“Marqeta (NASDAQ: MQ), the global modern card issuing platform, Mastercard (NYSE: MA), a leader in global payments, and Paycast (an SPG Company), the marketplace payment engine, announced today a collective partnership to power and launch a digital card product to offer faster and more convenient ways for marketplace sellers to get paid and do business. Specialising in high-value and time-sensitive transactions, Paycast enables marketplaces to hold funds in escrow between buyers and sellers until the conditions of sale have been verified. The ability for marketplace sellers to access these funds immediately on a virtual card provides more choice and a modern experience for accessing proceeds quickly and securely.”

“Fiverr is adding a new way for freelancers on the marketplace to charge for their work — three- or six-month subscriptions . Through this feature, sellers on Fiverr can offer to provide a defined set of work each month. They also can offer discounts to subscribers, although it’s not required. The buyer or seller can cancel at any time, with no fees paid on the remaining months of the subscription — but the savings only start in the second month, to prevent situations where buyers might try to use subscriptions just to get a one-time discount.”

“Videoconferencing app Zoom is trying to keep its lockdown success rolling with two big new features: a marketplace called OnZoom that will allow users to schedule and monetize virtual events, and new ways for business apps like Asana and Box to integrate their wares directly into your next Zoom call.”

“Value is increasingly derived from digital platforms, software and other intangible investments rather than physical assets and traditional relationships. That trend, long evident in the growth of big-tech platforms such as Google and Facebook Inc. and Amazon.com Inc., has intensified this year as the pandemic shifts interactions from in-person to virtual.”

“Home rental company Airbnb Inc is aiming to raise around $3 billion in its upcoming initial public offering (IPO), people familiar with the matter said on Friday, taking advantage of the unexpectedly sharp recovery in its business after the COVID-19 pandemic roiled the travel industry.”

“Freelance marketplace Fiverr launched a new service today designed to help teams at larger companies manage their work with freelancers. CEO Micha Kaufman told me via email that Fiverr had already begun working with larger clients, but that Fiverr Business is better-designed to meet their needs.”

“Fortunately, the rise of the Internet, and specifically Internet marketplace models, act as accelerants to the productivity benefits of the division of labour AND comparative advantage by reducing information asymmetry and increasing the likelihood of a perfect match with regard to the exchange of goods or services. In his 2005 book, The World Is Flat, Thomas Friedman recognizes that the Internet has the ability to create a “level playing field” for all participants, and one where geographic distances become less relevant. “

“After nearly twenty years of hyper-focus on the property management and vacation rentals industries, the company is making a significant expansion into the sharing economy and other complex markets, which require customized payment solutions. “The anatomy of an online marketplace varies,” says Sanjay Saraf, CTO of Yapstone. “It is no longer sufficient to provide a general payment API, when each industry has unique business processes and data elements needed for optimal performance. Our technology supports the organic business functions of individual marketplaces, so that sharing economy leaders can conduct business as their marketplace is designed, rather than around a general payment API.””

“The latest species is the mobile, on-demand marketplace. Uber is the archetype — enabled by location technologies, increased mobile user density, flexible labor and behind-the-scenes supply-facing tools that bridge atoms to bits: scheduling, direct deposits and earnings dashboards. The next evolution in marketplace businesses will be substantial. Enabled by sensor technologies and AI, marketplaces will be able to understand and satisfy complex multivariate needs.”