“Meta, the metaverse-based platform, has announced the launch of a new wallet directed to support value interaction in the metaverse. Meta Pay, a rebrand of the former Facebook Pay service, will keep fulfilling the same functions that Facebook Pay did in the past, but will be developed as a universal way of paying for goods and services using digital identities in the metaverse.”

“The South African Reserve Bank is working on a new Rapid Payments Programme (RPP) which is set to significantly shake up payments in South Africa. The programme, which is mentioned in the central bank’s 2022 annual report, forms part of the SARB’s ‘vision 2025’ plan as an industry-led payments modernisation initiative. The SARB noted that BankServAfrica is working with several bank participants to build the technology solution that forms the backbone of the RPP solution. It is currently in the testing phase with its implementation planned for the second half of 2022.”

“An RBI letter asking “All Non-Bank Pre-Paid Instruments (PPI) Issuers” to cease issuing cards has led to the ‘buy now pay later’ (BNPL) sector expressing concerns. The BNPL sector: Participants in the sector include companies that provide PPIs to customers with little creditworthiness, like students and young professionals.”

“Veriff, a global identity verification provider, today announced its partnership with Twiso, A Zip Company, a buy now, pay later (BNPL) business, to provide identity verification (IDV) services for online merchants. With this partnership, Veriff expedites the IDV process for Twisto customers, while ensuring compliance with know your customer (KYC) regulations.  Veriff’s AI-powered identity verification technology is now available through Twisto’s platform, enabling consumers to quickly and seamlessly verify their identities. Veriff provides best-in-class KYC verification with its video-first technology and offers an extra layer of protection for users through location verification.”

“Mastercard and Paysafe today announce the integration of Mastercard Send into Paysafe’s payments platform, enhancing the payout capabilities offered to Paysafe’s merchant customers in the UK and EU. The addition of Mastercard Send is the latest extension of the ongoing global relationship between the two companies which supports multiple Paysafe products and services. Mastercard Send enables people and organisations to send and receive money around the world in near real-time. It is designed to help banks, businesses and digital players modernise the way they send payments, giving people access to funds with speed, choice, and security wherever they interact.”

“With hype over the “buy now, pay later” trend fading, some investors are betting they’ve found the next big thing. Buy now, pay later companies like Klarna and Affirm, which let shoppers defer payments to a later date or break up purchases into interest-free installments, are under immense strain as consumers become more wary about spending due to the rising cost of living, and as higher interest rates push up borrowing costs. They’re also facing increased competition, with tech giant Apple entering the ring with its own BNPL offering.   But venture capitalists are betting a new breed of startups from Europe will be the real winners in the space. Companies like Mondu, Hokodo and Billie have raked in heaps of cash from investors with a simple pitch: businesses — not consumers — are a more lucrative clientele for the buy now, pay later trend.”

“The accelerated use of digital payments has created more options for diners, but also complexity and cost for restaurants. Eliminating this headache, Oracle today announced the Oracle Food and Beverage Payment Cloud Service. With the service, restaurants in the US can now accept the latest in contactless payment options, including debit/credit cards and Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay, without hidden fees and unpredictable costs. Unlike some other solutions on the market, Payment Cloud Service offers transparent, fixed fee rate pricing with no long-term contract or monthly minimum requirements. And as the service runs on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI ), it has high security standards, end-to-end encryption, and is PCI/DSS compliant. This means restaurants can give their customers choice in how they pay, all while operating with predictable payment processing costs that support a healthier bottom line.”

“Payoneer, the commerce technology company powering payments and growth for the new global economy, and EC21, a Korean-based global B2B marketplace, have partnered to support the cross-border business of Korean SMBs. EC21 was founded in 2000 as a spin-off of the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) eTrade Services division. The EC21 marketplace connects millions of buyers and sellers from around the world with Korean B2B companies’ online storefronts. In addition to acting as a B2B marketplace, EC21 provides domestic SMBs with consulting on overseas marketing and trade. Under this partnership, EC21’s billing system will integrate Payoneer’s ERP API service. This solution enables Korean SMBs to manage their Payoneer accounts, analyze their revenue, and send and receive payments in over 190 countries and territories, all directly from within the EC21 platform.”

PayPal Holdings Inc. today announced it is expanding its suite of credit offerings to include a new business credit card to better meet the everyday financing needs of small business owners. The PayPal Business Cashback Mastercard, issued by WebBank and powered by the Mastercard network, is the first business credit card offered through PayPal. The card has no annual fee and rewards cardholders with 2% cashback on all purchases with no rewards earning caps or expiration, making it among the highest cashback rewards value available

“Home goods retailer Bed Bath & Beyond ranked No. 50 on the National Retail Federation’s list of the top 100 retailers in 2021—smack dab between Walmart and ampm. Its new tiered loyalty program, however, places the retailer first in a very specific category: branded buy now pay later (BNPL) services. That’s because Bed Bath & Beyond’s Welcome Rewards program includes a feature called Welcome Pay, which allows shoppers to make multiple payments over time with zero fees or interest. In other words, BNPL.”

“Chinese President Xi Jinping chaired a top-level meeting on Wednesday that approved a plan for the healthy development of China’s large payment firms and fintech sector, state media reported. The meeting outlined that China will step up the supervision of large payment firms to ward off systemic financial risks and will support platform companies in servicing the real economy, state news agency Xinhua said, without giving details.”

“WeChat, China’s most popular social media platform with over 1.2 billion monthly active users, has updated its policies to ban accounts providing access to crypto or NFT-related services. The new guidelines will restrict or ban the issuance, trade, and financing of crypto and NFTs as these activities are now viewed as illegal.”

“Revolut has chosen to pilot a new ‘buy now, pay later’ credit service in Ireland beginning this week. Traditional retailers have been offering customers the option to pay for furniture and white goods in instalments for years. Now, the service has been extended online and dubbed “buy now, pay later”. The cost and interest rates when using the service vary from provider to provider. Revolut has said its “Pay later” service will charge a fee of 1.65% per purchase, which is repaid as part of the final two instalments.”

“Klarna, a leading global retail bank, payments, and shopping service today announced the launch of its new Loyalty Card feature in the Klarna App. This allows app users to store and access their physical loyalty cards as digital versions. They can then collect all points and benefits at any merchant without the need to carry plastic equivalents while out shopping in-store. Powered by the acquisition of mobile wallet provider, Stocard, the primary consumer offering now integrates into the Klarna App as a means of further establishing an all-in-one experience that drives convenience and value to consumers’ shopping journey. The feature supports over 8,000 loyalty reward programs worldwide, spanning everything from clothing and beauty to technology and groceries to help ensure that consumers never miss out on collecting valuable points – wherever they shop.”

“Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been around for a long time. AI was first conceptualized in 1955 as a branch of Computer Science and focused on the science of making “intelligent machines” machines that could mimic the cognitive abilities of the human mind, such as learning and problem-solving. AI is expected to have a disruptive effect on most industry sectors, many-fold compared to the internet over the last couple of decades. Organizations and governments worldwide are diverting billions of dollars to fund research and pilot programs of applications of AI in solving real-world problems that current technology is incapable of addressing. Artificial Intelligence enables banks to manage record-level high-speed data to receive valuable insights. Moreover, digital payments, AI bots, and biometric fraud detection systems further lead to high-quality services for a broader customer base. Artificial Intelligence comprises a comprehensive set of technologies, including, but are not limited to, Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing, Expert Systems, Vision, Speech, Planning, Robotics, etc.”

“Revolut Ltd. has picked Ireland as the first market to launch its buy now, pay later product that will see it go head to head with the likes of Klarna and other fintechs in the rapidly growing area of lending. The digital bank plans to roll out its “Pay later” offering across Europe, adding Poland and Romania later this year, Revolut said in a statement Friday seen by Bloomberg News.”

“A year ago, digital banks were riding high, attracting billions of dollars in venture capital and spending aggressively on marketing to bring in new customers. Today fintechs trade for a fraction of what they were selling at just a year ago, inflation is spiking and a recession is looming. Venture capitalists are turning off the money spigot and the industry is reeling. Varo is the latest fintech to run into financial trouble.  Since raising $510 million at a $2.5 billion valuation last September, it has been burning through that money quickly, losing $84 million last quarter alone. The bank has less than $263 million of that $510 million left, and if it were to continue spending at its current rate, it would be insolvent in about nine months. A Varo spokesperson rejects that characterization, saying “Varo’s capital and liquidity ratios are among the strongest of all banks nationally.””

“Today a new era for online payments debuts. Kasheesh, a first-to-market digital payment platform, allows anyone to split payment for online purchases across multiple combinations of debit and credit cards in any way they want, without added cost or interest hikes. As part of its launch, Kasheesh has also announced it has raised $5.5 million USD from institutional and celebrity investors, including Tribe Capital, Anthemis, Courtside Ventures and notable individuals including Super Bowl LVI-winning wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr, athlete turned investor Sahil Bloom and award-winning actor Robin Wright.”

“Splitit and Everyware, a leading contactless payments and customer engagement solutions company, have agreed to a partnership to bring Splitit’s Installments-as-a-Service platform to Everyware’s Pay By Text platform eliminating consumer friction for mobile installments. Everyware will integrate Splitit’s Installments-as-a-Service into its platforms to deliver an unprecedented mobile-first buy now, pay later (BNPL) solution with the least amount of friction for mobile payments. Splitit’s white-label experience provides a simple integration through its single-point API which includes network programs like Visa Installments. Any consumer credit card is automatically pre-qualified to use Splitit. There’s no application, interest or hidden fees and no changes to their credit report.”

“The head of Klarna’s UK business has criticized what he called “mind-boggling” and “irresponsible” research by Barclays Plc that called for stronger regulation of the buy-now-pay-later sector, the latest sign of the growing willingness of lenders to insert themselves into a market dominated by new entrants.”

“The digital payments revolution that began during the pandemic is consolidating and driving Latin American interest in cryptocurrencies. 51% of consumers in the region have already made a transaction with cryptoassets and more than a third say they have made a payment for an everyday purchase with stablecoin, reveals Mastercard’s New Payments Index 2022, a survey conducted between March and April of this year among more than 35,000 people around the world. The New Payments Index annually evaluates consumer behavior concerning emerging payment methods. In its second edition, the study shows that financial innovation -cryptocurrencies, DeFI solutions, blockchain, NFTs- registers significant activity in the region, with consumers eager to learn more about this ecosystem.”

“The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is extending the deadline for card-on-file (CoF) tokenisation by another three months to September 30 as transaction processing based on such tokens is yet to gain traction across categories of merchants. It was mandated that no entity in the card transaction or in the payment chain, other than the card issuers and / or card networks, can store the CoF data, and any such data stored previously be purged. The initial deadline was January 1, which was extended by six months.”

“Facing a toxic combination of rising household costs, a looming recession and record levels of debt, fully 59% of retail bank customers say they expect their financial institutions to help them improve their financial health. The problem is, according to the J.D. Power 2022 U.S. Retail Banking Advice Satisfaction Study,SM released today, very few banks are delivering on that expectation. In fact, overall customer satisfaction with the advice and guidance provided by national and regional banks is notably 30 points lower (on a 1,000-point scale) than a year ago.”

“Jack Henry & Associates, Inc.® is supporting the faster payments strategies of hundreds of regional and community financial institutions with JHA PayCenter™, its proprietary payments hub that provides seamless connections to The Clearing House’s RTP® network and the Zelle Network®, provided by Early Warning Services, LLC. More than 250 financial institutions are leveraging one or both networks today.”

“Ten years from now, “the ability to transact on a global basis will continue,” says Nick Coleman, CSO, real-time payments at MasterCard, who adds, “Maybe my car will buy stuff for me.” Coleman discusses the future of digital payments and the technologies that can help secure that future.”

“China’s ban on cryptocurrency mining – and general dislike of any form of blockchain-based assets – has seen web giant Tencent clamp down on discussion of the subjects on its massive WeChat and Weixin messaging platforms. News of Tencent’s policy can be found in recent amendments to its terms of service which last week added a section about cryptocurrency and NFTs. The added verbiage states that accounts engaged in discussion of crypto trading, exchange between bit-bucks and real money, or provision of pricing services for digital currencies, all need to stop it. Account holders whose chats veer into the topics described above will be warned, and Tencent may restrict some functions of their accounts. Continued discussion of forbidden crypto will see accounts banned.”

Mark Zuckerberg announced on Wednesday that Facebook Pay has officially become Meta Pay, but his post is mainly focused on what the company hopes to build in the future — “a wallet for the metaverse.” While Meta Pay is essentially the same tool as it was before, just with Meta branding, Zuckerberg says the company is working on something that will let users manage their identities, items, and payment methods while making their way through the digital world that Meta bets will be the future.

“Lyft is democratizing ridesharing services. With the new paying method, Lyft will allow riders to pay their rides in cash. Lyft has introduced a new paying option, which now allows riders to pay using cash. This move, according to Lyft, is their way of improving transportation access for more people. By visiting more than 35,000 retail locations nationwide including Walmart, ACE Cash Express, Kroger Family of Stores and more, riders can now conveniently add cash to their Lyft Cash balance. To turn physical cash into Lyft Cash, riders just have to present a barcode or unique ID number from their Lyft app and then, add cash. Riders can then book rides without added fees or charges using their Lyft Cash. Riders who want to contribute to their balance will have to add at least $30 every time. The rider’s transportation options will also be limited if you go cash-only. If a ride wants to hire a bike or scooter, he will be opted to attach a credit card or another payment option.”

“When China announced in 2019 that it was working on its own national digital currency, there was widespread speculation about what role, if any, blockchain would play in a digital yuan, or e-CNY. One reason for this was that news of the digital yuan came just after Facebook announced its own digital currency called Libra, later renamed Diem and killed after its assets were sold off. While the warning signs of regulatory hurdles facing Facebook were apparent from the beginning, it was not clear three years ago that Facebook, one of the world’s largest tech companies, would fail. So Beijing moved up its timeline to launch the e-CNY…While the digital yuan attracted broad attention with comparisons to blockchain-based cryptocurrencies, the reality is that CBDCs are almost as different from each other as bitcoin is from the cash in your bank account.”

“FICO’s report of April 2022 UK card trends shows some early signs of the impact of the widely reported cost-of-living pressures. The monthly report based on the largest consortium of UK cards data shows a typical rise in card spend and balances, but also a slight increase in missed payments. Average monthly spend hit £760, tied with December 2021 as the highest in more than two years. Highlights: Average total sales at £760 – a 10 percent month on month increase, which is typical behaviour in card spend for the time of yearAverage active balance is also rising month on month – again typical for the time of year. No change month on month in percentage of payments to balance, suggesting continued pragmatic management of credit card accounts. But a small uplift in the average balance for accounts missing 1 payment suggests inflation is having an impact”

“Analysis from the Smart Payment Association (SPA) confirms that the global semiconductor (chip) shortage will continue throughout 2023, severely impacting the delivery of payment cards worldwide. This ongoing supply challenge results from a range of factors including post-COVID recovery leading to a surge in demand of semiconductors. Additionally, payment card deliveries are suffering from extended lead times for key raw material supplies such as plastic, metal and other components of a smart card. This is due to various factors including recent COVID-related factory shutdowns in China, and global supply chain disruptions created by materials shortages and freight capacities still not at the pre-COVID level.”

“The top U.S. consumer watchdog on Wednesday said it had begun a review of “excessive” credit card fees and asked card issuers for data on revenue and expenses in a bid to stamp out abuses and boost competition. The advanced notice of proposed rulemaking issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) confirms a Reuters April report that the agency would scrutinize credit card fees as part of a broader crackdown on what it calls “junk fees,” a catch-all for overdraft, credit card late-payment fees, bounced check fees, and other charges.”