ISX Financial EU Plc released its Annual Report and audited results for 2021 on Tuesday. According to the report, revenue for the Group increased 4.1% to €22.7 million as the company focused on diversifying its revenue away from card acquiring and toward lower-cost SEPA instant and batch interbank  payments  Payments One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonly the basis of exchange involves fiat currency or legal tender, be it in the form of cash, credit or bank transfers, debit, or checks. While typically associated with cash transfers, payments can also be made in anything of perceived value, be it stock or bartering – though this is far more limited today than it has been in the past.The Largest Players in the Payments IndustryFor most individuals, the payments industry is dominated currently by card companies such as Visa or Mastercard, which facilitate the use of credit or debit expenditures. More recently, this industry has seen the rise of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) payments services, which have gained tremendous traction in Europe, the United States, and Asia, among other continents.One of the biggest parameters for payments is timing, which looms as a crucial element for execution. By this metric, consumer demand incentivizes technology that prioritizes the fastest payment execution.This can help explain the preference for debit and credit payments overtaking check or money orders, which in previous decades were much more commonly utilized. A multi-billion-dollar industry, the payments space has seen some of the most innovation and advances in recent years as companies look to push contactless technology with faster execution times. One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonly the basis of exchange involves fiat currency or legal tender, be it in the form of cash, credit or bank transfers, debit, or checks. While typically associated with cash transfers, payments can also be made in anything of perceived value, be it stock or bartering – though this is far more limited today than it has been in the past.The Largest Players in the Payments IndustryFor most individuals, the payments industry is dominated currently by card companies such as Visa or Mastercard, which facilitate the use of credit or debit expenditures. More recently, this industry has seen the rise of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) payments services, which have gained tremendous traction in Europe, the United States, and Asia, among other continents.One of the biggest parameters for payments is timing, which looms as a crucial element for execution. By this metric, consumer demand incentivizes technology that prioritizes the fastest payment execution.This can help explain the preference for debit and credit payments overtaking check or money orders, which in previous decades were much more commonly utilized. A multi-billion-dollar industry, the payments space has seen some of the most innovation and advances in recent years as companies look to push contactless technology with faster execution times. Read this Term.

During the year ended December 31, 2021, expenses and other charges increased by 12% or €2.2 million to €20.4 million, primarily due to an impairment charge of €1.1 million on the Group's investment in NSX Limited and additional costs to support revenue growth.

Additional employees were hired to manage current and future customer growth, which increased employee benefits and expenses by €1.4 million. As ISX Financial EU continued to invest in its key software assets, depreciation and amortization expenses increased by €0.8 million.

For the period, ISX Financial EU’s net assets increased by €11.4 million to €7.5 million, primarily due to an increase of €5.1 million in share capital (related to the demerger from Southern Cross Payments Ltd) and equity contribution of €5.2 million, plus a profit of €1.3 million.

During the period, the Group's financial position remained strong, with cash and cash equivalents of €5.0 million at the end of the period. There was €6.1 million in operating cash flows generated during the period, offset by €2.8 million in investing activities, largely related to software development, and €6.7 million in financing activities, mainly related to dividends and debt repayments to Southern Cross Payments Ltd.

Main Risks

“As part of its business activities, the Group faces a variety of risks, to which the Group has developed methods to manage and monitor these risks together with mitigation strategies, including by way of policy, procedures, controls and technology. The key risks the Group faces are outlined below. In addition, key risks facing the Group also include operational risk which also includes  compliance  Compliance In finance, banking, investing, and insurance compliance refers to following the rules or orders set down by the government regulatory authority, either as providing a service or processing a transaction. Compliance concerning finance would also be a state of being following established guidelines or specifications. This designation can also encompass efforts to ensure that organizations are abiding by both industry regulations and government legislation. Understanding ComplianceCompliance is a system of checks and balances that prevents fraud and inefficiencies.Additionally, this also ensures cooperation with federal financial regulations with the ultimate goal of protecting the public and provide needed information to governmental agencies to stop fraud, money laundering, and terrorist funding. Compliance in the financial industry offers stability to the markets and serves to protect customers, workers, and taxpayers from ethical threats that are inherited in individual decisions.Many organizations are also obligated to track and store compliance data. This includes all data that is relevant or belongs to a company, brokerage, etc. that can be used for the purpose of implementing or validating compliance or regulatory reporting.Given shifting regulations and the importance of compliance, the use of advanced software is increasingly being implemented to help companies manage their compliance data more efficiently. This cache includes calculations, data transfers, and audit trails.While finance is a globally unified concept, compliance is not. Regulatory compliance varies across both industries and jurisdictions. For example, the financial regulatory structures of one country may be lacking or different in another. Of note, the most tightly regulated jurisdictions in terms of compliance in the forex industry include the United States, United Kingdom or most European Union countries, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and others. In finance, banking, investing, and insurance compliance refers to following the rules or orders set down by the government regulatory authority, either as providing a service or processing a transaction. Compliance concerning finance would also be a state of being following established guidelines or specifications. This designation can also encompass efforts to ensure that organizations are abiding by both industry regulations and government legislation. Understanding ComplianceCompliance is a system of checks and balances that prevents fraud and inefficiencies.Additionally, this also ensures cooperation with federal financial regulations with the ultimate goal of protecting the public and provide needed information to governmental agencies to stop fraud, money laundering, and terrorist funding. Compliance in the financial industry offers stability to the markets and serves to protect customers, workers, and taxpayers from ethical threats that are inherited in individual decisions.Many organizations are also obligated to track and store compliance data. This includes all data that is relevant or belongs to a company, brokerage, etc. that can be used for the purpose of implementing or validating compliance or regulatory reporting.Given shifting regulations and the importance of compliance, the use of advanced software is increasingly being implemented to help companies manage their compliance data more efficiently. This cache includes calculations, data transfers, and audit trails.While finance is a globally unified concept, compliance is not. Regulatory compliance varies across both industries and jurisdictions. For example, the financial regulatory structures of one country may be lacking or different in another. Of note, the most tightly regulated jurisdictions in terms of compliance in the forex industry include the United States, United Kingdom or most European Union countries, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and others. Read this Term, legal and reputational risk, regulatory risk, information security and cyber risk, digital transformation and technology risk as well as business model and strategic risk,” the company noted.