberg reported that the feature is likely to be rolled out via software update in the coming months when Apple will release the first beta version of iOS 15.4, expecting a final release for consumers as early as the spring.

“With Apple entering the SoftPoS space, this validates the technology and will put further pressure on the traditional POS manufacturers who have failed to successfully address the SME market. It is important to note that Apple currently represents around 30% of the market share, while Android remains the dominant OS,” commented Brad Hyett, CEO of Phos, the FinTech behind the leading software-only Point of Sale system.

He added: “Mobile devices are becoming the core hardware estate for businesses across a range of verticals. For example, in the transport sector, taxis are now using tablets to run in-ride advertisements as well as accept contactless payments. These all-in-one solutions are powered by software point of sale (SoftPoS) technology, streamlining hardware estate to deliver more functions on fewer devices. This reduces costs for merchants by helping them sell more while also offering a cheaper alternative to traditional payment terminals.”

The new feature is likely to compete with Square and the new breed of SoftPOS vendors, setting them back by providing the tap-and-pay functionality as an integrated part of the device, with no need for third party help.

“Apple’s foray into accepting payments will be a game-changer for small businesses and consumers with an occasional need to accept payments,” Jan-Willem Weggemans, Cloud, Data and APIs Lead at digital consultancy Publicis Sapient, said. “Players like SumUp, Square and PayPal’s Zettle have a choice to either collaborate or compete with Apple; More importantly, it is the hardware providers who could face an existential threat – reducing the need for small payment acceptance terminals.”

In the meantime, Apple has hit its record number of active devices, with net sales rising 11.2% to $123.9 billion, as both Products and Services grew, according to data from private investors platform Hargreaves Landsdown.  Luca Maestri, Apple’s CFO, said that growth was driven by “the very strong response” to new product launches and services.

Deals of the week

• Ripple buys back Series C at $15 billion valuation
• Fireblocks raises $550 million in Series E funding
• Tuum announces a €15 million Series A funding round
• Save partners with VISA to launch Save Wealth credit cards
• Zafin acquires FINCAD to accelerate growth and offer pricing and analytics solutions
• Dama Financial to acquire GrowFlow
• TerraPay partners with NPCI International to boost cashless transactions

Be on the lookout for

Google Cloud’s DeFi ambitions. The Cloud provider announced that it is launching a dedicated Digital Assets Team to explore the potential of blockchain-based projects. Expanding its business to blockchain applications would position Google Cloud to leverage the fast-growing momentum of DeFi opportunities in the cryptocurrency market