January was all about p2p payments

Lydia, a p2p payments app out of France, just closed a $45 million series B funding round led by Chinese giant Tencent. Lydia has already grown to 3 million users, with 5,000 new users being onboarded to the platform daily.

The company’s CEO Cyril Chiche said he wants Lydia to be the biggest p2p player in digital payments, and its new relationship with Tencent will help:

Lydia

“We have an ambitious goal, which is turning Lydia into a mobile financial service app,” Chiche said. “Tencent is also the No. 1 player in the video game industry, and there’s no industry with as much user engagement,” he added.

There is significant room for growth for Lydia, which is looking to take market share away from industry leaders like Zelle, which just reported 76% year-over-year growth and quarterly payments of $23.8 billion through its service.


In Canada, peer-to-peer payments are on the rise thanks to their popularity with young people. Digital wallet and p2p payment services are most widely used by those ages 18-34. One of the fastest growing services in the country is e-Transfer from Interac. The company is seeing a rapid rise in digital payments, which are now becoming the norm.

While the company was founded 35 years ago, it has since shifted to a variety of digital payment and mobile offerings, and Inerac’s executives see the shift to p2p as a new industry standard:

Peer-to-peer payments

“Five years ago, P2P was a service that was nice to have, and if it was available, I would use it,” says Peter Sweers, chief technology and operations officer for Interac. “Today, I expect P2P to be there, and that’s how I’m paying my rent. I’m using Interac e-Transfer for paying businesses and for splitting bills when dining out with friends.”


Proposed legislation in New York calls for a p2p digital currency for the city’s residents. The plan, known as “Inclusive Value Ledger”, aims to create a p2p savings and payments platform for the city. This would include a smartphone app, digital wallets, and public payments system.

According to the proposal, the system would help to reduce the unnecessary role of banks and provide services to the currently financially underserved in the area.

Ron Kim, a New York State Assemblymen, sees big things for the platform:

New York

“The creation of a free public savings and payment platform that all New Yorkers can use, not only to pay for goods and services but also to transfer money directly to each other through, could fundamentally reshape New York into a fairer, healthier, wealthier, and more inclusive place for all,” said Kim.

The idea was originally proposed in a whitepaper written in conjunction with Cornell Law School which outlines the details of the p2p platform.


Joust, a self-proclaimed fintech startup for freelancers and self-employed workers, has just released its new mobile app. The app will allow for p2p payments, mobile banking, invoice management, and more tools for freelancers.

The new app is another step forward for the company, which, according to CEO and co-founder Lamine Zarrad, will make users happy:

Manage finance app

“Our users are risk-takers who want one place to easily manage their finances — so they can have the time and space to focus on their passions. They wanted a modern, streamlined user experience, ways to quickly visualize their finances, and manage clients, income and payments. Basically, they want one business platform that helps them from point A to Z. Our new app does that and will continue to do so throughout the year.”

The company has raised a total of $6.2 million in funding, including a $2.6 million seed round last year led by Techstars.

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