If you invest at all, you’ve heard of “Fintech.” It’s a catch-all term for P2P Lending, Payment Tech, Next-gen Financial Services and even Cryptocurrencies.
According to KPMG, investors poured $31 billion into it in 2017.
Nearly all of them missed the bigger opportunity. As we speak, two billion unbanked consumers could be set to enter the financial system for the first time in history.
Up until now they’ve been trapped in the cash only economy.
Now, a revolutionary new payment platform promises to set them free.
QPAGOS (OTCMKTS:QPAG) - the company behind this technology - is already up and running in Mexico with a potential customer base of 84.5 million.
Their next target? The United States. And, they’ve got a unique $28 billion “back door” to use in seeking to penetrate the American market.
Here are five reasons investors need to know about QPAGOS today:
1) A $2.2 Trillion Revolution Goes Global
2) Over 2 Billion Unbanked Consumers
3) Huge Potential Customer Base In Mexico
4) The $28 Billion Backdoor To U.S. Markets
5) Bring Bitcoin To A New Class Of Investors
A $2.2 Trillion Payments Revolution is Spreading Across The World
When you think of Fintech, you picture global centers of innovation like Silicon Valley, New York or London. You don’t think of Nairobi, Mumbai or Mexico City.
Yet that’s exactly where one of the biggest opportunities is.
According to Business Insider - 2 billion people around the world have no bank account, or access to a financial institution via a mobile phone, or any other device.
They are the “Global Unbanked.” With a population greater than Africa and South America combined - they could soon become a big deal for investors.
The winners in this space could be the next PayPal, Western Union or Visa.
To give you a sense of the scale we’re talking about - by 2020, Mckinsey reports the global payments industry will generate $2.2 trillion in revenue every year.
Mobile payments alone were a $620 billion annual industry in 2016.
Yet roughly 2 in every 7 people on Earth are locked out of it.
Today, they can’t deposit money, or earn interest. They can’t get a loan to buy a home or start a business. They have zero interaction with the financial system.
If you can solve their technological challenges, you can bring potentially billions of grey market cash transactions online. And, there’s a fortune to be made in the process.
Companies like QPAGOS (OTCMKTS:QPAG) could capture a growing chunk of it.
You see - they know something most Fintech innovators don’t.
As of 2014, roughly 94 percent of adults in OECD countries had a bank account. Over 95 percent owned a cellphone. But around the rest of the world, it’s significantly less.
If you want to be a major player in this new industry, you’ll be forced to deal with large amounts of cash. You’ll need to plan for multiple, unconventional devices.
You need a platform that’s fully integrated into everything from a self-service kiosk for the cash economy to a mobile application, a POS device, or a PC.
That’s precisely what QPAGOS has built.
Meet The Company Bringing Digital Finance to 2 Billion Unbanked Consumers
You see - QPAGOS (OTCMKTS:QPAG) isn’t just a payments company. They haven’t merely invented a technology. They’ve built an entire platform and ecosystem.
The QPAGOS network connects merchants, consumers and financial institutions and covers payments to retailers, governments, telecom, utilities and more, through multiple devices including end users’ personal mobile phones and self-service kiosks.
It’s a bridge from the unbanked, cash economy to the $2.2 trillion payments industry.
Some of their services include:
- Mobile Cashiers
- “Monedero” Mobile Payments
- POS Devices
- Payment Solutions Integration
Each of these features are huge for mobile-rich, bank-poor regions.
Then there’s their true “silver bullet” technology:
QPAGOS Self Service Kiosks
With user-friendly touch screens, these kiosks allow users to make payments to over 140 different utilities, merchants and service providers.
Users can search and select a recipient on the display, deposit their payment in cash and, within minutes, the payment is received on the other end.
For the 2 billion people globally with no bank account, or access to a financial institution via their mobile phone - this is a total gamechanger.
For QPAGOS (OTCMKTS:QPAG) it has an enormous profit potential.
The company plans to collect payment processing fees like any other payment gateway, as well merchant/service provider commissions and fees.
They will sell and rent their QPAGOS Kiosks on 24 and 36 month leasing plans.
And, finally - they’ve even got their own advertisement network. Businesses and brands can pay to be featured in both display and video ads right on the kiosks.
With a potential audience of up to 2 billion unbanked consumers - that network could eventually have greater potential reach than anybody but Facebook.
The Power To Unlock A Customer Base of up to 84.5 Million In Mexico Alone
From their headquarters in Mexico City, QPAGOS (OTCMKTS:QPAG) has an incredible geographic edge over their U.S. based competition.
With a population of nearly 130 million and a GDP of $1 trillion - Mexico is the 15th largest world economy and 2nd largest economy in Latin America, after Brazil.
Yet, Mexico remains a cash-dominated society. Approximately 65 percent of Mexicans are unbanked, and 80 percent of the retail payments are exchanged in cash.
Only 2 percent of their $203 billion in retail sales were online.
This is the enormous unbanked market QPAGOS is actively targeting.
And, they’ve already hit the ground running.
The company has significant penetration in Mexico City, along with Monterrey, Culiacan, Mazatlan and Acapulco. In total they’ve installed 700 kiosks nationwide.
They’ve also integrated over 140+ service providers into their payment platform, including typical utilities like gas, water, electricity, phones, and mobile phones.
You can even use their platform to buy tickets for the National Lottery.
These terminals can be found at convenience stores, metro stations, retail stores, airport terminals, and in major urban centers, as well as many small and rural towns.
It’s a transformational technology platform, and it could introduce 84.5 million Mexicans to the global financial system for the first time.
How big is the domestic opportunity?
With 107 million mobile subscribers - PWC Telecom estimates the market for on the fly mobile payment “top ups” in Mexico is worth $12 billion.
QPAGOS also estimates there’s an addressable market for over 214,000 kiosk locations, and ultimately some 320 million payment transaction per month.
The company is already growing fast. On May 23rd, 2018 - they reported quarterly revenues of $1,464,789 - a 58 percent increase over the same quarter in 2017.
And, Mexico isn’t the whole story. Not by a long shot.
A $28 Billion Back Door To The U.S. Market
With growth proceeding apace south of the border, QPAGOS (OTCMKTS:QPAG) is already shifting their focus to the long term target: the United States.
There are over $28 billion in annual remittance flows between the two countries. This flow of payments represents a massive “back door” expansion opportunity.
California is ground zero for their U.S. strategy.
At 39.5 million, it’s the most populous state in America. With GDP of $2.44 trillion - well over twice the size of Mexico - it’s also an economic powerhouse.
It’s also the 6th largest economy in the world - just ahead of France.
The demographics in California are an advantage for QPAGOS. According to 2015 U.S. Census Bureau estimates - 38.8 percent of the population is hispanic.
A whopping 1 in 4 Californians have Mexican heritage.
The state is responsible for a huge chunk of the $28 billion remittance pie.
Right now these transactions are difficult and costly. But QPAGOS believes their Kiosks could eliminate friction, reduce costs - and quickly capture market share.
More importantly - with every remittance payment sent, the company could be acquiring two new customers into the network (sender and receiver).
QPAGOS already has a registered subsidiary in Delaware.
In Phase 1 - they hope to deploy 1,000 devices in California. In Phase 2 - they intend to expand that roll out to 10,000 units across the United States.
QPAGOS Cryptocurrency ATMs Open Bitcoin
to an Entire New Class Of Investors
One of the biggest stories of the last year has been the rise of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ripple or Ethereum. You couldn’t turn on the TV without hearing about it.
Individual coins exploded in value by as much as 2,099,743 percent.
Bitcoin. Ethereum. Litecoin. They’ve all became household names.
Research analysts at the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) see cryptocurrency, blockchain technology and decentralization as a potential $10 trillion ecosystem.
Yet when personal finance portal Finder surveyed 2,001 American adults in 2018, it found that just 7.95 percent of the population has invested in a cryptocurrency.
Globally that percentage is likely far lower.
Now QPAGOS (OTCMKTS:QPAG) is set to bring Bitcoin to an entirely untouched market.
QPAGOS plans for consumers in Mexico to soon be able to buy cryptocurrencies with cash, directly from QPAGOS kiosks at roughly 700 locations around the country.
And very shortly, it plans for that technology to be arriving in America.
Upcoming Major Catalysts
With up to 84.5 million unbanked consumers in Mexico, and an estimated 2 billion worldwide - the potential for QPAGOS (OTCMKTS:QPAG) is sky high.
Not only does their technology penetrate the cash economy - it creates a bridge to the global financial system that could be very lucrative in the years to come.
The next step for QPAGOS is to establish a beachhead in the United States. This is the key focus of the management’s business development efforts.
Success could be a major driver for the stock.
Other companies looking to take over the fintech space:
Blackberry Ltd. (TSX:BB) made its name as a cell phone manufacturer, but many don’t realize that Blackberry is actually providing mobile cybersecurity for government agencies worldwide. It’s also playing security consultant. A major victory for BB came in when it won the right to sell its secure messaging tools to the U.S. government. That means it was endorsed by the NSA.
As the fintech revolution heats up, Blackberry may very well carve its own place in the movement, and investors are sure to be playing close attention to its share price.
Celestica Inc. (TSX:CLS.TO) is a manufacturer of electrical devices used in IT, telecommunications, healthcare, defense and aerospace industries, though it recently has shown a significant interest in the development of blockchain and IoT solutions, Celestica has also shown interest in artificial intelligence which could be an absolute game-changer in its current devices.
Celestica has a long history in technology, and will surely be a stock to watch as the Fourth Industrial Revolution takes flight.
Glance Technologies (CSE:GET) is a FinTech firm from a Vancouver entrepreneur who is gunning for a repeat of his earlier success, PayByPhone, a mobile parking payment system that took the market by storm before this was even a trend.
Glance’s biggest product, GlancePay, is a streamlined multi-platform mobile payment application which allows users to pay bills and earn rewards. And with a strong of positive news in recent weeks, investors are really beginning to pay attention to this growing Canadian tech company.
VersaPay (TSXV:VPY) is another budding Canadian fintech company with a lot going for it. It provides products across the board, from software to hardware, infrastructure and even customer support for businesses looking to streamline their digital payment processes.
Since 2016, VersaPay has been riding the fintech wave, making all the right moves in the process. With its forward-looking approach to the space, VersaPay is likely to remain a favorite for tech investors for years to come.
Kinaxis Inc (TSX:KXS) is a provider of cloud-based subscription software for supply chain operations. The Company offers RapidResponse as a collection of cloud-based configurable applications. The Company's RapidResponse product provides supply chain planning and analytics capabilities that create the foundation for managing multiple, interconnected supply chain management processes, including demand planning, supply planning, inventory management, order fulfillment and capacity planning.
Kinaxis is a growing company, but the company has already carved out a significant piece of the pie. As a leader in its field, Kinaxis is a force which investors are keeping an eye on.
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