MEF MINUTE Quarterly Issue 1

INSIGHT
transfers for up to 50 percent of their
business customers. And though e-
invoicing solutions have been popularized
in developed markets, there is a
significant emerging market demand for
efficient digital solutions that can digitize
and simplify B2B billing processes. As
providers of these services seek
partnerships, traditional banks are well
positioned to provide optimal
distribution of these services since they
already have the benefits of pre-existing
corporate relationships — as well as
brand recognition and customer loyalty.
The Race Is On
Although fintech acquisition prospects
for banks are promising, it is big tech
that has recently dominated the
payments M&A activity. With more cash
in hand and an already ripe appetite for
edging into the fintech sphere,
companies like Google, Facebook,
Amazon and Netflix can exploit the
current state of flux to deepen their
footprint across the payments space.
Amazon’s new division on ‘Digital and
Emerging Payments’ intends to roll out a
digital currency product aimed at
emerging markets — beginning with
Mexico — that will MM/YYYYY enable customers | ISSUE to NO. XX
convert cash into digital currency that
can be spent on digital products and
services within the Amazon ecosystem.
Similarly, Google recently formed a
partnership with Global Payments, part
of which will integrate Google’s APIs with
Global Payments’ payments ecosystem
to deliver end-to-end solutions to
merchants.
Such initiatives signal big tech’s belief
that payments can serve as a major
revenue generator for non-fintech
companies like themselves. Chinese
social media giant Tencent already
attributes 28 percent of its revenue to
payments, and this stream of revenue
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MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM
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