On The Web
nbsp;Stripe Wants to Be a $100 Billion One-stop Shop for Small Business
“Covid-19 body-slammed most of the global economy, but not Stripe. Lockdowns and social distancing accelerated the shift from cash to digital payments, according to just about everyone , and that benefits companies like Stripe. During the first half of the year, US online retail spending hit $347 billion, according to McKinsey (pdf), a 30% jump […]
Sens. Brown, Warren and Smith Question FDIC’s ‘Alarming Move’ to Remove ‘Underbanked’ From Report
“Key Democratic senators in the banking policy realm are pressing the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on the exclusion of the term “underbanked” from an agency report, a decision they say makes it difficult to understand a group of financially vulnerable people, and may have been driven by “political considerations.””
With Alibaba Investigation, China Gets Tougher on Tech
“China’s internet giants came to dominate segments of the world’s No. 2 economy because Beijing’s authoritarian government largely looked the other way while they grew and grew. Now the companies have the regulators’ full attention.”
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
Payments News is going to take a break for the holidays, too. If Big News takes place, we’ll let you know. Otherwise, see you January 4, 2021. Again, here’s to a great New Year for you and yours.
Square Has Discussed Acquiring Jay-Z’s Tidal Service
“Square Inc. , the digital-payment company run by Jack Dorsey, has held talks to acquire the music-streaming service Tidal as part of a push to diversify, according to a person familiar with the situation. Dorsey has discussed a potential deal with Jay-Z, the rapper and music mogul who acquired Tidal for $56 million in […]
Access Bank Unveils ‘Closa Agents’ to Capture Nigeria’s Unbanked and Underbanked Segments
“Access Bank Plc has empowered and inaugurated more than 50,000 agents to provide financial services to customers across the country during the Yuletide.”
Singapore-based Open Finance Startup Finantier Gets Backing From Y Combinator
“Being “underbanked” doesn’t mean that someone lacks access to financial services. Instead, it often means they don’t have traditional bank accounts or credit cards. But in markets like Indonesia, many still use digital wallets or e-commerce platforms, creating alternative sources of user data that can help them secure working capital and other financial tools. Finantier […]
Serving the Underbanked
“If you are underbanked you probably have limited access to mainstream financial services normally offered by retail banks. According to FDIC research, nearly one-quarter of the country is unbanked or underbanked and COVID-19 threatens to draw more into this consumer category. Many fintech startups offer alternative ways to measure credit risk, and assert that their […]
Cryptocurrency XRP Tumbles 24% After U.S. SEC Charges Ripple
“Cryptocurrency XRP XRP=BTSP tumbled 24% on Wednesday after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged associated blockchain firm Ripple with conducting a $1.3 billion unregistered securities offering. XRP, the third-biggest cryptocurrency by market value, dropped to as low as $0.33, its weakest in a month, after the announcement from the SEC, which also saw […]