SnapPay Teams With Alipay At FoodyMart; Soldo Awarded Irish eMoney License

Welcome to The Axis, your late look at payments news from around the world. Coverage includes SnapPay teaming up with Alipay to bring the digital payment method to a supermarket company in Canada. The U.K.’s Soldo FinTech firm said it earned an eMoney license from the central bank of Ireland, Bucharest-based payments platform SymphoPay raised €650k in a funding round and Saudi travel app Almosafer is engaging with digital payments through Apple Pay.

SnapPay teamed up with Alipay to bring the digital payment method to locations of Canadian Chinese grocery store chain FoodyMart, according to an announcement from the companies. To use the digital payment method, consumers can use a mobile app for a quick-response (QR) code scan and merchants receive payments in U.S. or Canadian dollars. SnapPay Chief Growth Officer Chris Renton said in the announcement, “North American retailers gain access to billions of untapped potential revenue by simply offering their customers the option to pay with the mobile apps and currency that they’re familiar with.”

And the U.K.’s Soldo FinTech firm said it earned an eMoney license from the central bank of Ireland, according to reports. The license will enable the firm to issue payments throughout the EU bloc. As it stands, the company is said to be the third company to be issued a license for eMoney from the central bank. Soldo Co-Founder and CEO Carlo Gualandri said, according to reports, “Soldo has achieved an incredible feat in being awarded an [eMoney license] in Ireland. It is [a] testament to the core strength of our company, that offers enterprise grade services built on solid foundations.”

On another note, Bucharest’s point-of-sale (POS) payments platform SymphoPay notched €650k in a funding round, EU Startups reported. VC Early Game Ventures led the round along with Sparking Capital and GECAD Ventures participating. Early Game Ventures Partner Radu Stoicoviciu said, according to reports, “The SymphoPay Platform solves banks’ and retailers’ current problems and, at the same time, has the potential to orchestrate future integration of other payment solutions such as QR codes or mobile payments.” The firm is said to have raised €1.4 million to date and was started in 2015.

In other news, Saudi travel app Almosafer is engaging with digital payments through Apple Pay, Trade Arabia reported. The platform will now let users make hotel or flight reservations using the payment method and is said to be among the first online adopters of Apple Pay in the kingdom. Almosafer Executive Vice President Muzzammil Ahussain said, according to the outlet, “We are constantly looking for ways to enhance our customers’ experiences and by offering [travelers] the option to pay with Apple Pay, we know we are evolving to meet the needs of today’s connected society.”