“India’s antitrust watchdog has opened an investigation into Google for allegedly abusing the dominant position of its app store to promote its payments service in the world’s second largest internet market. In its Monday announcement (PDF) about opening an antitrust case against Google, Indian watchdog Competition Commission of India (CCI) said it is directing an in-depth investigation into the claims of whether the Android maker prominently promotes Google Pay during the setup of an Android smartphone (and whether phone vendors have a choice to avoid this); and if Play Store’s billing system is designed “to the disadvantage of both i.e. apps facilitating payment through UPI, as well as users.””

“In the latest app update, American Express has added a feature which allows sending money via Paypal or Venmo from within the AmEx app with no additional fees. Typically, when using a credit card on Paypal/Venmo there is a 2.9% fee, but with this new Amex Send Account feature you’ll pay no fees.”

“European Union regulators brought antitrust charges against Amazon on Tuesday, saying the online retail giant broke competition laws by unfairly using its size and access to data to harm smaller merchants who rely on the company to reach customers.”

“The world’s biggest credit ratings agency is utilising Open Banking to launch a service which will factor in Netflix, Amazon and Spotify subscription payments and other bills to improve people’s credit scores. Experian is importing the service from the US to the UK and claims it will increase the credit scores of millions, helping them borrow money at a cheaper rate. Experian said over half, 51 per cent, of individuals using the opt-in free service called Experian Boost will get an improved credit score, meaning around 17m individuals will benefit.”

“AmEx customers are sitting on a pile of points. Customers of American Express Co. ’s travel-related co-brand cards, as well as the firm’s Platinum, Gold and other proprietary cards, have been stockpiling their points and miles during the pandemic, according to Chief Financial Officer Jeff Campbell. That means the rewards are likely to be used eventually for big vacations, he said.”

“Apple Pay has been activated on 507 million iPhones as of September as year-over-year retailer and bank adoption growth hit 20%, according to a new study.   That data comes from Loup Ventures’ fourth annual Apple Pay availability study, which tracks growth and adoption of the Apple payment platform. Loup Ventures conducted similar studies in 2018 and 2019 .”

“areeba and Discover signed a strategic agreement that increases the global acceptance footprint for both organizations. The agreement gives Discover, Diners Club International, PULSE and Network Alliance cardholders the ability to use their cards on the areeba network, which includes Point-of-Sale (POS) and e-commerce platforms across Lebanon.”

“Today Nacha announces that Phixius, a new platform that facilitates the trusted exchange of payment information is live and has completed its first information exchange transactions between participants…Phixius provides interoperability between vetted participants who connect directly to the platform in order to more securely exchange data rather than storing it in a central repository, such as in the cloud. Transactions occur via standardized open APIs developed by Afinis Interoperability Standards and ISO20022.”

“Interac Corp. today announced that it is working with Walmart Canada to offer its customers enhanced methods of paying with debit online and in-store. With a target timing of Spring 2021, Walmart shoppers will soon be able to checkout using Interac® Debit for In-App and In-Browser Payments on proprietary wallets. Walmart has also begun rolling out Interac Flash® at point-of-sale terminals in-store, giving customers the option to pay with the secure tap of a debit card or smartphone.”

“Bluefin, the leader in encryption and tokenization payment and data security, and PAAY, innovator in consumer authentication, announced today a new security solution set that eliminates the threat of hackers and online fraud, while providing regulatory compliance. The solution set combines 3DS, hardware-based encryption, and vaultless tokenization to provide merchants a liability shift, strong customer authentication, data confidentiality, and compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2).”

“LexisNexis® Risk Solutions today announced LexisNexis® Fraud Intelligence , the newest addition to the company’s suite of fraud and identity products. LexisNexis Fraud Intelligence is a non-FCRA solution that helps organizations mitigate new account fraud risk by bringing together identity events and consumer application activity to arrive at a comprehensive, powerful score that offers complete view of identity. The new tool limits friction for legitimate consumers because it can identify applications in real-time that are most likely fraudulent.”

“Acuant , a leading global provider of identity verification solutions, today announced the launch of Acuant®GO , a suite of no code solutions. Acuant®GO delivers the power of the Acuant’s Trusted Identity Platform at lightning speed. It is the fastest way to go-to-market and deploy mobile and web identity verification and KYC/AML that meet regulatory, business and customer needs.”

“Mazooma, a gaming industry leader for more than 15 years, has partnered with Plaid , a financial data network powering thousands of digital apps and services, to bring an Instant Bank Transfer payment solution to igaming and sports wagering operators in certain regulated U.S. states. The offering is now available for deposits and withdrawals on BetMGM’s cashier with Borgata and Party Poker going live in the coming weeks.”

“i2c Inc. , a leading provider of digital banking and payment processing technology and infrastructure, today announced its partnership with Purewrist , an innovative FinTech company specializing in end-to-end contactless payment solutions and wearables. i2c’s highly-configurable platform will be leveraged for transaction processing of tap-and-go payments made with the Purewrist GO™ wearable at NFC contactless readers.”

“Amazon is launching a rewards program for its legions of Flex delivery drivers that gives them a leg up when it comes to the app’s competitive shift selection process. The company quietly added a section to the Flex website and an app on Apple’s App Store that advertise the program, called Amazon Flex Rewards. The rewards program offers drivers a number of perks, including access to a debit card and the ability to reserve customized delivery shifts.”

“Flagship smartphones have gotten substantially more expensive in the last few years, so many OEMs and carriers offer payment programs to give consumers the option of paying a fraction of the price each month over a period of 24 or more months. But what do you do if something unexpected happens and you can’t make a payment for a month or two?”

“The Justice Department’s lawsuit against Visa isn’t just relevant reading for Visa investors, but for investors across the payments sector. At the heart of the suit is the future of payments in the U.S. Among the government’s allegations is that Visa saw a potential pay-by-bank offering from Plaid as a competitive threat to debit cards, so it moved to eliminate this risk by acquiring the company. Visa in response said that its business “faces intense competition from a variety of players” but that “Plaid is not one of them,”…”

“A blank-check firm led by billionaire Bill Foley is in talks to merge with Paysafe Group Ltd. , an online payments firm backed by Blackstone Group Inc. and CVC Capital Partners, according to people with knowledge of the matter.”

“Paya Holdings Inc. is known for its base in integrated payments and for its processing concentration in card-not-present transactions. But what also became clear early Monday is its growing strength in bringing capability for automated clearing house payments to its roster of clients.”

“Regions Financial is the latest bank to face regulatory scrutiny over fees charged to consumers who overdraw their accounts. The $145 billion-asset company disclosed Thursday that it was in the process of responding to a civil investigative demand from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over certain overdraft practices and policies. The disclosure, which did not include any additional details, came in a quarterly filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.”

“Mastercard has welcomed 10 fintechs from around the world to participate in its award-winning startup engagement program, Start Path , to scale the future of commerce. From bridging the digital divide to addressing the needs of the underbanked and beyond, Mastercard is helping fintechs accelerate the way they change the world.”

“Today, global branded payments provider Blackhawk Network announced that it has completed its acquisition of National Gift Card ( NGC ), one of North America’s largest card and prepaid technology companies. The acquisition broadens Blackhawk’s prepaid and gift card offerings and integrates NGC’s best in class fulfillment capabilities into Blackhawk’s operations.”

Figure Technologies, Inc. (Figure™), a leader in transforming financial services through the power of blockchain technology, today announced it has applied for a national bank charter from the Office of the Controller of the Currency (OCC).

“Google and Walmart have a new challenge ahead of them as they race to expand the reach of their payments apps in India: They won’t be permitted to grow beyond a certain limit. National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the body that operates the popular UPI payments infrastructure, said Thursday evening that it will enforce a cap to ensure that no single payments app processes more than 30% of UPI transactions in a month.”

“As challenger banks threaten Green Dot Corp.’s status among the underbanked, the prepaid card issuer is diving into their market by unveiling a challenger bank of its own. Green Dot took its first step last week by opening the waitlist for the aptly named GO2bank service, which it plans to launch next year.”

“The U.S. Justice Department announced Thursday it had seized over $1 billion worth of bitcoin associated with the underground online marketplace Silk Road. The Justice Department said it was seeking the forfeiture of the cryptocurrency, which had been in the possession of an unnamed hacker who stole them from the “notorious” website. It is the largest cryptocurrency seizure ever made by the U.S. government, the department added.”

“Ten leading Spanish companies are working together to develop a self-managed digital identity model with blockchain technology, which will bring Spain to the fore in this kind of development.  The project, including Banco Santander, Bankia, BME, CaixaBank, Inetum, Liberbank, Línea Directa Aseguradora, Mapfre, Naturgy and Repsol, and also the Alastria consortium, will give users control over their personal data, making digital identity self-managed by each person in a secure and reliable manner a reality.”

“WhatsApp has received approval to roll out its payments service in India starting with 20 million users, the country’s flagship payments processor said on Thursday, giving the Facebook-owned app an entry into a crowded digital payments space. WhatsApp, which has over 400 million users in India, its biggest market, will compete with Alphabet Inc’s Google Pay, Softbank- and Alibaba-backed Paytm and Walmart’s PhonePe.”

“PayPal this week laid out its vision for the future of its digital wallet platform and its PayPal and Venmo apps. During its third-quarter earnings call on Monday, the company said it plans to roll out substantial changes to its mobile apps over the next year to integrate a range of new features, including enhanced direct deposit, check cashing, budgeting tools, bill pay, crypto support, subscription management, buy now/pay later functionality and all of Honey’s shopping tools.”

“HSBC is taking on the likes of Transferwise and Revolut with the launch of Global Money Account, a free mobile-based service that customers can use to hold, manage and send funds in various currencies to HSBC customers in over 20 markets around the clock in real-time without incurring any fees. Global Money Account is launching in the US first, and will be rolled out to other markets in 2021. Customers can get instant access in just five clicks via their existing banking app.”

“Private job creation showed a sharp deceleration in October as the U.S. economy struggled against a resurgent coronavirus pandemic, according to a report Wednesday by ADP. Companies added 365,000 positions for the month, well below the 600,000 estimate from a Dow Jones economist survey. That was the lowest reported gain from ADP since July.”

“The Justice Department filed an antitrust lawsuit Thursday that seeks to block Visa Inc.’s$5.3 billion deal to acquire Plaid Inc., a key player in the financial-technology space.The department brought the case in a Northern California federal court, alleging the deal would eliminate the nascent but significant competitive threat that Plaid poses to Visa in the online debit market.The acquisition would allow Visa to unlawfully maintain a monopoly in online debit, leading to higher prices, less innovation and higher entry barriers for online debit services, the department alleged.”

“Nearly $1 billion in bitcoin has been transferred out of a mysterious wallet that has been quiet since 2015. The haul of slightly more than 69,369 BTC— worth about $975 million at the time this post went live—was moved out in the past 24 hours, the bitcoin ledger shows . Alon Gal, co-founder and CTO of security firm Hudson Rock, was among the first—if not the first—to report the transaction .”

“Lightspeed POS Inc . (NYSE: LSPD ) (TSX: LSPD), a leading provider of cloud-based, omnichannel commerce platforms, today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire ShopKeep Inc . (ShopKeep), a leading cloud commerce platform provider based in New York City. This acquisition reinforces Lightspeed’s status as a clear category leader for complex retailers and restaurateurs seeking to modernize their operations as the global economy undergoes unprecedented digital acceleration.”

“Coupa Software (NASDAQ: COUP ), a leader in Business Spend Management (BSM), today announced that Walmart chose Coupa to upgrade its source-to-pay processes.    Coupa’s BSM platform is expected to enhance Walmart’s visibility into its global spend, create better efficiencies across its business, and drive incremental savings in the company’s end-to-end procurement process. Walmart selected Coupa for the software leader’s modern and comprehensive platform, industry-leading source-to-pay and contracting solutions, and likeminded focus on delivering the best value to its customers.”

“Shift4 Payments (NYSE: FOUR), a leading provider of payment processing and technology solutions, has announced the acquisition of 3dcart, a powerful ecommerce platform serving over 14,000 businesses, to deliver a unified commerce solution to the company’s customers. 3dcart is a feature-rich, multinational ecommerce platform serving businesses of all sizes in a wide range of industries.”

“BMO Bank of Montreal and Visa Canada have worked together to launch the new BMO eclipse Visa Infinite* and BMO eclipse Visa Infinite Privilege credit cards. The new cards are designed to meet the everyday lifestyle needs of Canadians and provide greater earning potential and flexibility on rewards. The BMO eclipse Visa Infinite cards also leverage the bank’s refreshed BMO Rewards loyalty program and Visa’s brand, scale and global acceptance footprint, to bring customers a suite of best-in-class credit cards.”

“Tempus Technologies is now a Nacha ACH Payment Facilitator Preferred Partner. In becoming a Preferred Partner, Tempus Technologies joins 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…For more than three decades, Tempus Technologies has earned a reputation for developing point-of-sale payment integration technology and software solutions to meet the growing business requirements of its customers.”

“It has been a long wait for Bank of Ireland customers.  Apple Pay was first introduced to the Irish market in 2017 through Ulster Bank and KBC, before being added by AIB. However, Bank of Ireland’s technology infrastructure did not allow the technology to be used and the bank has been going through a major IT overhaul.”

“Visa, the world’s leader in digital payments, has partnered with NOW Money , the UAE-based digital account service, to grant low-income customers in the Gulf region access to a full service digital banking solution. Customers will receive a Visa payment card, which can be used online or in any of Visa’s 61 million global acceptance locations, and a NOW Money account, which requires no minimum balance. The agreement will ensure every person – irrespective of their economic background – has access to the highest quality financial services.”