EMEA

Three Rivers Credit Union in Bainbridge, Ga., and DOCO Credit Union in Albany, Ga., are expected to operate independently once the transactions are completed.

Cash access has grown tighter in the U.K. as more consumers adopt digital payments and banks shrink their fleets of branches and ATMs. Could the U.S. could see a similar phenomenon?

While the impact of the U.K.’s endemic late payments culture has captured the headlines over the past couple of years, there is arguably an even bigger problem afflicting the country’s merchant population — the threat of not being paid at all.

The Columbus, Ga., company had been counting on increased volume to offset a squeeze in net interest margins.

Goodbox has raised £1 million (about $1.3 million) in capital, mostly from individual investors using the crowdfunding platform Seedrs following a 2017 investment from tennis star Andy Murray.

The companies say they're working hard to complete their deal this year — including spending millions on retention payments and other items — but there's no guarantee how quickly regulators will make their decisions.

The U.K.-based fintech says that a recent crowdfunding campaign shows demand for its product, even though the amount it raised is well below funds obtained from VCs.

Vocalink beat out four other competing bids to secure a 10-year contract to provide real-time switching and settlements for U.K. ATM operator Link Scheme.

Even the homeless are getting on board with contactless payments, through a new U.K. wide initiative between Swedish payments company iZettle and the Big Issue Foundation, which enables homeless people to become street vendors by selling its its Big Issue magazines.

Rapid-fire acquisitions, partnerships and investments in the likes of Uber, Lyft and Grab are transforming these ride-sharing providers. And much of this activity is built on their ability to handle payments seamlessly as part of the experience.