The information you need to start your day, from PaymentsSource and around the web:
Looking for loyalty
Rideshare companies like
Uber has revamped its rewards program by adding international markets, starting with Brazil and Mexico, reports
The expansion came as Uber announced several new services, including Eats Pass, a subscription service for deliveries; and follows Uber's recent deal to add rewards for
Blockchain crops
Ant Financial, which operates Alipay, is collaborating with Bayer, which owns Monsanto, to build a blockchain system to support agriculture and food supply chains.
At the same time, Ant will expand its existing partnership with Hyperledger to improve standards and interoperability for a variety of blockchain-based use cases, reports
Crypto of America
Cryptocurrency payments startup Flexa is opening a demonstration store at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn., to test uses case for retail payments.
McKinsey is organizing the store, called Modern Retail Collective. The store will use data and analytics to determine how consumers engage with cryptocurrencies, and if a specific technology or product adds value, reports
Other technology will also be tested, including augmented reality, digital signage and conversational AI. Square will be among the payment options, but will not use its bitcoin technology, Coindesk reports.
The cost of breaches
The U.K. finance industry halted about $1.01 billion in potential payment fraud in the first half of 2019, up 14% from 2018 — but also failed to halt about $503 million in unauthorized card, remote banking and check fraud.
Data breaches are a major player in the crimes, according to U.K. Finance, which reports crooks are using consumer data obtained from leaks outside the financial industry. Other factors include skimming attacks to online shopping sites and social engineering that fools consumers into turning over personal information.
There were 114.6 million records lost in the U.K. to data breaches in August alone, according to
From the web
CNN | Fri September 27, 2019
DoorDash confirmed it suffered a data breach affecting roughly 4.9 million delivery people and merchants. DoorDash said it noticed unusual activity from a third-party service provider earlier in September. After investigating the activity, it found an unauthorized third party was able to access DoorDash user data on May 4, 2019.
COINDESK | Thu September 26, 2019
Ethereum transaction fees are back on the rise and gaining parity with bitcoin transaction fees. Ethereum surpassed bitcoin in daily transaction fees on Sept. 21. While ethereum has since been maintaining a close parity with bitcoin’s daily transaction fees, bitcoin currently beats out ethereum at roughly $350,000 in fees per day.
REUTERS | Fri September 27, 2019
The Facebook-conceived Libra cryptocurrency, to be launched by a Geneva-based association next year, is not intended to replace existing currencies, Libra Association Managing Director Bertrand Perez said. “We are not in the area of implementing any monetary policy with the (Libra) Reserve,” Perez said at a blockchain conference hosted at United Nation headquarters in Geneva.
More from PaymentsSource
The U.K. charity sector is currently facing its biggest ever crisis of trust — with a recent survey conducted by the Charities Aid Foundation finding that the proportion of the general public who donate to charity has declined for the third year in a row — amid rising concerns about wastage and corruption.
U.S. financial institutions seeking a way to provide their customers with a cheaper way to make international remittances now have an ally in London-based TransferWise.
When Mastercard Track rolls out next year, Mastercard will invite corporations to route payments through new payment rails stitched together from key providers Mastercard has bolted on — and cards won’t receive special treatment.
When health care executive Raj Rajamannar joined Mastercard as marketing chief six years ago, his background at Humana and WellPoint hinted at a different perspective.
