Off the back of Amazon launching its Payment Service Provider (PSP) program earlier this year, we spoke to the CEOs of Payoneer, WorldFirst, LianLian and OFX to dig into the trends in the ecommerce sellers space. 

Remitly, one of the leading digital remittance players set its proposed IPO pricing yesterday, implying a $7bn valuation. We publish a 30+ page teardown report on Remitly today – enjoy!

And finally, we cover B2B-focused Alpha FX's half year earnings as it rebounds strongly.

PSPs report · Remitly teardown · Alpha FX · news · context · archive

Inside Amazon's PSPs program

Ecommerce has surged during the pandemic, including among online marketplaces, where the number of merchants selling cross-border has increased significantly. This has prompted increased scrutiny and regulation, including Amazon’s launch of its Payment Services Provider (PSP) Program. But what impact has this had, and how are these PSPs reacting? We explore these issues and more in our latest downloadable report.

Our report, 'Online Sellers and Cross-Border Payments: The State of the Industry in a Changing Ecommerce Landscape' takes a deep dive into the challenges and concerns facing online sellers, and the myriad ways in which PSPs are responding.

It includes exclusive interviews with the CEOs of key companies participating in Amazon's PSP program, as well as a detailed analysis and breakdown of the different products and services being offered to online sellers. We look at how sellers' needs have been changing and how the products offered to them are developing. Pricing is always a hot topic, and we look at that too.

The overall feedback on the Amazon program is very much positive (from those in it) and it will be interesting to see whether other ecommerce sites follow Amazon's lead. Amazon also provides a unique dynamic as it has its own offering to online sellers too.

The report includes insights from:

• LianLian CEO David Messenger
• OFX CEO Skander Malcolm
• Payoneer CEO Scott Galit
• WorldFirst CEO Jeff Parker

PSPs report · Remitly teardown · Alpha FX · news · context · archive

Tearing down Remitly's IPO financials

Remitly moved closer to its IPO yesterday as it proposed its pricing to the market. Remitly plans to raise around $500m at a valuation of c.$7bn. 

The S1 listing document provided the first real insights into Remitly's financials and we've published a report that provides a detailed analysis of Remitly's financials and competitive position – you can download it here. 

In our report, we take a deep dive into the company's recent numbers, as well as Remitly’s history and product offerings, and compare them to those of its competitors to get a full sense of the company’s place in the money transfer industry.

Key topics covered include:

• Drivers of its revenue growth
• The path to profitability  
• Its unit economics and revenue per customer
• Analysis of its take rate and volumes
• How its proposed valuation stacks up

PSPs report · Remitly teardown · Alpha FX · news · context · archive

Alpha FX sees strong rebound

B2B cross-border payments major Alpha FX reported its interim results while we were away, and they paint the picture of a company that has successfully bounced back from the pandemic’s impact.

The company saw a 90% year-on-year increase in revenue to £34.2m for H1 2021, with pre-tax profits increasing by 225% for the same period. 

This has been helped by an increase in client numbers, which grew from 754 in December 2020 to 838 at the end of June 202. Alpha also reports that its clients remain diversified, with an increase in client activity also contributing to the company’s revenue growth.

Notably, while activity may have bounced back, Alpha has benefitted from ongoing reductions in travel and in-person entertaining, both of which have helped boost its profits.

Alpha FX has also made moves into alternative banking over the past year, and has undertaken a process of decentralisation – dividing the business into two separate divisions – to support this. Its alternative banking division, Alpha Platform Solutions, was a strong driver of growth, seeing a 371% year-on-year revenue increase. It now accounts for 24% of Alpha’s overall revenues.

PSPs report · Remitly teardown · Alpha FX · news · context · archive