“Paytm app is back on the Google Play Store. Our original story follows. Google has pulled the popular Indian financial services app Paytm from the Play Store for violating its gambling policies. Paytm is India’s most valuable startup and claims over 50 million monthly active users. Its marquee app, which competes with Google Pay in India, disappeared from the Play Store in the country earlier Friday.”

“The European Union is considering new rules that would likely require Apple Inc. to give competitors access to payments technology inside its iPhones. The new laws would prevent mobile device manufacturers from limiting access to near-field communication technology embedded in smartphones and other devices such as smartwatches, according to documents obtained by Bloomberg. NFC technology handles wireless signals that allow users to pay via their devices at store terminals, rather than a credit or debit card. While the report did not mention Apple by name, at present iPhone and Apple Watch users can only make NFC payments using Apple Pay. Banks and other competitors have complained they want the same functionality for their own iPhone apps and that Apple won’t give them access to the chip.”

“Google is rolling out a new update to the Google Pay app on Android that redesigns the mobile payments app. The new design strips the app of its lower bottom tab menu and moves all options to the hamburger menu (yes, Google’s shifting a focus on that after shifting away from hamburgers for the past few years.)”

“Apple Inc will launch its first online store in India on Sept. 23, the iPhone maker said on Friday, coinciding with the country’s holiday season that brings some of the biggest sales for retailers every year. Apple sells its products in India through third-party vendors and e-commerce operators such as Amazon.com Inc’s Indian unit and Walmart Inc-owned Flipkart.”

“The American government is banning the use of Chinese app WeChat for the transfer of funds or processing payments within the US. The Department of Commerce says it is prohibiting transactions relating to Tencent-owned WeChat, as well as another Chinese app, TikTock, to “safeguard the national security of the United States.”

“The average fintech startup founder faces a taxing to-do list: raise seed funding, scope out a user base, recruit talent, build something people will actually use. For the Indonesian entrepreneur, the Muslim-majority market presents an additional hurdle: build an app that is compliant with Islamic religious law, or Sharia.”

“Montreal-based Nuvei, which supplies payment technology to the retail, travel, gaming and other sectors, is among a cluster of firms benefiting from the shift to e-commerce during pandemic lockdowns. The deal raised $700 million, making it the biggest tech offering in the history of the Toronto Stock Exchange , the exchange said in a statement .”

“The fintech world has a new heavyweight. Chime , the start-up that delivers banking services through mobile phones, has closed a fundraising that values the company at $14.5 billion, CNBC has learned exclusively.   That lofty figure makes Chime the most valuable American fintech start-up serving retail consumers.”

“While other countries may be placing central bank digital currencies — also known as CBDC s — at the top of their agenda , Australia could buck the trend. According to a local news report on Sept. 17, the Reserve Bank of Australia’s latest payments paper has taken a cautious and sceptical line toward CBDCs as well as private-sector stablecoins.”

“Lightspeed POS Inc. (“Lightspeed” or the “Company”) (NYSE: LSPD) (TSX: LSPD ) today announced the closing of its previously-announced marketed public offering of subordinate voting shares in the United States and Canada, representing Lightspeed’s initial public offering in the United States.”

“Rapyd, a global fintech as a service company announced today a major expansion of its European platform, adding end-to-end card acquiring capabilities to its industry-leading payments capabilities. Rapyd now offers the most comprehensive full stack payment acceptance capabilities in Europe including card acceptance through Mastercard and Visa, and support for local Alternative Payment Methods (APM’s) in over 100 countries, all accessible from a single platform and managed from one contract reconciliation process.”

“EVO Payments, Inc. (NASDAQ: EVOP) (“EVO”), a leading global provider of payment technology integrations and acquiring solutions, today announced the launch of EVO Express Deposit enabled by Visa Direct, Visa’s real-time push payments platform. Through EVO’s Visa Direct solution provider, and the integration of Visa Direct, EVO Express Deposit enables qualified merchants in the U.S. to receive funds for card transactions in real-time.”

“Exchange group Nasdaq said on Wednesday that it is launching AI technology to help retail and commercial banks automate anti-money laundering (AML)investigations, as it expands into the financial crime software market. The company hopes the system can make it quicker and cheaper for banks and other financial institutions to sift through the deluge of alerts flagging possible cases of money laundering generated by bank transaction monitoring systems.”

“New York City restaurants would be able to charge customers a 10% Covid-19 relief fee under legislation approved Wednesday by the City Council. The move would temporarily end a ban on restaurant surcharges in the city that has lasted more than four decades. The new fee is intended to ease some of the financial hardship city restaurants have faced since March because of the coronavirus pandemic and lockdowns meant to curb the spread of virus.”

“The Bahamas is set to beat some of the world’s superpowers in launching a sovereign digital currency. After piloting the so-called Sand Dollar on the islands of Exuma and Abaco late last year, the central bank will roll out the e-currency nationwide in October. Officials say it will make digital payments easier, especially on the far-flung islands that play a critical role in the tourism-dependent economy.”

“On Wednesday, the Wyoming Banking Board voted to approve the San Francisco-based crypto exchange’s application for a special purpose depository institution (SPDI) charter. Kraken is now the first SPDI bank in Wyoming. According to the Wyoming Division of Banking’s general counsel, Chris Land, Kraken will also be the first newly chartered (de novo) bank in the state since 2006.”

“There are many reasons why you could have a good or a bad credit score. But if you’re just entering the job market, you may end up with reliable income and a low limit on your credit card. X1 Card wants to solve that by setting limits based on your current and future income instead of your credit score. The company says some customers can expect limits up to five times higher than what they would get from a traditional credit card. And that limit can move up if you get a promotion at your job, for instance.”

“Furthering longstanding financial inclusion efforts to bring more people and small businesses into the digital economy, the company will bring equitable financial tools, investment and partnerships to cities across the U.S.In its sustained efforts to build a more inclusive global digital economy, Mastercard is investing $500 million in Black communities over the next five years. This commitment includes products, services, technology and financial support, as well as concentrated investments that will focus on providing Black-owned businesses and Black people access to affordable financial tools and capital.”

“In its continued efforts to shape the future of the payments industry and to develop thought leadership relevant to financial services, Nacha’s Payments Innovation Alliance released two new resources specific to voice payments and cybersecurity. The Alliance, a membership organization, brings together diverse, global stakeholders – including financial institutions, solution providers, corporates, and more – to support payments innovation.”

“FLEETCOR Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: FLT), a leading global business payments company, today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Associated Foreign Exchange (AFEX), a cross-border payment solutions provider. By acquiring AFEX, FLEETCOR will build upon its corporate payments line of business and strengthen its position as one of the largest business payments companies in the world. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2021, subject to regulatory approval and standard closing conditions.”

“Affirm, a more flexible and transparent alternative to credit cards, today announced a $500 million series G round of funding…The company is also introducing an interest-free biweekly payment product for transactions as low as $50. As with Affirm’s existing monthly payment options, consumers will never be charged late or hidden fees when using this new product.”

“Flywire , a vertical payments company, is partnering with Mastercard to provide students with discounted foreign exchange rates on cross-border tuition payments made with Mastercard. The offer is available during the 2020 Fall term to international students originating from UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Kenya and Ghana attending any school around the world that offers Flywire as a preferred payment method for international tuition. Students will be able to make their international tuition payments in their local currencies using Mastercard credit or debit cards as the lowest cost card payment option with Flywire.”

“Adyen (AMS: ADYEN), the global payments platform of choice for many of the world’s leading companies, announced today that it has been selected by Modernizing Medicine Retail Solutions, Inc., to offer point-of-sale (POS) and online payments on its platform, known as modmed® Pay. The Modernizing Medicine ® group of companies is a health information technology leader providing integrated suites of solutions for specialty medical practices.”

“The Mojaloop Foundation today announced that India’s leading digital payments platform PhonePe and enterprise blockchain solution provider Ripple have joined as Sponsor members, the highest level of the organization. In their role as Sponsor members, they will join the Mojaloop Foundation Board of Directors and help provide the strategic vision, governance, and technical guidance to ensure the long-term health and growth of the Mojaloop open source software and development community.”

“Just hours after the reveal of Apple’s new services bundles , the tech giant has already taken criticism for evidently favoring its own apps over those with which it directly competes in its App Store.    Apple’s long-rumored push into services bundles comes as little surprise for a number of reasons. One is that some of Apple’s services have been more successful than others—ahem, Apple TV+—and bundles allow Apple to lure some paying customers who might otherwise overlook an Apple service on its own.”

“Airwallex , an Australia-based fintech company, announced on Tuesday it has launched its card payment acceptance solution in the UK and Europe. Airwallex claims that the solution allows merchants to accept card payments around the world seamlessly and securely. The launch is notably a key part of Airwallex’s mission to support business growth with an end-to-end financial services platform.”

“Subway riders can now travel across Manhattan without their MetroCard. New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority said Tuesday that it has completed installation of electronic readers for its new fare-payment system, OMNY, across all of the borough’s subway stations. Riders can pay for trips with OMNY using a tap-and-pay credit or debit card, smartphone or smart device, which they must hold close to an electronic reader.”

“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.”

“Money launderers have used some of China’s leading online shopping sites to transfer billions of dollars to offshore gambling sites, police raids have revealed.  People wishing to evade China’s strict capital controls, for example to gamble on offshore websites, have been placing fake orders on the shopping sites, including on Pinduoduo, China’s second-largest platform by users. A corresponding sum is then credited to their gaming account.”

“Customers of US coffee chain Dunkin’ in California will soon be able to walk into a store, pick up a coffee and pay for it from their mobile phone without having to pre-order, interact with staff, wait to pay at a checkout or scan goods at a kiosk. The chain is to pilot the checkout-free contactless retail solution at one of its California outlets from October using Mastercard’s Shop Anywhere automated self-service platform, which uses computer vision technology developed by Accel Robotics to track customers’ purchases while they’re in store.”

“Veem , the fast-growing global payments network built for businesses, today announced the closing of a $31M capital raise, led by Truist Ventures, the corporate venture capital division of Truist Financial Corporation (NYSE: TFC) — the 6th largest commercial bank in the U.S. This investment will go towards the development of a robust channel partner program that will widen Veem’s geographic footprint. As the company focuses on its scaling efforts, Veem is also committed to further improving and expanding its product suite and capabilities.”

“The fully integrated application enables businesses to bring sales, billing and payments processes together within the Salesforce platform to have a 360° view of their customers across the whole lifecycle. Fully automated payment collection via bank debit means businesses have better visibility of their payments flow, helping them manage and reconcile their payments all from within Salesforce Billing.”

“Money transmitters operating in 40 or more states will benefit from streamlined state supervision in 2021. The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) announced today the launch of a state-initiated program whereby nationwide payments firms will undergo a single comprehensive exam to satisfy all state regulatory requirements. Known as MSB Networked Supervision, the initiative will apply to 78 of the nation’s largest payments and cryptocurrency companies that combined move more than $1 trillion a year in customer funds.”

“Credit card networks, such as Mastercard and Visa, are especially suited to support use cases where speed and availability of funds are paramount. In most cases, money transferred over the card rails is delivered in real-time and available to recipients 24 hours a day and 365 days a year. With Dwolla’s Push-to-Debit offering complimenting the ACH product line, businesses can continue to customize a solution to best fit the needs of their business and users.”

“Payments company dLocal Group Ltd. became one of Latin America’s best funded venture-backed companies through a new deal that valued the business at $1.2 billion. Montevideo, Uruguay-based dLocal, which helps international companies process payments in emerging markets, raised $200 million in a growth-equity financing round led by General Atlantic, with Lee Fixel’s firm Addition participating.”

“Additionally, Facebook and Instagram have also launched capabilities for businesses in India to sell gift cards. “During the pandemic, it’s been inspiring to see how people and businesses have come together on the Facebook family of apps to support their local communities,” said Mohan. These gift cards, which will be issued by startups Quiksilver and PayU, are designed to help businesses get the immediate cash flow to stay afloat. Users can redeem these gift cards at these businesses later on.”

“While uncertainty continues to loom over the economy , JPMorgan has seen some encouraging data when it comes to credit. Consumers who asked for deferrals on their credit cards continued to pay overall, writes Brian Kleinhanzl, managing director at KBW. On the mortgage side, many borrowers continue to make payments despite being granted a deferral.”

“A group led by private-equity firm Silver Lake is investing $650 million in Klarna Holding AB, according to people familiar with the matter, betting on a company that has benefited from the accelerated shift to e-commerce brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. The investment values the Swedish payments company, which provides consumers with the ability to pay in installments across a variety of retailers, at $10.65 billion, the people said.”

“U.K regulators are examining advertisements by Klarna , the Swedish lender backed by BlackRock Inc. and the entertainer Snoop Dogg, as part of a broad inquiry into whether the marketing of “buy now, pay later” services is encouraging reckless spending by young people. The U.K.’s Advertising Standards Authority started the probe this month after complaints from consumers, said Freddie Alcock , a spokesman for the agency.”

“Today, Square, Inc. (SQ) released a new report that highlights how the onset of COVID-19 has affected global commerce and payments behavior. This is the third installment of Square’s Making Change series, which examines whether or not we’re headed towards a cashless society. In February 2020, just 5.4% of Square sellers across the US were cashless*. By April 2020, amidst the height of shelter-in-place mandates, that number jumped up to 23.2%. By August 2020, as the world slowly began to reopen, the number of Square sellers with a cashless business model was showing signs of stabilizing at 13.4%. That said, there has still been a remarkable increase in cashless adoption rates compared to pre-pandemic.”

“Agilysys, Inc. (Nasdaq: AGYS), a leading global provider of next-generation hospitality software solutions and services, and Adyen, the global payments platform of choice for many of the world’s leading companies, today announced a new partnership to extend Agilysys customers’ access to frictionless global payments.”

“WorldRemit, a leading global digital payments company, has launched The WorldRemit Transfer Tracker mobile App for recipients of money transfers which allows them to track their remittances. The WorldRemit Transfer Tracker App is now available through the Google app store in Nigeria, India, Mexico and Colombia. It will also be free to download through the app store in 90 countries in iOS and Android later this month.”

“Today, Visa Canada is announcing the expansion of Click to Pay in Canada, helping consumers make secure, swift purchases across various merchants and platforms, which is now more important than ever before given the world’s accelerated shift to digital. The digital-first explosion has ushered in the next generation of commerce, and the need for an online checkout experience that is seamless and consistent across all types of channels.”

“UK banks achieved the biggest reduction in card fraud losses last year among 18 countries across Europe, according to the updated FICO European Fraud Map. More than half of the countries saw increases in card fraud losses in 2019 according to the report, based on data from Euromonitor International and UK Finance.”

“Electronic payment service provider TipMe has begun operations in Liberia to provide individuals and businesses with access to useful and affordable financial products and services. It offers a mobile money wallet, online voucher purchases, bill payment services, online international remittances, business services, salary payments and eCommerce platform. TipMe said the app-based service lets customers send money and receive money in US and Liberian dollars, and safely store cash in their wallets.”

“Goldman Sachs is one step closer to creating what it calls the digital bank of the future. The bank has just released the first version of a personal finance management tool that gives customers of its Marcus retail brand a top-down view of all their financial accounts, as well as insights into spending and a monthly snapshot of their budget, according to Adam Dell, a Goldman partner and head of product at Marcus.”

“Cash doesn’t have the status it used to. In fact, some state and local governments are forcing businesses like restaurants and retail shops to continue accepting cash — concerned that cashless businesses effectively discriminate against consumers who do not have bank accounts or credit cards. New York City will require most stores and restaurants to accept cash as of Nov. 19, joining cities including San Francisco; Berkeley, Calif.; and Philadelphia, all of which mandated acceptance of cash last year.”

“When the pandemic shut classrooms across the U.S. this year, the federal government looked for a quick solution to prevent millions of needy students who typically receive meals at school from going hungry. Under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, the government proposed covering the cost of lunch for eligible school-age children so families could purchase the equivalent value of those meals at stores using special Pandemic-EBT (P-EBT) cards.”

“Uber Eats is flipping the switch on a contactless ordering feature that’s meant to come in handy when you’re dining in and ordering takeout amid the pandemic.  The tool is aptly called “Uber Eats Contactless Order Feature” and the idea is to enable you to cover your bill via the app when you’re at a restaurant to prevent unnecessary exchanges of heavily touched items such as credit cards, pens and bill holders.”

“Hotels.com® announced today the launch of its first-ever credit card: the Hotels.com® Rewards Visa® Credit Card. The new, no-annual-fee card was designed with the traveler in mind, offering rewards that transform everyday spending into more rewarding travel. Hotels.com already has one of the most generous rewards programs in the industry. As a Hotels.com Rewards member, you collect one stamp for each night stayed at any eligible property. After collecting 10 stamps, you’ll get a reward night to stay at one of the half a million properties Hotels.com offers — it’s that simple. The Rewards program is free to join.”

“The Financial Data Exchange (FDX) has welcomed 39 new members since April 1, 2020, bringing the total membership to over 140 organizations that are working to collectively transition the financial services ecosystem to a modern, transparent and secure API-based data sharing approach.Since its launch in October 2018 with 21 founding members, FDX has seen an over sixfold increase in members and recently announced the formation of the FDX Canada Working Group.”