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A leading payments industry news source for more than 17 years. Glenbrook curates the news and keeps you abreast of the important daily headlines in payments.
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April 19, 2022
Top Post
Ubiquity, Same Day ACH and Other Fast Payments
Payments Views
“It’s truly remarkable how this decades-old, ANSI based, batch based payment method is slowly but surely finding renewed vigor in today’s world of “fast payments.” Clients at Glenbrook continue to inquire about how ACH can be leveraged for their needs and a key reason is that it’s a ubiquitous payment network where every financial institution is connected (okay, and it is also often a lower cost option). Same Day ACH is a perfect example of why ubiquity matters. It took 15 years for the original idea of same day ACH to become a reality and it may have taken another six for it to mature as a product but … it is now benefiting from the established ubiquity of the ACH network. Just look at the white hot increase of nearly 75% in transaction volume for Same Day ACH transfers in 2021. That amounted to just over 600 million transactions added to the overall ACH network transaction volume around 29 billion.”
On the web
Hand Implant Allows People to Pay With Chip
WGN-TV
“The future is here. Those tired of taking out their wallet or phone to pay for things could soon skip that step entirely, thanks to a new implantable payment chip. The British-Polish company Walletmor has created a microchip that can be implanted inside a person’s hand and used as one would tap a credit card for payment. The technology is only currently allowed to be sold in the European Union and the U.K. “The implant can be used to pay for a drink on the beach in Rio, a coffee in New York, a haircut in Paris – or at your local grocery store,” founder and chief executive Wojtek Paprota told the BBC . “It can be used wherever contactless payments are accepted.””
Whole Foods Market Customers in Texas to Pay by Palm
Progressivegrocer
“The Texas city of Austin has become the first region outside the Seattle area where Whole Foods Market is offering the palm recognition service Amazon One as a payment option. The Arbor Trails Whole Foods store is the initial location in the Austin area to allow shoppers to pay with just a scan of their palm. Customer enrollment in the Amazon One service takes less than a minute, which involves linking credit/debit card info and creating palm signatures for one or both palms. A palm signature is created when a customer holds their palm over the Amazon One device, allowing the technology to evaluate multiple aspects of the palm. With no two palms alike, vision technology analyzes all aspects to select the most distinct identifiers on a palm to create a unique palm signature”
Robinhood Buys U.K. Crypto Firm With Eye on Global Expansion
bloomberg
“Robinhood Markets Inc. agreed to acquire Ziglu Ltd. , a London-based crypto and payments company, ending the U.S. brokerage’s long pause on international expansion. The transaction will give Robinhood a platform that allows customers to buy and sell 11 cryptocurrencies as well as move and spend money abroad, the Menlo Park, California-based company said Tuesday in a statement . Terms weren’t disclosed.”
On the wires
MYPINPAD and SmartPesa Merge to Become the Global Leader in Mobile Payments Acceptance
businesswire
“MYPINPAD, a global leader in mobile-based payments acceptance and digital authentication solutions, and SmartPesa, a leading provider of payments and agency banking solutions, have agreed to merge. The combined entity will operate under the MYPINPAD brand.Customers will benefit from greater scale, a wider product offering and the certainty of continued support as the industry moves towards the PCI Security Standards Council’s forthcoming Mobile Payments on COTS (MPoC) Standard. The deal positions MYPINPAD as the leading global provider in the rapidly expanding mobile payments acceptance market. The combined entity expects to double its existing footprint in APAC, LATAM and EMEA and target North America in 2022 and beyond.”
Launch of Societe Generale’s Payment & Transaction Banking Start-up Accelerator
Societe Generale
“The Group, a partner of many startups, is launching a new call for projects to improve the customer experience in the transaction banking sector, by increasing the performance and productivity of its activities. With the new “Payment & Transaction Banking Accelerator” (P&T BAX), Societe Generale aims to repeat the successful experience of the previous four Global Markets Incubator initiatives that have enabled startups to emerge and develop in partnership with Societe Generale.”
Thunes Takes Majority Stake in AML and Compliance Platform Tookitaki
Thunes
“Thunes , a Singapore-based global payments company, today announced that it has taken a majority stake in the anti-money laundering (AML) and compliance technology firm, Tookitaki Holding Pte Ltd (‘Tookitaki’) by making an investment of over $20 million. The alliance of both firms empowers the banking and financial services industry to fight money laundering and offer safe and secure payments to customers.”
April 18, 2022
On the web
Bill ‘On Digital Currency’ Caps Crypto Investments for Russians, Opens Door for Payments
Bitcoin News
“The Ministry of Finance of Russia recently submitted to the government an updated version of its bill “On Digital Currency” designed to comprehensively regulate the country’s crypto market. Details about the law’s provisions have surfaced in Russian media reports this week. According to the draft, qualified investors, or “professional purchasers of digital currency” as they are now described, will have unrestricted access to crypto assets. Ordinary Russians, however, will be able to buy a maximum of 600,000 rubles (approx. $7,000) worth of cryptocurrency each year. And that’s after they take a special exam .”
Retailers Can’t Discriminate Against Cash Payments, State Law Says
Yahoo
“Massachusetts state law clearly says retailers can’t discriminate against people who want to pay with cash, but the strength of the law is dependent on how Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey wants to enforce it.”
Video Game Junkie Quietly Builds $3 Billion Payments Powerhouse
bloomberg
“Aleksandr Agapitov is little known inside video gaming circles, let alone the business world. Yet his company is one of the leading players in the $135 billion video game payments industry, in which gamers spend real money to acquire virtual items.”
Uber Ties Up With Rakuten for Food-Delivery Payments in Japan
bloomberg
“Uber Technologies Inc. will integrate Rakuten Group Inc. ’s payment services into its Uber Eats and later Uber mobility app in Japan, one of its key international markets. Rakuten, Japan’s homemade answer to Amazon.com Inc. , operates a broad range of e-commerce and fintech services and has a widely used Rakuten Points loyalty program. The integration with Uber Eats, which will roll out in stages by the end of this month, will allow Rakuten account holders to log in without a pre-existing Uber account and earn and spend their Rakuten Points or Rakuten Pay credit, the companies said Monday.”
On the wires
Versapay Acquires Leading Cash Application Fintech Company DadeSystems
prnewswire
“Versapay, the leader in Collaborative Accounts Receivable, announced today it has completed its acquisition of U.S.-based fintech company DadeSystems. The acquisition broadens Versapay’s suite of accounts receivable (AR) automation solutions and expands its AI and machine learning capabilities. It also expands the company’s enterprise and mid-market footprint while adding key talent to the growing Versapay team.”
Data Mynt Crypto Payment Gateway Now Live On Bitcoin Lightning Network
prnewswire
“Data Mynt , the world’s fastest growing cryptocurrency payment gateway, has launched support for its fourth major blockchain network in as many months, the Bitcoin Lightning Network. Data Mynt now facilitates seamless payments to and from all Lightning Network enabled wallets in addition to Polygon Network, Ethereum Mainnet, and Bitcoin network wallets and assets. Data Mynt merchants and partners, which are on schedule to number in the tens of thousands by the end of Q2 2022, now receive and send payments from all Lightning Network enabled wallets such as Cash App and Strike.”
2C2P and Ant Group Enter Strategic Partnership to Further Digital Payment Adoption and Innovation in Southeast Asia Amid Regional Economic Recovery
businesswire
“2C2P, a global payments platform and Ant Group today announced a strategic partnership to accelerate digital payment adoption and innovation. The partnership, upon completion, will see Ant Group becoming the majority shareholder of 2C2P.Through the strategic partnership, 2C2P’s extensive pool of merchants inclusive of global and regional brands will be connected with Alipay+, extending its current 250 payment options offering to include even more e-wallets and local payment methods. With this, merchants will benefit from a wider geographical reach, connecting seamlessly to over one billion consumers globally.”
Sila Now Provides Instant Access to ACH Debits on Its Platform Through Instant Settlement
businesswire
“Sila Inc., a fintech software platform that provides payment infrastructure as a service, today announced a new product called Instant Settlement. It provides instant access to ACH debits made to the Sila platform. Customers no longer have to use their own capital to pre-fund the full amount of a transaction or wait days for an ACH debit to clear. Instead, Sila is advancing funds for a fee. The responsibility for returned transactions remains with the customer, who is required to maintain sufficient funds in a reserve wallet to cover just that return risk. Instant Settlement is a great option in scenarios where ACH is the preferred method but return risks are small such as with payroll, back-office money movements, B2B transactions, or cash transactions at brick and mortar locations (“good funds”). With transaction speed being a differentiator, offering Instant Settlement can be a valuable competitive advantage for businesses.”
Stripe Launches Konbini and Furikomi, Deepening Investment in Japan
“Stripe, a financial infrastructure platform for businesses, today announced that it supports two important forms of payments in Japan: Furikomi, a highly popular bank transfer method, and Konbini, the ubiquitous convenience store payment option. Now through a single integration, businesses of all sizes can use Stripe’s platform to accept Furikomi and Konbini payments, in addition to credit and debit cards. The expansion further accelerates Stripe’s growth plans in Japan.”
April 15, 2022
On the web
UK Fintech Startup Leatherback Raises $10M for Its Cross-border payments Led by ZedCrest
TechCrunch
“Immigrants, international students, and the migrant population in general all require international payments, or foreign exchange. Revolut and Wise are among those platforms to have taken advantage of this international audience. Now, fintech startup Leatherback , a U.K.-based cross-border payments platform, has raised what it describes as a $10 million pre-seed round led by ZedCrest Capital , a pan-African investment firm. Leatherback offers a multiple currency solution for cross-border transactions.”
Bitfinex Collaborates With OpenPayd to Enable SEPA Payments
Finextra Research
“Bitfinex, a state-of-the-art digital token trading platform, in collaboration with fiat on-ramp services provider OpenPayd, is enabling real-time Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) payments for euro-denominated deposits and withdrawals. The introduction of SEPA payments provides additional options for Bitfinex customers to deploy euros onto the platform. Through the new collaboration, customers will have the ability to pay-in and pay-out from their accounts near-instantly.”
Indonesia’s KoinWorks Rolls Out Card for Influencers and Entrepreneurs
Finextra Research
“New economies need new economic models that support them. That’s why KoinWorks, the leading fintech platform in Indonesia, today announced the launch of NEOCard, the first offering of its kind that gives more than 64M influencers and entrepreneurs in the region access to financial tools and banking services to help fuel the next generation of wealth in the region.With a virtual card from Mastercard, which is connected to BNI accounts, the product breaks down the credit barrier to entry for millions of small to medium businesses in Indonesia, complemented by a complete, end-to-end mobile banking experience. To join the 1.5 million users currently using KoinWorks NEO, download the app here and create your account within minutes.”
On the wires
The Gemini Crypto Rewards Credit Card Is Now Available in the United States
“Gemini , a cryptocurrency platform to buy, sell, earn, and store crypto, today announced the Gemini Credit Card ™ is now available in all 50 U.S. states. Cardholders can earn up to 3% crypto back on dining+, 2% crypto back on groceries, and 1% crypto back on all other purchases, with rewards automatically deposited into their Gemini account. The Gemini Credit Card is issued by WebBank and features Mastercard as the exclusive card network. Since launching the waitlist, the Gemini Credit Card has amassed more than 500,000 sign-ups. Cardholders will be able to use the Gemini Credit Card anywhere Mastercard is accepted and can choose from among 60+ types of cryptocurrencies currently supported for rewards on Gemini’s exchange platform, including bitcoin, ether, dogecoin and other tokens.”
Impervious.ai Raises Seed Round to Develop the Peer-to-Peer Internet Standard
prnewswire
“Impervious Technologies Inc. ( impervious.ai ) is excited to announce the close of their seed financing round, with participation from notable Bitcoin and privacy-focused investors including CoinShares, NYDIG, Trammell Venture Partners, Fundamental Labs, Strategic Cyber Ventures, TEN-31 and others to scale the Peer-to-Peer (“P2P”) internet standard. In late 2021, Impervious launched a series of API’s that serve as a programmatic layer for the Bitcoin Lightning Network, adding Peer-to-Peer communications and data transfer capabilities to the real-time payments protocol of the Bitcoin Lightning Network.”
Leading Growth Investors Acquire Minority Stake in Coda Payments, the World’s Leading Independent Content Monetization Platform
prnewswire
“Today, Coda Payments (“Coda”), the world’s leading independent platform for digital content monetization, announced that a consortium of top-tier growth investors has acquired a minority stake in the company. Smash Capital, New York-based global private equity and venture capital firm Insight Partners, and Singapore’s sovereign-wealth fund GIC invested US$690 million to partner with the company during a period of rapid international expansion. Apis Growth Fund II, a private equity fund managed by Apis Partners LLP (“Apis Partners”), and the company’s other existing shareholders retain equity positions in Coda moving forward.”
OPay Was Approved by The Central Bank of Egypt to Issue Prepaid Cards to Help Digital Finance Reform in Emerging Markets
prnewswire
“Emerging market fintech unicorn OPay has received preliminary approval from the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) on April 13 to partner with Masria Digital Payments (MDP), Egypt’s largest card provider, to issue prepaid cards in Egypt. OPay plans to issue 200,000 prepaid cards in the first phase, which will provide Egyptian users with convenient and fast non-bank financial services and promote the arrival of Egypt’s cashless society.”
April 14, 2022
On the web
Tencent Commences Test Programme for Digital Yuan Wallet
Finextra Research
“Tencent has rolled out a wallet that enables users to make transactions using China’s central bank backed digital currency. Undergoing A/B testing, the Tencent e-CNY Wallet, enables users to transact using the digital currency through QR codes on WeChat. Users will be able to transfer funds, collect payments, and access credit card functions through the programe.To qualify, consumers need to to activate the wallet function of WeBank, Tencent’s digital banking arm, in the central bank’s e-CNY app, which arrived in Android and Apple app stores in January.”
WhatsApp Permitted to Extend Payments Service to 100 Million Users in India
TechCrunch
“The National Payments Corporation of India, the payments body that oversees the widely popular UPI instrument, has given approval to WhatsApp to extend its payments service to 100 million users in the South Asian market, a person familiar with the matter said. WhatsApp was previously allowed to rollout WhatsApp Pay to 40 million users in the world’s second largest internet market. WhatsApp, the most popular smartphone app in India, initially rolled out its payments service in India in 2020 , but the Meta-owned service has struggled to expand the offering to a larger base in India because of confusing regulatory pushback. The NPCI has insisted that WhatsApp rolls out the payments service in step-by-step phases, a person familiar with the matter said, even as no other company has had to comply with a similar order.”
Stripe Teams up With Major Tech Companies to Commit $925 Million Toward Carbon Capture
CNBC
“Online payments-technology provider Stripe is teaming up with several other companies, including Google parent Alphabet and Facebook parent Meta , to commit nearly $1 billion in spurring the carbon-capture market. On Tuesday the companies announced the creation of Frontier , which plans to purchase $925 million worth of permanent carbon removal from companies that are developing the technology over the next nine years. Frontier will be a wholly owned subsidiary of Stripe. Alphabet, Meta, e-commerce platform Shopify and consulting giant McKinsey are chipping in — and committing to purchase some of the carbon-capture solutions.”
Mercuryo Taps Volt for Open Banking Payments
Finextra Research
“Mercuryo, a leading crypto payments company, has launched open banking payments within their cryptocurrency wallet, used by over two million global customers. The real-time account-to-account payments (A2A) will be facilitated by leading open payments gateway Volt and will provide Mercuryo wallet users, alongside their business partners, with single-click payment solutions via fiat.”
On the wires
Cross River Partners with Revolut to Deliver More Affordable Access to Credit
businesswire
“Cross River Bank (Cross River), a technology infrastructure provider that offers embedded financial solutions, today announced that it has partnered with Revolut, a global financial superapp with over 18 million customers worldwide, to build and scale Revolut’s business in the U.S. leveraging Cross River’s technology and regulatory infrastructure.The partnership will open up the first U.S.-based consumer personal loans for Revolut customers thanks to Cross River’s technology infrastructure, with additional credit offerings slated to launch in the coming months. Cross River’s platform, technology and regulatory expertise will further expand access to financial services to customers across the country and enable Revolut to scale and expand across business verticals including credit.”
TerraPay Obtains License in the USA; Aims to Strengthen Footprint in Key Global Markets
“Leading global digital payments infrastructure company, TerraPay, announces that it has secured the money services business (MSB) license in the State Of Florida, The United States Of America. This license will facilitate the company’s unparalleled and robust cross-border payments infrastructure to mobilize international remittances from the region in real-time, at low costs, and help offer diverse value-added financial payment services to TerraPay’s partners and their customers present globally. Through the US license, TerraPay aims to expand its partnership network in the US & LATAM region to facilitate low-cost, hassle-free, instant transactions in 96 countries. This MSB license is a major step toward TerraPay’s goal of becoming a major player in the global cross border payment ecosystem.”
Nayax and American Express Partner to Enable Payments in UK
prnewswire
“Nayax Ltd. (TASE: NYAX), a global commerce enablement and payments platform designed to help merchants scale their business, is proud to announce an integration partnership with American Express across EEA & UK markets. Nayax UK will be the first office to implement this change in the UK, across all Nayax VPOS Touch and Onyx cashless payment devices installed across unattended industries, including vending, self-service laundromats, kiddie rides, office coffee services, automated car washes, and more. This will enable Nayax retailers to accept American Express® Cards for all purchases and services.”