“American Express Co. is shifting “hundreds and hundreds” of employees in its sales units to handle collections and other credit work, and plans to set aside more for loan losses this quarter. As the coronavirus pandemic sent unemployment rates soaring, the credit-card company quickly began moving sales workers to credit and collections, Chief Executive Officer Steve Squeri told investors at a virtual conference Thursday. The additional loan-loss reserves will probably be about as large as the $1.7 billion posted in the first quarter, he said.”

“India’s antitrust body is looking into allegations that Alphabet Inc’s Google is abusing its market position to unfairly promote its mobile payments app in the country, five sources familiar with the case told Reuters. The complaint was filed in February and the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has kept the identity of the complainant confidential, the first source with direct knowledge of the case said. The complaint alleges the U.S. tech giant more prominently showcases its Google Pay app inside its Android app store in India, giving it an unfair advantage over apps of competitors which hurts consumers, the source added.”

“Four years after the EMV chip card standard became the law of the U.S. payments land, the number of credit and debit cards with an EMV chip now exceeds 1 billion, and 63% of U.S. card-present transactions in 2019 involved an EMV card being read by an EMV-capable terminal, up from 53.5% in 2018. Those numbers are some of the highlights in a report released Thursday by EMVCo, the standards body owned by the global card networks. The U.S. EMV credit and debit card count was 1.07 billion as of 2019’s fourth quarter, an increase of 232 million, or nearly 28%, from 842 million in late 2018.”

“PruPay, a Denver-based payments technology company, is working with PayPal to develop and launch a simpler way for merchants to request one-time payments from consumers via text messaging. While paying via text is already widely available from several providers, PruPay’s technology lab was able to add a few simple tools that help both merchants and consumers with their real-world problems. Currently, PruPay is waiving its normal fees to help small/medium businesses during the global pandemic.”

“Marqeta, the global modern card issuing platform, announced today that it has raised an additional $150 million in new capital from a leading institutional investor, valuing the company at $4.3 billion. This latest financing comes on the heels of Marqeta’s previously announced $260 million equity financing in May 2019, which was led by Coatue and included participation from Vitruvian Partners and several others. Marqeta is also backed by Visa, Goldman Sachs, 83North, Granite Ventures, and ICONIQ Capital.”

“Leading global payment solution provider Checkout.com announces the acquisition of Australian startup, Pin Payments. The move represents the next chapter of Checkout.com’s momentum across APAC as it continues to support both international and domestic merchants to grow their businesses.”

“Fattmerchant, an integrated payment technology provider that simplifies the payment processing experience for business owners, today announces its partnership with Finix, a payments infrastructure platform, to power Finix Flex. The new offering allows SaaS platforms, independent software vendors (ISVs), and value-added resellers (VARs) to start processing payments immediately within their platforms and future-proof their payments strategy.”

“Remitly, the largest independent digital remittance company in North America, today announced a partnership with financial technology leader and bank holding company Green Dot Corporation to launch Cash Deposit, a new feature for Passbook by Remitly. At a time when many are experiencing financial turmoil due to the current global crisis, Remitly is expanding banking and cash access for underbanked immigrants in the United States. Passbook customers can now deposit cash to their Passbook accounts at nearly 90,000 retail stores across the country, including participating 7-Eleven and Walgreens stores, utilizing the Green Dot Network. The vast majority of these in-network stores are essential businesses that remain open amid the COVID-19 crisis, providing customers access at a time when it’s needed most.”

“Visa has facilitated the first request to pay message sent and received using standards developed by Pay.UK. The messaging service enables billers to directly request funds rather than sending traditional invoices. For each request, receivers are asked whether they would like to pay in full or in part, request an extension, communicate directly with the biller, or decline to pay.Initially scheduled for release at the end of April, Pay.UK has delayed the publication of its R2P framework (the message standards, rules and terms and conditions) to avoid increasing the load on banks as they deal with the Covid-19 pandemic.”

“Airtel Payments Bank has partnered with Mastercard to build customised solutions for payments such as tap-and-pay NFC, credit facility and other neighbourhood banking services for farmers and SMEs. The companies aim to cater to underbanked spectrum of users and enable digital adoption via the partnership.”

“Fraudsters are increasingly using pilfered credit-card numbers and phishing attacks to prey on overwhelmed consumers and banks during the coronavirus pandemic. There has been a big jump in attempted credit- and debit-card fraud since coronavirus shut down the U.S. economy earlier this year, according to Fidelity National Information Services Inc., known as FIS, which assists about 3,200 U.S. banks with fraud monitoring. The dollar volume of attempted fraudulent transactions rose 35% in April from a year earlier, FIS said, a trend that appears to be continuing in May.”

“Stripe, the online payment infrastructure provider powering Amazon, Facebook, Shopify, Zoom, Slack, and millions of businesses across 39 countries, announced several ambitious investments in Japan to accelerate the offline to online transition of the economy and help Japanese firms export globally.”

“Stripe, a global technology company that builds economic infrastructure for the internet, today announced its official launch in the Czech Republic, Romania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, and Malta. Europe is home to some of the largest and fastest-growing online economies in the world. This growth is even increased by the accelerated shift from offline to online that the COVID-19 crisis has brought with it, making the need for financial infrastructure and accessibility more apparent than ever. Stripe’s availability now enables more European entrepreneurs and businesses to start accepting payments online from around the world in a matter of minutes.”

“Fundbox, the leading B2B payment and credit network, announced a fresh equity investment from MUFG Innovation Partners Co., Ltd., the corporate venture capital arm of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), Japan’s largest financial group and the world’s fourth-largest bank holding company. With this financing, MUFG Innovation Partners tripled its investment in Fundbox’s recent Series C round, bringing the total equity funding in the round to almost $200 million.”

“Samsung Electronics America, Inc., today unveiled Samsung Money by SoFi, a new mobile-first money management experience that brings a cash management account and accompanying Mastercard debit card along with exclusive benefits to Samsung Pay, in partnership with innovative fintech company SoFi. The account is secure, with no account fees and rewards users for saving—earning higher interest relative to the national average of transactional accounts. At a time when people are turning to their technology to take care of essential tasks without leaving home, Samsung Money by SoFi makes it easier for them to manage more of their financial life in the Samsung Pay app.”

“Q2 (NYSE: QTWO), a leading provider of digital transformation solutions for banking and lending, announced today it is bringing its Banking-as-a-Service (“BaaS”) offering under the Q2 brand banner – as Q2 BaaS. As part of this transition, Q2 and StoneCastle dissolved their partnership, known in the market as Cambr.”

“Wirecard has postponed the publication of its 2019 annual results for the third time this year as its auditor EY needs additional time to finish its work, the German payments company said in a regulatory statement issued after markets closed on Monday night. The Aschheim-based group is facing accusations of accounting manipulation raised by whistleblowers and reported by the Financial Times.”

“Looking to make their reloadable prepaid card more attractive as retailers and consumers alike deal with the uncertainty created by the coronavirus pandemic, Walmart Inc. and Green Dot Corp. on Tuesday said they are now offering a 2% rate on the Walmart MoneyCard’s associated savings account.  The rate is applicable for balances up to $1,000. Previously, no rate applied as users earned the chance to win prize savings instead, a Green Dot spokesperson says. The prize program is still in effect.”

“A new setting to allow Voice Match to confirm purchases made through the Google Assistant has been spotted in the Assistant’s Payments and Security settings pane. We’ve confirmed with Google that the new feature is part of an early but limited pilot that allows you to authorize purchases in a handful of categories with just your voice via the Assistant. Piles of Google’s support documents have been recently updated to reference the feature.”

“HSBC’s digital payment platform PayMe is enjoying a surge in popularity during the coronavirus pandemic, hitting a new milestone since its introduction in 2017, as consumers go online to pay for everything from face masks to virtual social games. Its users reached the 2 million landmark last week, the lender said, representing a 25 per cent jump from a year earlier. The increase, together with 10 other e-wallets in the city, helped underpin a three-fold surge in transactions through the faster payment system (FPS) maintained by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA).”

“Today, we’re excited to introduce Novi — the new name and brand for the digital wallet that will help people send and hold Libra digital currencies. While we’ve changed our name from Calibra, we haven’t changed our long-term commitment to helping people around the world access affordable financial services. Whether you’re sending money home to support the family members who supported you, or you’re receiving money from your friends no matter where they are, the Novi wallet will make money work better for everyone.”

“ACI Worldwide (NASDAQ: ACIW), a leading global provider of real-time electronic payment and banking solutions, today announced the launch of a series of new capabilities in its UP Immediate Payments solution. To address the increased demand for new real-time and digital payments during and beyond the pandemic, UP Immediate Payments now offers extended API capabilities for simple integration into any digital channel—including internet banking, mobile banking, mobile wallets, eCommerce portals, bill pay apps and social media payments.”

“TIS (Treasury Intelligence Solutions), a leading cloud platform for managing corporate payments and cash flows, today announced it has raised $20 million in additional financing led by Aquiline Technology Growth, an early- and growth-stage fund managed by Aquiline Capital Partners. The round also included participation from existing investor 83North. Aquiline joins previous investors 83North, Target Partners and Zobito. The company plans to use the new funding to further accelerate product development and to scale operations in Europe and in the US, in order to meet growing international demand.”

“MoneyGram International, Inc., a global leader in cross-border P2P payments and money transfers, today announced a partnership with Uber to provide drivers and delivery couriers a discount on digital money transfers sent to family and friends in over 200 countries and territories. Anyone who earns on Uber’s platform, including the Driver app, Uber Eats, Uber Freight and Uber Works, is eligible for this discount. This promotional partnership has initially launched in the United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom.”

“WorldRemit has today announced a new partnership with Onfido, the global identity verification and authentication company, to make it easier and quicker for customers to open an account with WorldRemit, to send money abroad. Partnering with Onfido will allow the FCA regulated international payments company to further automate the Know Your Customer (KYC) decision-making process to verify the identification of customers.”

“The Financial Data and Technology Association (FDATA) of North America today announced it has added four new members, boosting the organization’s roster of member companies and organizations united behind the notion that consumers and small businesses should have full utility over their own financial data.”

“To combat a growing threat that’s expected to drive $48 billion in annual online payment fraud losses by 2023,1 Experian® today announced the launch of Sure Profile™. Experian is the first company with an offering to combat synthetic identity fraud that is integrated into the credit profile with market-leading assurance. With Sure Profile, Experian is putting “skin-in-the-game” by sharing fraud losses with the lender if the losses occur on assured profiles.”

“When John Furner became chief executive of Walmart Inc.’s WMT -0.53% U.S. operations last year, the biggest challenge was Amazon.com Inc. AMZN -0.40% Now Mr. Furner—who began his career at the company in 1993 as an hourly store worker and most recently led Walmart’s Sam’s Club—is leading the largest business unit at the country’s largest retailer during a global pandemic , working to keep stores open and speed the company’s shift to e-commerce.”

“KKR & Co. said it negotiated its biggest Asian transaction, a $1.5 billion deal to buy stake in Mukesh Ambani’s India-based digital platform business, in 10 days. The New York-based private equity firm on Friday said it’s buying a 2.3% stake in Jio Platforms Ltd., the telecom and digital services holding company controlled by Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd. The deal was done over Zoom calls, said Sanjay Nayar, chief executive officer of KKR’s India unit. KKR said Ambani’s goals of becoming a top e-commerce and payments operator in India, the world’s second-most populated nation, helped KKR accelerate the decision. Private equity firms often take months to conduct due diligence and negotiate terms of an investment.”

“The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority issued renewed guidance on payments firms amid concerns that the COVID-19 pandemic has put additional pressure on many startups that depend heavily on investor support and may not be able to meet original performance targets. “The guidance is part of a broader programme of work the FCA was planning to consult on later in the year, to set out its expectations for the payments sector,” the agency said in a statement on its website Friday. “This has now been brought forward due to pressures the coronavirus pandemic is placing on firms’ finances.”

“The Department of Transportation said Friday it tapped GCash to help equip taxis with scan-to-pay systems, as part of a pandemic normal that requires cashless payments. The joint venture of Jack Ma’s Alipay and Globe Telecom’s Mynt allows users to scan merchants QR codes and deduct the amount due from their mobile wallet. Digital payments will limit direct physical contact between drivers and passengers thus reducing the chance of spreading COVID-19, the Department of Transportation said.”

“CITCON , the leading mobile payment platform and Tulip , the global leader in store associate cloud-based mobile solutions, announced today a strategic partnership to enable QR mobile payment solution for luxury and fashion retail brands that will streamline their omnichannel payment process and increase revenue from global mobile wallet users.”

“Dorsey said on Twitter – that other company he runs – that Cash App had, from Monday, enabled automatic purchases of bitcoin at regular intervals, such as daily, weekly or fortnightly. Although there’s a minimum $10 purchase, the new feature provides users with the ability to gradually gain exposure to the original cryptocurrency without exposing themselves to too much volatility risk. “By spreading purchases out over time, you may minimize the impact of market swings,” Cash App tweeted.”

“Unemployment payments jumped to at least $16.2 billion in April, up more than five-fold from February, as layoffs attributed to the coronavirus pandemic swept through the economy. The figure is still preliminary, with April payment data for six states including Florida and Michigan still not available on a Department of Labor Web site that provides detailed unemployment insurance information from the 50 states and the District of Columbia.”

“The Swedish Parliament has approved an amendment to the Swedish Payment Services Act (2010:751) that introduces a new provision regarding the display of payment solutions online. The new provision applies in the situation where a consumer buys goods or services online, and contains two new requirements. The new requirements are not imposed on online merchants, but instead on their payment service provider (PSP), such as for example an acquirer in relation to card-based payments.”

“Forbearance programs from March are nearing expiration dates, when many banks are set to decide whether to continue letting people put off roughly $150 billion of debt including credit cards balances, personal loans and car payments. In interviews, executives said they’re concerned that at least some borrowers sought relief unnecessarily and that they should be coaxed into paying. A number of firms aim to whittle out such participants, or charge interest to continue.”

“Under instruction from the European Central Bank, interbank payments network Swift has drawn up a blueprint designed to mitigate complications borne from its surprise decision to delay the migration to the new ISO 20022 messaging standard. A letter obtained by Finextra Research addressed to Swift’s CEO from the ECB requested that Swift mitigate the challenges now faced by financial institutions because of Swift’s decision to delay migration to the new financial messaging format. The release of a blueprint for tackling these challenges is the first of these measures.”

“we.trade, a blockchain -based platform that makes international trade faster and more efficient, today announced an enhanced collaboration with IBM which will enable network enhancements and accelerate the global commercialisation of the platform. IBM has also become a new shareholder along with the 12 existing bank shareholders.”

“Turnkey Service for Zelle will enable P2P payments for Redstone members. This solution streamlines the onboarding process for financial institutions, helping to reduce costs and accelerate time-to-market for Zelle, which gives members a fast, safe and easy way to send money to and receive money from those they know and trust. In addition, Redstone is adding TransferNow to support account-to-account (A2A) transfers. Both capabilities will launch to Redstone members in summer 2020, integrating with the credit union’s existing core platform, DNA® from Fiserv. Members will benefit from access to real-time balances reflecting all payments and transfers due to the platform’s continuous processing capabilities.”

“Groupe Dynamite, a leading Canadian fashion retailer whose a la mode apparel and accessories are offered online and in over 300 Garage Clothing and Dynamite stores across the country, today announced its partnership with PayBright , Canada’s leading provider of installment payment solutions. Through this new partnership, Canadian shoppers on www.dynamiteclothing.com and garageclothing.com can now select PayBright’s installment payment option at checkout. Groupe Dynamite is offering PayBright’s Pay in 4 installment plan: 4 bi-weekly interest-free payments for purchases starting at $35. Shoppers across Canada can choose PayBright as their preferred way to pay and enjoy their apparel while paying over time.”