The Weekly Wrap: all you need to know by Friday COB | July 29th

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 Premium subscribers only.

The Big Story

Virgin Money is launching a ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ (BNPL) credit card product, joining other mainstream lenders in the popular, as well as controversial, business. According to Reuters, Virgin will offer a credit card that allows customers to spread repayments over a number of months with instalment fees added if they repay in longer than nine months.

BNPL products have soared in popularity in the last couple of years, with customers using them for online and offline purchases, but have attracted criticism from lawmakers and watchdogs over the lack of a regulatory framework of reference and the high rates of interest charged.

“BNPL has been considered a challenger to credit cards for quite some time now. Virgin Money entering the market and competing with other major BNPL players, is blurring the lines between more traditional providers and new entrants,” commented James Booth, VP, Head of Partnerships, EMEA at payment infrastructure company PPRO. “Ultimately, consumers want ease, convenience and lots of options when it comes to paying for goods and services, and Virgin Money’s announcement is indicative of traditional incumbents entering into uncharted territory to pivot to meet the demands of consumers in this ever-changing digital-first world.”

Deals of the week

• mx51 raises $32.5 million Series B, gears up for international expansion
• Balance raises $56 million Series B to enable B2B merchants grow their digital revenue
• Finexio raises $14 million in Series B
• CAF raises BRL80 million to forge the future of identity
• FinanZero raises $4 million in financing round; to continue its Brazil expansion
• Ageras acquires Neo-Bank Kontist
• FinLync partners with Workday Ventures for next-gen payments solution

Be on the lookout for

Lloyds announced it will be closing 66 — 48 Lloyds Bank and 18 Halifax — bank branches between October 2022 and January 2023 as customers shift to online banking. The closures are the latest in a long line of branch closures as high street banks grapple with changing customer behaviours and the shift to mobile and digital-first banking. “Self-service technology can bring down operational costs while automating traditional counter services, and new branches like this can even be reimagined as community hubs that multiple banks can share to deliver full service at lower cost, maybe even 24 hours a day,” said Mark Aldred, bank industry expert at Auriga, commenting on the news.