The introduction of P2P payments is expected to enhance the functionality of X, creating new opportunities for commerce and showcasing the convenience of integrating multiple aspects of digital life into one place. This move positions X to compete with other established tech firms and financial services, including those like PayPal, which Elon Musk had a role in creating.

X’s focus on becoming an ‘everything app’ is not limited to P2P payments. The platform is also enhancing its user and advertising experience with the use of artificial intelligence (AI). This includes improvements in features like See Similar Posts and the introduction of See Dissimilar Posts, leveraging user activity to present content that aligns with or challenges their perspectives.

In addition to financial services, X continues to invest in creators and content partnerships, aiming to attract new users and fuel advertising efforts. The company emphasizes its commitment to being a major platform for influential and curious individuals worldwide, who use it to follow their passions and engage with various cultural events and movements.

“We are pleased to deliver strong third-quarter results, generating record revenue and continuing to expand our partnerships. We remain focused on growing our presence across the unsecured consumer, auto, credit card, point-of-sale, and real estate sectors, and have plans to expand by offering credit solutions for mortgages, insurance, and other data-rich markets. In the immediate future, Pagaya is hyper-focused on integrating its network with banks and Fintech companies across the United States, delivering a comprehensive technology and capital solution that enables them to grow their customer ecosystem in a capital efficient manner.”

Third Quarter 2021 Financial Highlights include:

• $137 million in revenue for the third quarter ending September 30, 2021
• $320 million year-to-date revenue through Q3, over 220% higher than full-year 2020 revenue
• Strong momentum continuing into Q4 2021

“We will continue to cooperate with the anti-monopoly authorities to curb monopolies and actively deal with algorithm discrimination and other new forms of anti-competition behavior.” 

The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) will continue to strengthen the regulation of the payments sector and ask all financial services companies, including personal information businesses, to be licensed, Mr Yi said.

Mr Yi named three principles to guide the regulatory clean-up of fintech: financial businesses must be licensed to operate; firewalls must be set up between different parts of the business, such as insurance and wealth management, to prevent cross-sector risks; and the direct link between non-banks and banking information services must be cut.

The banking and insurance regulator has also told fintech platforms offering banking services that they must comply with the same capital requirements as those imposed on traditional lenders to curb risks.

Mr Yi said financial institutions should collect, use and store information in strict accordance with the law, and ensure they protect the personal privacy and rights of consumers. The central bank will look at defining data ownership in a more accurate manner, better facilitate data transactions and promote the fair use of data, he said.

Stephanie joined FIS on September 2, 2021 as Chief Administrative Officer. In this newly created position, Ferris will work in partnership with FIS business and corporate leaders including strategy, mergers and acquisitions and key strategic initiatives that are focused on efforts to enhance client and shareholder value.

Ferris is an experienced global business executive with expertise leading payments and technology platform businesses driving digital transformation, front-line customer engagement and inclusive growth. Most recently, Ferris served as COO of FIS with responsibility for driving technology transformation as well as the global integration of FIS and Worldpay. She was also responsible for driving cost and revenue synergies—both of which continue to perform ahead of plan. Prior to joining FIS, she served as CFO of Worldpay, a leading global merchant acquirer, which was acquired by FIS in 2019. Norcross said:

“I am very excited to welcome Stephanie back to FIS. She is a remarkable talent with a vision for industry transformation and a record of value-generating growth. In this new role, Stephanie will be a pivotal leader in driving our next generation of success. I am very pleased to partner with her again on the continued execution of our strategy.”

Ferris noted:

“I am thrilled to re-join the FIS family. I believe in the company’s strategically competitive position to advance commerce and the financial world. FIS’ breadth of capabilities and world-class scale create sustainable competitive advantages. I look forward to working with the team to help accelerate our strategies for client and shareholder value as we advance the way the world pays, banks and invests.”

Ferris also serves as an Independent Director on the Board of Directors of Lululemon Athletica, Inc., and is a member of its Audit Committee.

Lule Demmissie will be in charge of creating a strategic business vision for eToro’s entire US business, helping build a customer-centric platform to drive adoption. In addition, Lule will lead eToro’s US operations, including overseeing the company’s expansion and investment within the region, operational infrastructure, marketing, investment thought leadership, corporate governance, and compliance, as well as its regulatory affairs, risk management and social responsibility sectors. Lule will preside over all eToro’s US entities.

Shalom Berkovitz, eToro Group CFO and Deputy CEO, said:

“I am delighted to announce the appointment of Lule Demmissie as eToro’s US CEO. The US market is an essential part of eToro’s trajectory and strategic future and Lule’s unique blend of innovation in fintech, brand expertise and operational excellence is an important addition to the eToro leadership team. Lule brings with her a passion for investor behavior, agile product development and an appreciation of behavioral science and design thinking in shaping user-centric experiences. She is a long-standing advocate for empowering everyone to take control of their financial futures which aligns perfectly with eToro’s global vision. We are excited about the contribution she will make to eToro and look forward to her leading our US business as we scale our product offering for US users.”

Lule Demmissie joins eToro from Ally Invest, where she served as President and oversaw the Ally Invest Securities, Ally Invest Advisors and API business lines. In this role she was responsible for the products and services delivered to Ally Invest’s all-digital client base and shaping the end-to-end client experience as well as management of the P&L and growth strategy for the business.

Lule Demmissie, eToro’s US CEO, added:

“The financial services industry is at a pivotal moment which offers the chance for retail investors to position themselves for success thanks to financial technology. I have spent my career furthering the empowerment of retail investors and championing financial well-being. eToro’s breakthrough blend of innovation in social investing, copy trading, as well as its groundbreaking efforts in digital assets is what drew me to this amazing brand and team. I am excited to work with Guy Hirsch and the US team to continue this mission as US CEO of the world’s leading social investing platform.”

In recognition of establishing and growing the US business and for his expertise and passion for blockchain, Guy Hirsch is promoted to Managing Director US & Global NFT and will take global responsibility for eToro’s forthcoming NFT initiatives. Guy will continue to oversee eToro’s US crypto business, reporting to Lule.

Microsoft Corp. 

Microsoft is one of the few legacy tech companies that has effectively adapted its business model to maintain its leadership position in the past 20 years. Microsoft Azure is the top competitor to Amazon Web Services in the cloud services space. Analyst John Freeman says the long-term economic shift toward cloud computing is gaining momentum, and Azure’s 51% revenue growth in the most recent quarter is evidence that Microsoft is capturing a large part of that market. Freeman is also bullish on Microsoft’s expanding operating margins.

Visa Inc. 

One industry that technology is disrupting faster than ever is the financial sector, and credit card giant Visa is a leader in digitizing finance and payments. Analyst Chris Kuiper says Visa’s payment volumes are now 121% of pre-pandemic levels in 2019, but cross-border payment volumes are still just 82% of pre-pandemic levels. Global economic repinings are a tailwind for Visa, and Kuiper says investors aren’t fully appreciating the long-term trend away from cash. Kuiper says open banking could also be a significant growth driver for Visa.

Mastercard Inc.

Mastercard is also riding the wave of global payment digitization and the shift away from cash usage. Kuiper says the mobile and electronic payments markets are approaching an inflexion point, and the market isn’t fully valuing the potential positive impact for Mastercard. He says Mastercard has an attractive asset-light business model that helps support superior operating leverage. International expansion, market share gains and mobile payments are all potential long-term growth opportunities as well. Kuiper projects that Mastercard will maintain annual revenue growth of more than 15% through at least 2023.

Adobe Inc. 

Adobe is the market leader in creative content software along with marketing automation and e-commerce software. Adobe shares are up more than 500% over the past five years, but Freeman says there are several reasons why they are still undervalued. Adobe has a “dominant” share of the content creation market, which is growing by 15% annually. Its high-margin Document Cloud business is growing at a 33% annual rate. Freeman says Adobe has an excellent management team that has perfectly executed its shift to a “tethered cloud” model.

Salesforce.com Inc.

Salesforce is the market leader in customer relationship management software and is a cloud software pioneer as a service model. Freeman says Salesforce is the best pure-play stock investment in the migration to cloud services. He estimates that Salesforce already has a 27% market share of the customer relationship management market – a number he expects will continue to grow. A decade of acquisitions, including the recent $27.7 billion Slack buyouts, has beefed up Salesforce’s product offerings into the most comprehensive and feature-rich portfolio in the market.

Accenture PLC 

Accenture is a global consultancy, technology and outsourcing services, provider. Analyst David Holt says the company has an attractive cash flow profile, generates above-average earnings growth, and has impressive competitive positioning. At its current valuation, investors may not fully appreciate the sustainability of Accenture’s bookings growth as the company gains market share in the long term. Holt says digital, security and cloud initiatives create a differentiated growth catalyst for Accenture. He projects 10% revenue growth in fiscal 2021 and another 7% growth in fiscal 2022.

ServiceNow Inc.

ServiceNow provides software as a service application to manage business processes and workflows. Freeman says there are plenty of reasons to be bullish on ServiceNow. The stock is highly exposed to secular growth drivers, including cloud migration and digital transformation. ServiceNow has a growing ecosystem of third-party relationships and partners, and Freeman estimates that it has the potential to grow margins to at least 34% over time. ServiceNow’s deep product integration creates stickiness and pricing leverage. Finally, ServiceNow has the opportunity to expand further outside the information technology services management market.

Fidelity National Information Services Inc.

Fidelity National Information Services specializes in financial technology solutions for customers ranging from merchants to banks to capital market firms. Holt says Fidelity is an attractively valued bet on secular growth trends in payments and banking. He is expecting a rebound in sales in the second half of 2021 as the global economy recovers from the health crisis. In the long term, Holt says Fidelity has organic growth potential, particularly in e-commerce and merchant integrated payments. Holt forecasts 9% revenue growth in 2021 and 2022.

Accenture PLC 

Accenture is a global consultancy, technology and outsourcing services, provider. Analyst David Holt says the company has an attractive cash flow profile, generates above-average earnings growth, and has impressive competitive positioning. At its current valuation, investors may not fully appreciate the sustainability of Accenture’s bookings growth as the company gains market share in the long term. Holt says digital, security and cloud initiatives create a differentiated growth catalyst for Accenture.

Fidelity National Information Services Inc.

Fidelity National Information Services specializes in financial technology solutions for customers ranging from merchants to banks to capital market firms. Holt says Fidelity is an attractively valued bet on secular growth trends in payments and banking. He is expecting a rebound in sales in the second half of 2021 as the global economy recovers from the health crisis. In the long term, Holt says Fidelity has organic growth potential, particularly in e-commerce and merchant integrated payments. Holt forecasts 9% revenue growth in 2021 and 2022.

Software and services stocks to buy in 2021:

• Microsoft Corp.
• Visa Inc.
• Mastercard Inc.
• Adobe Inc.
• Salesforce.com Inc.
• Accenture PLC
• ServiceNow Inc.
• Fidelity National Information Services Inc.

These robust digital fintech solutions have proven their worth by delivering the desired output to many segments of the industry. Also, FinTech is constantly evolving into a more sophisticated version. Perhaps this is the primary reason why the number of fintech projects is growing each year and bringing new progressive solutions to the financial sector.

To implement an excellent business idea, you don’t only need cutting-edge technologies, but most importantly a talented development team with the ability to create a high-quality, law-abiding software product.

1. Perfect Competencies:

An ideal set of competencies is the primary premise of a successful FinTech software development company. There should be certified developers and qualified engineers to make your software bug-free and helpful. Make sure the company you are dealing with has access to artificial intelligence, machine learning, predictive analysis, and data mining.

The FinTech solution provider should have a strong command of the coding knowledge to write clear, error-free codes for fueling your mobile financial software and system. However, standard programming languages used to develop financial solutions are C++, Java, C#, Python, Ruby, and Scala. Hence, verify that the company has dedicated experts in Java, .Net, Javascript, Python, etc.

Also, the developer should be familiar with the latest trends in the finance industry to develop a useful product. In addition, selecting an experienced provider will help you reduce the risks associated with creating a new product and achieve cost-effectiveness.

2. Cybersecurity:

Development of a Fintech software solution, security should be the biggest concern, since a minor error can affect your business drastically. So you and your policy partner should be very cognizant of the broader security issues. The FinTech solution company should be familiar with solutions to security problems. Therefore, verify their knowledge of sensitive information security procedures.

Also, verify that the IT company adheres to the proper rules and standards when developing your product. And the team should be cognizant of their role in risk mitigation and safety. All these things will assist you to make a better and informed decision.

3. Organization Capacity:

The size of your developmental team may vary at various phases of the developmental process. Ensure the organization has the right pool of engineers and other IT experts to handle the tasks of your project. Your developers must possess an adequate level of expertise and seniority. The development company should have all the dedicated members, i.e. developers, testers, UI/UX person, designer, finance expert, etc.

You must ensure that your strategic partner employs mature and efficient hiring processes to hire the best candidate. Plus, find out if your developers are familiar with the fundamentals of the fintech industry. All of this would assist you in properly analyzing your fintech software development team.

4. Previous Projects:

The projects carried out by the company are the primary measure of its success. When selecting a fintech software development partner, don’t hesitate to check out the company’s fintech project portfolio to see what types of products the team has worked with. If a company has experience in a variety of projects, its expertise grows. Engineers can also come up with new ideas based on what they have learned from previous projects.

5. Risk Management:

Fintech software development entails a high level of trust as the developed products work with highly sensitive customer data. Therefore, when selecting your development partner, ensure that the FinTech solution company has a risk mitigation plan in place to prevent future conflicts.