“Patrick Collison, CEO of Stripe, well-known rationalist, and self-described optimist is here starting at 5:00 PM US Eastern to answer your questions. He’s on the record as a supporter of smarter regulation to spur innovation and very permissive immigration policies. Ezra Klein interviews him in this podcast, which is an excellent introduction to his background and his philosophical orientation.”

“Not many merchants are doing it yet, but surcharging credit card transactions will soon gain more acceptance as businesses do whatever they can to reduce their card-acceptance costs. That’s the expectation of merchant-processing executives who participated in a panel Tuesday at the Southeast Acquirers Association annual conference in Orlando, Fla. “This is the wave of the future in our industry, it just is,” said panelist Michelle Geraci, vice president of sales at Transaction Services, a Newark, Del.-based independent sales organization that began offering a credit card surcharge program to its merchants in 2015.”

“At least 400 IBM customers are now running blockchain-based projects, according to the briefing. Among those customers are 63 that work together with certain themes: 25 companies in global trade, 14 companies in food tracking, and 14 companies in global payments. Some of IBM’s most recognizable blockchain clients include Nestlé, Visa, Walmart, and HSBC.”

“Now, we’re confronting the fact that every sector, including our own, has a serious problem with sexual harassment and violence. The norms that allow these abuses are the same ones that disempower the poorest women, and only when they are dismantled across the globe will all women and girls be able to lead the lives they want.”

“While the hundreds of smaller U.S. banks that offer credit cards account for just around 2% of outstanding credit-card debt, according to a measure by S&P Global Market Intelligence, some investors view that debt as a window into the financial health of the middle-and-lower-income consumer.”

“NACHA—The Electronic Payments Association® and the Interactive Financial eXchange (IFX) Forumtoday jointly announced their intention to pursue a strategic combination of their organizations to accelerate and strengthen the development of standardized Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) in support of the diverse global financial services industry.”

“CULedger, a consortium of American credit unions exploring potential use cases for distributed ledger technology, has teamed up with DLT specialist Evernym on a digital identity system. Dubbed MyCUID, the tool uses a P2P network of distributed, private agents working in parallel with the distributed ledger to give credit union members a lifetime portable digital identity.”

“The Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) on Wednesday signed an agreement with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to launch Mobile Money for Resilience (MM4R), a multifaceted grant initiative focused on financially empowering vulnerable groups such as low income Jordanians and refugees. As the first initiative of its kind in the Middle East, MM4R will provide access to more advanced digital financial services, such as payment transfers, savings and credit.”

“Marketplace lending as an industry is hitting its stride. Some platforms are becoming profitable, some are diversifying, new players are entering the market with new business models and the competition is heating up. But that means banks need to start strengthening ties with their online lending partners. As more consumer-facing fintech companies are learning, that’s best done by building products that make people’s lives easier.”

“Businesses around the world should ensure they are preparing themselves to capitalise on this important audience, even if they don’t have a huge global operation. Analysts estimate that UK retailers stand to make upwards of $337 million from Chinese consumers in the UK, with 55% of China’s online shoppers spending on average £104 a month on British products. A recent report by international management consulting firm McKinsey, found that Chinese consumers are responsible for up to half of all luxury brand sales worldwide.”

‘What if the finance industry — credit card companies like Visa, Mastercard and American Express; credit card processors like First Data; and banks like JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo — were to effectively set new rules for the sales of guns in America? Collectively, they have more leverage over the gun industry than any lawmaker. And it wouldn’t be hard for them to take a stand. PayPal, Square, Stripe and Apple Pay announced years ago that they would not allow their services to be used for the sale of firearms.”

“Monzo is one of many hopefuls trying to upset British retail banking’s established order. In 2016 the Competition and Markets Authority, an antitrust watchdog, reported that Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group and state-controlled Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) hold more than 70% of Britons’ main current (checking) accounts. Counting the British arm of Santander, Spain’s largest bank takes the share to over 80%. In 2015 Britons had 70m-odd active current accounts. They paid £500 ($750) or more into 70% of them every month.”

“The Nordic countries, in the northern reaches of Europe, comprise a small region with a small population (about 26 million across 7 countries), but disparate payments infrastructure prevails despite a mobile-friendly populace. That’s why there is a need for a unified payments system in the region, Claus Bunkenborg, senior vice president of personal banking at Danske Bank told Bank Innovation.”

“WeChat Pay, the mobile payment unit of China’s most popular social app, WeChat, has launched a series of promotions in cooperation with internationally renowned merchants in celebration of the Chinese Lunar New Year, also known as the Spring Festival. Chinese tourists will be given an opportunity to receive a red packet, a traditional monetary gift which is given during important holidays in China and other East Asian societies, via WeChat Pay when they shop at participating merchants during the holiday, allowing them to experience the cheerful atmosphere of the traditional Chinese festival while they are travelling abroad. “

“For merchants, issuers and processors considering contactless payments, the Secure Technology Alliance has released a new white paper today that provides recommendations to implement, accept and process contactless payments successfully in the U.S. The white paper “Contactless Payments: Proposed Implementation Recommendations,” can be downloaded at https://www.securetechalliance.org/publications-contactless-payments-proposed-implementation-recommendations/.”

“Penta, the German ‘challenger’ bank that offers a digital bank account targeting SMEs, has raised €2.2 million in funding. The seed round is led by Inception Venture Capital, a new London-based VC firm with a heavy fintech focus, and will be used for further hiring, product development and to fuel growth. Running on top of Banking-as-a-Platform solarisBank (rather than holding a banking license of its own), Penta is designed to meet the banking needs of small to medium-sized businesses, including startups. It launched publicly in Beta to businesses in Germany in December, although there was initially a wait list, which I’m told is being lifted today.”

“The number of branches in the U.S. shrank by more than 1,700 in the 12 months ended in June 2017, the biggest decline on record, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of federal data. Branch numbers fell again in the second half of 2017, according to related data submitted to bank regulators and reviewed by the Journal. That would add to the thousands of locations closed following the financial crisis, and is the longest stretch of closures since the Great Depression.”

“JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Corp., the nation’s two largest banks, said they’re halting purchases of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies on their credit cards. JPMorgan, enacting the ban Saturday, doesn’t want the credit risk associated with the transactions, said Mary Jane Rogers, a spokeswoman for the firm.”

“A surcharge is a fee a merchant adds to the purchase price to cover the cost of credit card acceptance. Though Mastercard Inc. and Visa Inc. have their own rules for surcharging, generally the amounts are capped at actual acceptance costs, or 4%, whichever is lower. The rules also require consumer disclosure. Debit card surcharges are not permitted by network rules. A cash discount is when the merchant offers a discount from the published price when the consumer pays with cash”

““Plan ahead! Due to a scheduled system software upgrade, MetroCard vending machines may not be accepting credit or debit card purchases” this weekend, the MTA tweeted at 7:08 p.m., a mere 52 ½ hours ahead of the inconvenience.””

“Macquarie Bank is getting a head start on the Australian Government’s push for Open Banking by sharing customer data feeds with Zip’s personal financial management app Pocketbook. Acquired by Zip in 2016, Pocketbook is the largest non-bank Australian PFM app with over 400,000 users.”

“Daniela Morales’s lender is demanding. Every Friday morning, at 9:45 sharp, she has to visit a small apartment in Woodside, Queens, to make her weekly payment—currently $293 plus $17 interest on a $6,900 balance. “Sometimes I’m busy, but I have to go,” says Ms. Morales, who hails from Argentina.Ms. Morales’s lender is Grameen America, a nonprofit microlender for women entrepreneurs. To get a Grameen loan, you don’t need any collateral or credit history, just the support of a small group of Grameen loan recipients who can vouch for you. It is, essentially, a reputation-based loan.”

“In return, the banks pay the institutions royalties, sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars annually and often based on the number of new accounts. Some schools also get paid each time students use their debit accounts, or earn a cut of the ATM fees. With the deals, banks permeate campus life even more than they can with high-profile athletic sponsorships, while schools tap a new revenue stream.”

“Big U.S. banks are spending millions of dollars to promote Zelle, their digital payment service, by running commercials on major sports games and entertainment shows, as well as a YouTube campaign painting the app as simple and ubiquitous.”

“This article identifies some of the key areas in the evolving payments landscape that bankers should be monitoring, and in some cases implementing, as we move into 2018. The common theme in all of these categories is that they result in an improved customer experience by meeting customer demands.”

“It has never been easy to be poor in America, but decisions made in company boardrooms about seemingly modest financial matters — about fees, fines, interest rates, minimum balances — make life far harder than it has to be for low-income families. This week, Bank of America announced its free, no-minimum-balance checking account, popular with many low-income customers, will require a $1,500 minimum daily balance or $250 in direct monthly deposit (totaling $3,000 per year). If customers fall below that threshold, they will be forced to pay a monthly fee.”

“The economics of Amazon Go define the tech industry; the strategy, though, is uniquely Amazon’s. Most of all, the implications of Amazon Go explain both the challenges and opportunities faced by society broadly by the rise of tech.”

“Today, Radius Bank took the next step in its ongoing dedication to the continual improvement of its customers’ banking experience with the launch of Radius Card. The new mobile application (“app”) was developed to allow users to set control preferences and combat fraud directly from their mobile device.”