A revolution is rocking the sleepy world of traditional finance.
Right now, a single company is working to bring financial services to billions of “unbanked” people, from the slums of Mexico City to sunny southern California.
QPAGOS (OTCMKTS:QPAG) has developed technology that could allow millions of marginalized individuals, and their businesses, to access financial services for the first time.
Through a joint venture with DPW Holdings, Inc., QPAGOS plans to soon deploy one thousand self-service kiosks throughout California—tapping into a multi-billion dollar remittance market.
QPAGOS wants to deploy thousands of kiosks throughout the United States, filling the gaps where traditional finance has done nothing and left millions without access to financial services.
The deal with DPW Holdings is just the tip of the iceberg.
In time, the billions of “unbanked” throughout the world could finally have access to the world of finance.
That’s a revolution on par with the invention of the ATM.
And its led by QPAGOS, a little company with a big, bold vision of the future.
#1 The “Unbanked”
Around the world, there are billions of “unbanked:” individuals and businesses without access to financial services.
The cash economy dominates in places like Mexico, where 65 percent of the adult population lacks a traditional bank account—and where 95 percent of all transactions are conducted in cash.
Fintech solutions focus on specific problems and have the capacity to revolutionize how financial transactions are managed, conducted, tracked and organized. Yet for the billions of unbanked, fintech has offered few answers to the very basic problem of access—despite the $16.5 billion invested in fintech firms last year.
We’re talking about a population larger than Africa and South America combined—a colossal number of people totally untouched by the global financial economy.
Tapping that undiscovered market could bring huge gains to innovative firms.
Think about Paypal—one of the first fintech companies, that brought bank-less transactions to millions and now has a market cap of $100 billion.
The global payments industry is worth $2.2 trillion, according to McKinsey—but 2 out of every 7 people on earth are blocked out of the system. They can’t deposit money, take out loans, earn interest or conduct any other transaction.
But QPAGOS aims to help fix that, one kiosk at a time.
#2 Solution from QPAGOS
QPAGOS (OTCMKTS:QPAG) wants to end the isolation of the “unbanked” by erecting a system of self-service kiosks in areas that lack access to traditional financial systems.
As banks are busy closing thousands of branches, reducing access for millions from financial markets, QPAGOS is seizing the opportunity.
The QPAGOS kiosks use secure digital payment tech to allow customers the security they need to make personalized transactions with hundreds of registered vendors.
The company has relationships with some of the largest communication companies on the planet, including AT&T, Dish, Apple, Virgin Mobile, Xbox, Nextel and over a hundred more.
For mobile users, the company has a brand new digital wallet—“Monedero,” which allows users to track their transactions just like Paypal’s popular Venmo app.
This could be a huge opportunity—half of the world’s 2 billion “unbanked” have cell phones, according to estimates from the World Bank.
#3 Tapping Potential
QPAGOS (OTCMKTS:QPAG) has identified a viable way to tap into the unbanked market, and it’s already made its first moves.
The company has 700 kiosks up and running, and hopes to increase that to 10,000 in the next several years.
In Mexico, QPAGOS is setting up its first system of self-service kiosks. In a country where a majority of transactions are conducted in cash, and where millions lack a bank account, the opportunities for disruption are huge.
QPAGOS has already identified more than two hundred thousand potential kiosk locations, where more than 300 million transactions take place every month. Out of a population of 120 million, 36 million adults are currently “unbanked,” with a huge chunk of that population residing in Mexico City, the second-largest city in North America.
QPAGOS kiosks connect consumers to more than 140 service providers. Individuals can conduct transactions, pay bills, deposit money, and can even deal in crypto-currencies like Bitcoin.
The company has rolled out a proprietary electronic wallet, called Monedero, which allows users to deposit cash for mobile app purchases and other uses.
QPAGOS has done what few fintech firms have accomplished—they’ve brought the powers of finance to the unbanked.
The company is looking to shake up traditional business in Mexico…and it won’t stop there.
#4 Welcome to America
On June 15, 2018, QPAGOS (OTCMKTS:QPAG) took its first step towards expanding its national kiosk network.
The company signed a deal with DPW Holdings, Inc., a diversified holding company, to establish a joint venture to build a network of 1,000 self-service kiosks throughout California.
Construction and installation of the kiosks is planned to take place the next 12 months. The kiosks are designed to be plugged into a network of up to 10,000 vendors that can accept digital payments as well as mobile top-up services, money transfers, cryptocurrency purchases and other financial services.
QPAGOS has already tried out its kiosks in Mexico and a dozen other markets, and the deal with DPW will bring them to the U.S.
The market of “unbanked” in the U.S. is much larger than people realize: a full 7% of the U.S. population has no access to financial services. That’s nearly 25 million people.
Once these kiosks are set up, QPAGOS could start earning regularly in payment processing fees, service provider commissions, advertisement fees and kiosk rental charges.
It will also likely face zero competition initially—its kiosks will be the one-stop shop for millions of Californians without access to traditional financial networks.
One niche market is servicing up to $138 billion in personal remittance payments: individuals working in the U.S. who send most of their money home to their families. Right now, individuals take advantage of sluggish storefronts like 7-11 and Western Union. But a QPAGOS kiosk could allow such remittance payments to be deposited and transferred instantly, with the company taking a small transaction fee.
The global remittances market is more than $570 billion, and nearly all of it is conducted by members of the “unbanked” population with no bank accounts and, thus, more in need of sending money easily over long distances.
QPAGOS kiosks, and the company’s secured digital platform, could make such transactions quick and easy. This is a market that no one has thought to tap, but one that QPAGOS could access with ease.
#5 Unlocking the Unbanked
Make no mistake. QPAGOS (OTCMKTS:QPAG) is intent on bringing the fintech revolution to the world’s unbanked masses, and could make a killing in the process.
It reported a 58 percent increase in revenue in Q1 2018. Its stock is up 100 percent from January 2018.
From its humble beginnings in 2014, QPAGOS has seen its revenue triple, as more of its kiosks are erected and more users take advantage of its products, including the digital wallet Monedero.
Its new kiosk deployment plan with DPW Holdings could allow it to tap into markets containing 400 million people.
Erecting these kiosks costs very little, and most of the maintenance is covered by rental fees—local businesses will pay to have kiosks close by, since they bring additional business.
QPAGOS’ (OTCMKTS:QPAG) has already taken Mexico by storm. Now, through its deal with DPW, it’s bringing its revolutionary tech to those in need within the United States.
Other companies to watch as the fintech revolution takes off:
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.
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) 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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