“More than 1,000 restaurants and hotels have signed up to the app, including Corbin & King, owners of the Wolseley and Delaunay in London, Four Charles Prime Rib in New York and the Hoxton chain, which runs nine hotels across Europe and the US. It involves customers scanning a QR code on their table to pay the bill without having to catch the attention of waiting staff or take time over credit card machines.”

“Bitcoin tumbled more than 4% on Friday after Turkey’s central bank banned the use of cryptocurrencies and crypto assets for purchases citing possible “irreparable” damage and transaction risks. In legislation published in the Official Gazette, the central bank said cryptocurrencies and other such digital assets based on distributed ledger technology could not be used, directly or indirectly, to pay for goods and services.”

“JPMorgan launched a blockchain solution that aims to reduce the number of rejected or returned payments. The U.S. banking giant said Monday it is testing the solution “Confirm” with 12 banks in Taiwan including CTBC Bank, Taiwan Cooperative Bank and First Commercial Bank for money transfers to Indonesia using JPMorgan’s clearing solution “PayDirect.”The banks will be able to request and receive confirmation of beneficiaries’ account information in near-real time, according to JPMorgan’s announcement.”

“Newly vaccinated and armed with $1,400 stimulus checks, Americans went on a spending spree last month, buying new clothes and going out to eat again. Retail sales surged a seasonally adjusted 9.8% in March after dropping about 3% the month before, the Commerce Department said Thursday. The increase was the biggest since May of last year, when stores reopened after closing at the start of the pandemic. It was also much larger than the 5.5% increase Wall Street analysts had expected.”

“More evidence emerges of how consumer spending has changed in the past year. Consumers are using their debit cards more for transactions at hotels and motels within the travel sector, according to the PSCU Payments Index for April. Released Thursday, the index shows that debit card use accounted for 35% of transactions at hotel and motels, up from 29% in March 2019 and 27% in March 2020. Credit use at hotels and motels has increased, too, reaching 39% in March.”

“Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., has introduced legislation aimed at making it easier for new community banks to open in areas that are underserved by the banking system. The Promoting Access to Capital in Underbanked Communities Act would encourage the formation of new banks in locations where bank branches are scarce. It would give de novo banks more time to meet capital requirements and would ease other regulatory burdens on new community financial institutions.”

“Solarisbank, the German banking-as-a-service (BaaS) provider, is currently mulling the route of a special purpose acquisition company (Spac) merger to go public.  Solarisbank CEO Roland Folz According to Finance Forward, management and investors are currently discussing the sale to a listed company shell. Another round of financing, which would follow a $67.5 million Series C in June , is still on the cards, alongside a classic initial public offering (IPO). But management currently favour the Spac route, which could lead to an IPO in early 2022.”

“Business software group SAP (SAPG.DE) said on Tuesday it was forming a joint venture with Munich-based investor Dediq to develop new digital solutions for banking and insurance. Under the deal, Dediq will invest more than 500 million euros ($595 million) in developing premium products for financial services while SAP will contribute intellectual property in return for a 20% stake.”

“The Bank of Thailand and the State Bank of Vietnam have launched a new QR code payment link between the two countries to allow cross-border transactions. The QR code payment link will allow for cross-border payments to take place . Moreover, it will make it possible for the two countries to be able to use their local currencies with each other. Through this new connection, the financial markets in both countries are expected to be able to see enhanced capital flow. It is also expected to provide the regional economies with meaningful stimulus.”

“Silicon Valley might seem like a shining beacon of technological progress to some onlookers, but natives know it can be weirdly hit and miss — like how the San Francisco Bay Area has long had a physical tap-to-pay card that’ll let you onto practically every form of public transit, and yet never let you simply tap your phone or smartwatch to do the same. Until today — because starting today, the Clipper Card supports Apple Pay , including its Express Mode where you don’t need to wake the device or open an app first.”

“Recently, the California legislature introduced AB 1177 —the California Public Banking Option Act—which would, if enacted, establish the Public Banking Opinion Board and task the Board with designing, implementing, and overseeing a program for consumers in the state who lack access to traditional banking services. Specifically, the bill would create the BankCal Program, which would protect unbanked and underbanked consumers from predatory, discriminatory, and costly alternatives by providing “access to voluntary, zero-fee, zero-penalty, federally insured transaction account and debit card services at no cost to account holders.””

“Square has announced it will be rolling out Square Loans in Australia, a program that helps small businesses grow by giving them quick and simple access to funds. Australia will be the first global market, outside of the US, where the payments company will launch its lending product…By using historical transaction data, Square Loans has a straightforward application process, where no paperwork is needed, and sellers get their money as soon as the next business day. Businesses will have one clear upfront loan fee which will automatically be paid back as a set percentage of daily card sales on Square — so they pay more back when sales are strong and less if things slow down. Unlike the structure of traditional loans, the cost to the seller never changes, regardless of how long it takes them to repay Square.”

“Acima, a $1.3 billion virtual lease-to-own FinTech company owned by Rent-A-Center, today unveiled the lease-to-own (LTO) industry’s first LTO payments card. The new Acima LeasePay™ card, which is powered exclusively by the Mastercard network, will unlock a new level of shopping power for cash and credit constrained customers to lease eligible goods that improve their quality of life. The LeasePay™ card will eliminate the upfront transaction risk for retailers because Acima will purchase the goods from the retailer directly for lease to the customer.”

“Nuvei Corporation (“Nuvei” or the “Company”) (TSX: NVEI and NVEI.U), the global payment technology partner of thriving brands, today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Mazooma Technical Services Inc. (“Mazooma”), a U.S. focused gaming and sports wagering payment technology provider for approximately $56 million plus additional consideration subject to the achievement of specific performance criteria (over a maximum 3-year period from the closing date) of up to a total maximum consideration of approximately $315 million.”

“AvidXchange , the leading provider of accounts payable (AP) and payment automation solutions for the middle market, today announced new purchase order (PO) capabilities for Sage Intacct , Microsoft Dynamics GP , Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central , Oracle NetSuite and Intuit QuickBooks . Businesses leveraging these accounting systems now have the ability to match purchase orders, invoices and receipts in AvidXchange’s AP automation solution, helping to reduce manual touchpoints and create more flexible approval workflows so finance teams can pay bills more efficiently.”

“Paidy Inc., Japan’s leading “Buy Now Pay Later” provider, which serves 700,000 online merchants in Japan, announced on April 16 Paidy Link, a new feature in the Paidy app, that allows users to instantly link digital wallets with their Paidy accounts. The first digital wallet to integrate with Paidy Link is PayPal with plans to expand in the future through cooperation with a variety of partners. By using Paidy Link with PayPal, consumers in Japan can shop for the goods that they love at PayPal’s 29 million merchants around the world, all via PayPal checkout. Each purchase will be automatically converted into a Japanese yen purchase with Paidy that can be settled each month with Paidy “Atobarai,” the Buy Now Pay Later service, or 3-Pay. This will allow Paidy users to manage their budgets easily and wisely within the Paidy app.”

“Trustly, the global leader in Online Banking Payments, is proud to announce the world’s leading fundraising platform, GoFundMe, as a new customer.  Through this innovative integration, a GoFundMe beneficiary can now access and withdraw the money raised on their behalf after a two-step verification process powered by Trustly. First, the beneficiary is verified by GoFundMe’s trust and safety team. Next, they simply select their banking institution, log in with the credentials, and their bank account is securely linked and ready to receive the funds.”

“Avidia Bank recently announced a partnership with KyckGlobal, Inc. to enhance its current portfolio of treasury management products and services. Avidia Bank currently offers a wide variety of services to businesses, including payment services, banking as a service, commercial credit solutions and a host of others. KyckGlobal features a cloud-based technology layer featuring a growing array of high-value endpoints from which payment recipients may select. All available payment types originate from a single point of funding and reconciliation.”

“As the price of Bitcoin continues to reach new all-time highs , major corporations with existing crypto offerings in place are beginning to discuss grand plans for the future.  Most recently, Dan Schulman, CEO of PayPal, hinted at future developments for PayPal’s crypto offering during Forbes’ “ 2021 Blockchain 50 Symposium: Crypto Goes Corporate ,” an online event that took place on April 13. During a fireside chat with Michael del Castillo, associate editor at Forbes, Schulman mentioned that the financial system will undergo more changes over the next five years compared to the progress that has been made in the previous 30 years.”

“Indonesian e-commerce company Bukalapak raised $234 million in capital in a funding round led by Microsoft, Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC, and local media conglomerate Emtek, according to a sale document reviewed by Reuters. The latest funding round comes amid a frenzy of interest from global investors in gaining exposure to the fast growing Southeast Asian technology sector with the prospect of listings of startups worth tens of billions of dollars.”

“We all know the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated digital adoption in a number of areas, particularly in the financial services space. Within financial services, there are few spaces hotter than B2B payments. With a $120 trillion market size , it’s no surprise that an increasing number of fintechs focused on digitizing payments have been attracting investor interest. The latest is Routable, which has nabbed $30 million in a Series B raise that included participation from a slew of high-profile angel investors.”

“E-wallets are rapidly gaining popularity in the Philippines, overtaking credit cards, which have a penetration rate of under 10% . Fintech startup Plentina is leveraging that trend with buy now, pay later (BNPL) installment loans that can be used and repaid through e-wallets. The company announced today it has closed a $2.2 million seed round, co-led by former Tableau executive and ClearGraph chief executive officer Andrew Vigneault, Unpopular Ventures and DV Collective. Other participants included JG Digital Equity Ventures (JGDEV), Amino Capital, Canaan Partners Scout Fund and Ignite Impact Fund.”

“The Seychelles-based Securities, Commodities and Derivatives Exchange ( SECDEX ), and KOINON , the global Digital Coin and Token based payment platform, are pleased to announce a collaboration to foster the intersection of African B2C and B2B payments and dynamic asset conversion between fiat currencies, cryptocurrencies and a broader range of digital assets. This initiative comes at a key time in the mobile payments industry growth as evidenced by Mastercard’s recent $100million investment in Africa’s Airtel which focuses on mobile payments and financial inclusion.”

“Pix has surpassed the 1 billion transaction mark since its launch last November. There were 1.05 billion instant transactions in five months, to be exact. The number was reached during the month of March, when there were 393.64 million instant payments, an increase of 43% compared to February. In values, Pix traded R $ 787 billion between November and March, being R $ 278 billion in this last month alone. The figures were released on Wednesday, 14, by the Central Bank.”

“Cielo reported this week that it has partnered with Google to digitize small and medium-sized businesses in Brazil. According to the payment company, the project can reach more than 600,000 businesses, who will have access to create a digital profile, open an online store and create online advertising campaigns. The agreement illustrates Cielo’s growing efforts to expand into the smaller retail market.”

“Netstars Co., Ltd. (“Netstars” or the “Company”), the operator of Japan’s largest QR code payment gateway, today announced the completion of a JPY6.6 billion funding round. The round, which was made through a combination of a capital infusion and the allotment of new shares, includes a JPY4 billion investment made from funds managed by global investment firm KKR. SIG and LUN Partners also participated in the round. Headquartered in Tokyo and led by CEO Tsuyoshi Ri, Netstars is a payments aggregator and a FinTech company. The Company operates StarPay, Japan’s leading payments aggregation solution which integrates a variety of payment providers into a single device or software platform, allowing for efficient point-of-sale processing for consumers across multiple payment apps.”

“With the $205 million funding round that Signifyd announced today, the fraud and consumer abuse leader is among the companies that will lead ecommerce into a new era marked by new consumer habits and new requirements for retailers…In the years since, they have consistently extended the sort of guaranteed protection Signifyd provides merchants. The company’s move now to extend its identity-centric commerce protection and payment optimization deeper into the payment journey is the next logical step in what Ramanand and Liberty set out to do.”

“Forter , the leader in e-commerce fraud prevention, has announced a partnership with Flutterwave, Africa’s leading payments technology company. The partnership, the first of its kind in Africa, will enable merchants to accurately identify legitimate buyers from fraudsters, resulting in increased transaction approvals and reduced friction in the purchasing experience, all without the fear of fraud.”

“The modern ACH Network saw volume soar in the first quarter of 2021, setting two new records in the process. Quarterly volume of 7.1 billion payments was an increase of 11.2% from the same period in 2020. The value of those payments was $17.3 trillion, reflecting a nearly 19% increase from a year earlier. The first new record was set in February, when ACH volume averaged more than 118 million payments per day, the ACH Network’s highest daily average for a month.  The second was in March, when ACH volume hit 2.7 billion payments, the largest monthly volume in ACH Network history. This included approximately 110 million economic impact payments by Direct Deposit from the federal government.”

“BitPay , the world’s largest provider of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency payment services, today announced a partnership with the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) to share open source projects and use a shared patent library. Founded initially by Square, Inc., COPA believes open access to patents and freedom from threats on foundational cryptocurrency technologies is necessary for the industry to grow, innovate, and build new products.”

“Pine Labs Pvt , the Indian merchant commerce platform backed by PayPal Holdings Inc. , Temasek Holdings Pte and Sequoia India , has acquired Southeast Asian loyalty and cashback platform Fave to expand its consumer business. The deal is valued at more than $45 million in cash and stock. Following the acquisition, Pine Labs will launch the Fave payments app in India across a network of 500,000 merchants on its platform, the companies said in a statement on Tuesday.”

“Even before the pandemic, Indian consumers were taking up mobile payment technologies with remarkable speed. There’s just one problem: The networks of India’s biggest banks have struggled to keep pace, crashing again and again. The outages are exposing years of underinvestment in technology and a surprising lack of preparedness, analysts and executives say. The problems have been especially embarrassing for HDFC Bank Ltd. , the country’s top bank by market value. It’s touted its online prowess, only to be blasted on Twitter by frustrated customers and banned by India’s bank regulator from offering new digital products until its technology is fixed.”

“Coinbase Global Inc, the biggest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, will list on the Nasdaq on Wednesday, marking a milestone in the journey of virtual currencies from niche technology to mainstream asset. The listing is by far the biggest yet of a cryptocurrency company, with the San Francisco-based firm saying last month that private market transactions had valued the company at around $68 billion this year, versus $5.8 billion in September. It represents the latest breakthrough for acceptance of cryptocurrencies, an asset class that only a few years ago had been shunned by mainstream finance, according to interviews with investors, analysts and executives.”

“Euro zone citizens expect the European Central Bank’s proposed digital euro to be private, safe and cheap, a survey showed on Wednesday, as the ECB warned that any launch was still several years away. The ECB is studying an electronic form of cash to complement banknotes and coins in a bid to stem competition from cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Tether and Facebook’s proposed Diem. An ECB consultation showed that privacy, a key feature of cash that some fear will get lost when switching to an electronic means of payment, was the number one priority for both private individuals and professionals.”

“Macau has moved a step closer to the potential introduction of a digital currency as it seeks to better combat money laundering and tax evasion in the world’s biggest gambling hub. The government plans to amend laws to regulate the issuance of a virtual legal tender, Chief Executive Ho Iat-seng told lawmakers on Tuesday. The government will work with China’s central bank to “study the feasibility of issuing a digital currency,” he said. Although no formal plans have been announced on whether or how a digital currency would be implemented, some junkets – businesses that act as middlemen for Chinese high rollers who make up half the city’s gambling revenue – are worried the imposition of a traceable, government-linked currency will be the death knell for an industry already hobbled by the coronavirus and stricter rules around high-stakes gambling.”

“Every day, our teams use a combination of technology and best practices to monitor and protect our network and all who interact with it. Long ago, we established the rules and standards that govern the use of our payments network. Chief among these is that we do not and will not permit merchants to engage in unlawful activity on our network. For all the investments we have made, there’s still more work to be done. That’s why today we’re taking an even more active stance against the potential for unauthorized and illegal adult content. This starts by ensuring there are strong content control measures on sites where our products are accepted.”

“Accelitas is now a Nacha Preferred Partner for ACH Account Validation. As a Preferred Partner, Accelitas is a part of a select group of innovators that Nacha recognizes for offering products and services that align with Nacha’s core strategies to advance the ACH Network…Accelitas helps companies reimagine financial access through the transformative power of data. Their expertise in AI-powered analytics and alternative data delivers fast, fair and frictionless ways to grow business with confidence. They offer real-time ACH validation solutions for low-cost account validation checks and more extensive account screening for loans and other high-value transactions.”

“WEX (NYSE: WEX), a leading financial technology service provider (the “Company”), today announced the signing of an agreement to acquire benefitexpress, a leading provider of highly configurable, cloud-based benefits administration technologies and services. benefitexpress significantly expands WEX’s offerings in benefits administration by adding a complementary suite of solutions to WEX’s Health offerings, including employee enrollment and decision support tools for employees, benefits administration, and important value-added services, such as Affordable Care Act compliance, dependent verification services, and other benefit administration services.”

“Fidesmo enters Russia together with the company ISBC and reaches millions of potential users as eight leading Russian banks now offer the wearable payment service Fidesmo Pay.  The Swedish tech company continues to expand its payment service Fidesmo Pay and today enters Russia together with ISBC, which specializes in RFID devices, and eight* leading banks, all issuing Mastercard cards. Fidesmo Pay enables the banks to offer their customers a more convenient and secure way to make contactless payments, by letting them tokenize their payment card onto a wearable of their own choice.”

“The pandemic threatened to clobber Stripe Inc. Instead, it turbocharged the company. Stripe processes payments for e-commerce companies, keeping a tiny cut of each purchase as a fee for its services. When stay-at-home orders early in the pandemic caused spending to plunge and refund requests to skyrocket, the outlook wasn’t great…Stripe’s revenue last year rose nearly 70%, to about $7.4 billion, according to people with knowledge of the company’s finances. Other startups might have flashier apps or more recognized brands, but Stripe showed that it is better to be a workhorse than a show pony.”

“FIS ventures has invested in UK payments-as-a-service platform Modulr. In the four years since its founding, Modulr has established itself as a digital alternative to traditional banks in the wholesale and transaction payments market, which moves $120 trillion each year.Over the course of the past year, the firm has become one of the few non-banks to gain direct access to Faster Payments and Bacs. It has also struck partnerships with Visa and Mastercard, and gained an e-money licence in Ireland.”

“Small businesses in Africa need digital banking services including plenty of credit. Although these businesses drive economic growth and contribute up to one-third of the continent’s GDP, they are often financially excluded from credit and other financial services due to their size and informality. One such company tackling this challenge in the eastern part of Africa is Ugandan fintech startup Numida . And today, the company is announcing the close of its $2.3 million seed round.”

“One hundred and thirty million: that is the number of adults within Indonesia who do not use traditional bank accounts to access financial services such as loans and credit cards. Instead, they utilize fintech services ranging from digital wallets to peer-to-peer (P2P) lending to fulfill their financial needs. Now, Bank Indonesia (BI) and the financial services authority in Southeast Asia’s biggest market are formulating provisions in a new framework to welcome the open finance era, looking to achieve the Payment System Vision of Indonesia goals by 2025.”

“A digital pound must be at the heart of Britain’s efforts to strengthen the City of London’s global attraction as a financial centre after Brexit, think-tank CityUnited Project said on Friday. “A central bank digital currency (CBDC) should be a fundamental foundation for a competitive City after Brexit, otherwise China will steal a long march on us,” Hodson told Reuters.”

“The Bank of Russia presented a new concept for the digital ruble, a central bank digital currency the regulator has been contemplating since late last year, at a press conference on Thursday. A prototype of the digital ruble will be created by this December, said Bank of Russia First Deputy Governor Olga Skorobogatova. The regulator also published a fresh report on the current state and future plans for the project. The digital ruble will live in a hybrid technological platform combining distributed ledger technology (DLT) and centralized control by the Bank of Russia. The regulator hasn’t picked any particular DLT platform yet, Skorobogatova said, adding that the Bank of Russia will likely use open-source code to build its own proprietary product.”

“The 25 biggest U.S. banks collectively reduced their loan holdings by 8% in the year through March, according to the Federal Reserve’s latest weekly survey. Total loans fell by $447 billion to $5.45 trillion, Fed data show. Meanwhile, total deposits, which provide the funds that banks lend out to borrowers, jumped 16% to $10.13 trillion. Their combined loan-to-deposit ratio now sits at 53.9%, the lowest reading in 36 years of weekly Fed data.”

“At the beginning of April, Clubhouse said it would give a “small test group” of creators the ability to accept payments from their fans and supporters through the social audio app. These donations go 100% to the creators, Clubhouse noted at the time. Though tests began with just 1,000 users, Clubhouse this weekend rolled out payments to another 60,000-plus users in the U.S., the company said during its Town Hall weekly event. And it expects to have payments roll out to everyone over the next few weeks.”

“Splitit, a global payment technology company (ASX:SPT), announces a new global partnership with UnionPay International, part of China UnionPay, the provider of bank card services and a major card scheme in mainland China. UnionPay International will be integrating Splitit to make it available to its network. This will give UnionPay card holders and those accepting UnionPay the opportunity to utilize Splitit’s installment payments product.”

“Mastercard and ConsenSys have announced a partnership to power the future of commerce. ConsenSys, a software engineering firm in the blockchain space, provides tools and services to support the Ethereum ecosystem and helps developers build next-generation networks to enable companies to launch more powerful financial infrastructures and technology. ConsenSys Quorum is an open-source protocol layer that enables enterprises to leverage Ethereum for their private or public production blockchain applications. Quorum includes customizable features required for enterprises to operate a secure, scalable permissioned network. As part of Mastercard’s multi-blockchain strategy, it will work with ConsenSys on a variety of initiatives.”

“Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS), a collection of purpose-led, lifestyle brands including Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic and Athleta, and the largest specialty apparel company in the U.S., announced today that it has entered into new, long-term credit card program agreements with Barclays and Mastercard. Barclays will become the exclusive issuer of Gap Inc.’s co-branded and private label credit card program in the U.S. beginning in May 2022. In addition, Gap Inc. and Barclays will issue the co-branded credit cards on the Mastercard payment network.”

“Cardlytics (NASDAQ: CDLX) announced today its intent to acquire Bridg, a customer data platform that empowers marketers to better understand and reach customers using SKU-level insights. Once the integration is complete, this addition will pair Cardlytics’ advertising platform, which has an audience of more than 163 million monthly active users, with Bridg’s enhanced SKU-level insights and ability to engage consumers across other digital platforms.”

“Checkout.com, the leading cloud-based global payment solutions provider, today announced that it is launching its Payouts Product, enabling merchants to make seamless payments directly to eligible recipients’ cards and bank accounts. The solution will enable merchants to make payouts in real-time[2]to over four billion cards in over 174 countries and seamless payments to local bank accounts in over 40 countries around the world.”

“Toast , the fastest-growing restaurant management platform, today launched an enhanced suite of contactless and guest-facing solutions to help restaurateurs reimagine operations and reduce overhead as they rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, Toast debuted updates to its Toast Order & Pay™ solution, including pre-authorization tabs and group ordering. Designed to meet the ever-increasing demand for contactless solutions, Toast Order & Pay™ enables guests to order and pay in a restaurant via smartphone.”

“Paya (Nasdaq: PAYA), a leading integrated payments and commerce solutions provider, announced today this it has released enhanced e-invoicing capabilities for Sage 100, as well as Cloud EMV acceptance for Sage Intacct. The new features further automate collection and reconciliation of card and ACH payments, and provide plug-and-play, cloud-based EMV point of sale terminals to accept EMV, magstripe, and contactless payments. Customers using the latest release of Sage 100 can leverage Paya’s enhanced customer portal and e-invoicing capabilities to reduce days-sales-outstanding (DSO) through invoice and self-service automation.”

“Addressing the $17 billion that some studies estimate U.S. consumers pay each year in overdraft fees, The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: PNC ) today announced its groundbreaking new Low Cash Mode℠ digital offering that is expected to help Virtual Wallet® customers avoid overdraft fees through unprecedented account transparency and control to manage through low-cash moments or mis-timed payments. “Low Cash Mode gives our customers the ability to avoid unnecessary overdraft fees. With this new tool, we’re able to shift away from the industry’s widely used overdraft approach, which we believe is unsustainable,” said William S. Demchak, PNC’s chairman, president and chief executive officer.”

“Spreedly, the provider of a secure, agnostic, and flexible platform that welcomes all payments participants, today announced it has launched a new professional services organization. This group is devoted to supporting customers and partners via payments solutions, including systems and technology implementations, data migrations, integrations, and consulting and education.”

“Apple Pay users could be able to make contactless payments and other transactions with merchants or transit providers without having to manually select the correct payment, rewards or transit card or other digital credential from within their mobile wallet. Technology that would enable Apple Pay to automatically choose the stored card or credential most appropriate for a particular contactless transaction at a terminal close to a user’s location is described in a patent filed by Apple and recently granted by the US Patent and Trademark Office.”

“PayPal is launching a new suite of fraud management features for mid-market and enterprise businesses that aims to help combat the rise in online payments fraud brought on by the pandemic… According to PayPal, its new Fraud Protection Advanced service uses device fingerprinting, machine learning and analytics to help businesses identify, investigate, resolve and mitigate fraudulent transactions. The technology allows for real-time data modeling to help businesses spot shifting fraud patterns, and enables high fraud decisioning performance that can lead to lower chargebacks and false declines.”

“China slapped a record 18 billion yuan ($2.75 billion) fine on Alibaba Group Holding Ltd on Saturday, after an anti-monopoly probe found the e-commerce giant had abused its dominant market position for several years. The fine, about 4% of Alibaba’s 2019 domestic revenues, comes amid a crackdown on technology conglomerates and indicates China’s antitrust enforcement on internet platforms has entered a new era after years of laissez-faire approach.”

“A new Google Shopping experience that featured a personalized homepage launched in 2019. On Android, Google rebranded the existing Express app to Shopping, but it’s now shutting down the mobile experience in favor of just the web.”

“Trustly Group AB ’s plan to raise almost $1 billion through an initial public offering in Stockholm may be followed by a second listing in New York, according to its chief executive. Oscar Berglund, the CEO of the Swedish digital payment firm, says the U.S. is turning into its biggest growth market. For that reason, Trustly may well target a dual listing that moves its investor base closer to where business is booming, he said in an interview with Bloomberg Television’s Anna Edwards.”

“South Africa’s MTN, the continent’s biggest mobile phone company by subscribers, is looking to value its mobile money arm at more than $5bn as it prepares to sell or list a minority stake to draw global investors enticed by fast-growing fintech assets. Chief executive Ralph Mupita told the Financial Times that the unit, which added almost 12m new users to a total of more than 46m last year, should be worth at least $5bn to $6bn and that the group would spin it out within the next year.”

“Tipalti has acquired Approve.com, a cloud procurement solutions provider, in order to create an end-to-end procurement-to-payment cloud solution for mid-market businesses. Approve.com’s software enables businesses to deploy a purchase order process. The platform handles requisitions, approvals, budgets, vendor onboarding and spending controls. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, and the transaction is expected to close in the early second quarter.”

“The buy now, pay later capability now offered by myriad providers is sweeping the country, but may include a few drawbacks that could hinder future growth, according to a report issued Monday. Research for the report, which included a survey early this year of some 1,500 U.S. consumers, revealed that 39% have tried BNPL . Among these users, some 55% are likely to spend more than they do with other payment methods. Other positives so far are that most users trust BNPL services and intend to keep relying on them”

“The Biden administration is stepping up scrutiny of China’s plans for a digital yuan, with some officials concerned the move could kick off a long-term bid to topple the dollar as the world’s dominant reserve currency, according to people familiar with the matter.”

“UnionPay International (“UPI”), a leading global payment services provider, in cooperation with Network International, the leading enabler of digital commerce in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region, is accelerating the UAE rollout of its QR code scanning -based payment solution to support local merchants as the country prepares for continued economic recovery and a resurgence of inbound tourists.”

“GasBuddy today announced its Pay with GasBuddy® payments program has surpassed 1 million users. As gas prices have climbed dramatically in the first three months of the year, the Pay with GasBuddy program has gained hyper popularity by delivering on the promise to provide consumers savings on every gallon of gasoline they purchase…Drivers who enroll in the program receive a Pay with GasBuddy card that is connected to their checking account; when swiped at the pump, consumers receive automatic discounts on their fuel purchase.”