Today In Payments Around The World: Checkout.com Buys Icefire; Bringg Wraps Up $100 Million Series E

In today’s top payments news worldwide, Checkout.com has acquired Icefire, while Bringg has raised $100 million in an Insight Partners-led funding round. Plus, Vodafone and Amazon Web Services collaborate to bring “edge computing” to business clients in the United Kingdom.

Checkout.com Acquires Estonian Software Development Firm Icefire

Checkout.com has purchased Estonian software development company Icefire. The acquisition marks Checkout.com’s biggest purchase to date. Checkout.com Chief Technology Officer Ott Kaukver lauded Icefire’s track record of developing “complex, modular” financial systems. “Their proven experience is complementary to what we are building at Checkout.com, to empower the enterprises with better payments,” he said in an announcement.

Bringg Valued At $1 Billion After Closing $100 Million Series E

Bringg, the delivery and fulfillment firm, landed $100 million in an Insight Partners-led funding round. The upstart, which was established in 2013 and is based in Tel Aviv, Israel, will harness the funds to grow operations to satisfy the increasing global market demand for last-mile delivery and fulfillment cloud technology. The investment boosts the company’s value to $1 billion, providing it with unicorn status.

Vodafone, Amazon To Bring Speedy 5G ‘Edge Computing’ Services To UK Businesses

Amazon Web Services and Vodafone are teaming to bring “edge computing” to corporate clients in Great Britain. Edge computing expediently analyzes bulk data, which could be harvested from, say, the factory floor, before transferring it to servers in the cloud. This kind of computing depends upon the fast data transfers that are allowed for by 5G networks, according to a published report.

eCommerce Retailers Make Trading Debuts In Global IPOs

Online shopping firms have made their market debuts, or intend to go public, on markets from Indonesia to Germany. In Indonesia, for example, Bukalapak is interested in notching up to $800 million in funding by way of an initial public offering (IPO) in August, according to a published report that cited two unnamed sources. Bukalapak claimed in 2019 that it had a valuation exceeding $2.5 billion.