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App stack
Rival Indian payment services Paytm and PhonePe have added more financial services to gain share as India embraces digital services during the pandemic.
Paytm has added instant personal loans that can be accessed at all times, mostly aimed at small-business owners and salaried employees at those businesses with limited credit histories, reports Business Standard. Walmart’s PhonePe has concurrently launched term life insurance in partnership with ICICI Prudential Life Insurance.
Paytm and Walmart have been gradually moving closer to banking over the past two years building off of their mobile payment bases. Both companies are also in competition with Google, which dominates the Indian mobile payment market.
XRP drain
Cryptocurrency exchange Voyager Digital plans to suspend XRP trades, the latest signal of pressure on Ripple following an SEC’s suit alleging Ripple’s XRP should be regulated as a security.
The suspension is scheduled for Jan. 18, reports Coindesk. Several other exchanges have also dropped XRP in the wake of the suit, which would require heavier regulation for XRP.
Ripple contends XRP is a utility and is distinct from Ripple. Ripple has threatened to leave the U.S. as a result of its dispute with the SEC, which goes back several years.
‘Click’
Omnichannel payment firm Qualpay has added a single click integration for merchants to add Google Pay.
Qualpay, which offers a payment gateway, merchant acquiring and processing, hopes to reach merchants and stores that are moving away from cash amid the pandemic.
Contactless mobile payments in particular have accelerated as a way to avoid contact with physical point of sale terminals.
Checkout page
Nets’ Finnish payment unit Paytrail has reached an agreement to acquire Checkout Finland, OP Finacial’s e-commerce unit. Terms of the deal, which is expected to close int the first half, were not disclosed
Checkout Finland has a client base of about 8,000 merchants and expects to report revenue of about $16 million in 2020, reports Finextra. Paytrail and Checkout Finland have a merchant acquiring partnership, and the move is designed to respond to consolidation of payment processors that is occurring both locally and globally.
Nets made a similar acquisition early in 2020, buying PeP to expand its merchant network in Poland.
From the web
PayPal backs crypto tax startup Taxbit
REUTERS | Thursday, January 7, 2021
PayPal Holdings Inc’s venture arm has made an investment in Salt Lake City, Utah-based tech startup Taxbit, which helps consumers and businesses calculate the taxes owed on cryptocurrency holdings, the companies said on Thursday.
Mambu raises $122M at a $2B+ valuation for a SaaS platform that powers banking services
TECHCRUNCH | Thursday, January 7, 2021
Challenger banks, incumbent banks, and all of the many businesses that are making inroads into any kind of banking service all have something in common: when it comes to launching a new product like a credit line or a deposit or current account, these days many of them are opting not to build from the ground up, but are instead using third-party technology to power these services. Today, one of the big players in providing that tech is announcing a large round of funding to expand its business, underscoring the growth in this market.
2nd stimulus check: Schumer says $2,000 payments coming from new Senate
SYRACUSE.COM | Wednesday, January 6, 2020
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), poised to replace Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) as majority leader, says one of his first priorities will be $2,000 stimulus checks.
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Green Dot offers accessible secured credit card as part of GO2bank launch
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The rapid shift to e-pay was easy. A good customer experience is the hard part.
After a record-breaking year for digital retail, brands need to accelerate their e-commerce offerings, keep the customer experience in mind and embrace the shift to digital retail by offering an omnichannel customer journey. Only then will they survive what’s in store for the future of e-commerce.
Trump bans WeChat Pay and Alipay in a lame duck trade war salvo
The Trump administration’s cantankerous relationship with China has lasted the president’s entire term, often shaking up the payments and financial services landscape. With a new executive order, Trump has announced bans on more than a half dozen software firms — including payment apps affiliated with Tencent and Alibaba/Ant Group.
OCC, SEC and FinCEN crypto verdicts empower banks, but anger fintechs
Several government agencies have made deeper moves into crypto oversight, leaving a trail of angry executives and unresolved political questions. And there’s still no sign of a central bank digital currency, leaving the U.S. at risk of falling behind other countries in the race to support faster payment processing.
National banks may process stablecoin payments, OCC says
WASHINGTON — National banks may use stablecoins and distributed-ledger technologies to process payments, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said.
Lender Affirm seeks to raise up to $934 million in IPO
Affirm Holdings, which provides installment loans to online shoppers, is seeking to raise up to $934.8 million in an initial public offering, signaling last year’s record listings run is carrying over to 2021.
