Today in FinTech: Payment Options Are Key to LatAm Streaming; IGT Sells Payments Arm; Tribal Partners With Visa

In today’s FinTech news, streaming services are big in Latin America, but a myriad of payment options are needed for success, according to Paramount.

Meanwhile, International Game Technology sold off its two payments subsidiaries, and Indian FinTech firm Perfios notched a Series C.

Over in FinTech-friendly Lithuania, a state of emergency has been declared following Russia’s attack on Ukraine, and Tribal is expanding its card payments reach in the Caribbean and Latin America thanks to a partnership with Visa.

Paramount on Supporting a Diverse Payments Mix to Boost Streaming and Subscription Services in Latin America

Latin America quickly cozied up to streaming services, with the region now the second fastest growing market. Video-on-demand subscribers are anticipated to hit 130 million by 2026. To make it in LatAm, however, particular attention must be paid to the region’s unique payments ecosystem, Paul Del Pin, vice president of marketing and growth, streaming services, Latin America, for Paramount, told PYMNTS.

Many consumers there are still cash-dependent and 70% of adults in the region are unbanked, Del Pin said. It’s important that streaming companies offer a diverse way to pay in order to ensure growth in the long-term. 

Gaming Company IGT Sells Payment Business for $785M

International Game Technology (IGT) closed a $785 million deal to sell its payments subsidiaries to PostePay, the payments arm of Italian postal service Poste Italiane. The gaming company will use the proceeds to pay down debt. IGT’s payments units — LIS Holding S.p.A. and LISPAY S.p.A. — provide bill payments, prepaid payment cards, telco, e-vouchers top up, and technological solutions that include merchant and enterprise services.

Indian B2B Credit Decisioning FinTech Perfios Hits Unicorn Status With $70M Fundraise

Indian FinTech firm Perfios raised $70 million in a Series C funding round to build out its operations, capital expenditures, financing acquisitions, and working capital. The analytics company specializes in extracting, categorizing, and analyzing thousands of data sets in real time. Perfios processes more than 500 million monthly transactions and supports 1,700 data formats.

FinTech-Friendly Lithuania Raises Alarms After Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine 

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has prompted Lithuania — home to 230 FinTechs in 2020 and stars like Revolut and Kevin  — to declare a state of emergency. The country has attracted FinTechs because the central bank in the country is FinTech-friendly and it takes only about one year to get an electronic money institution (EMI) license. 

B2B Financing Firm Tribal Forms Partnership With Visa

FinTech Tribal is partnering with Visa to grow its business offering credit cards and payment services to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in the Caribbean and Latin America.

The company offers a one-stop platform for expense management and enables SMBs to integrate with their enterprise resource planning systems and move information. The Visa partnership will help Tribal target credit line expansion, card distribution improvement, safety enhancements and encryption upgrades.