EMEA

Australia Hoover, who started as a call center employee in 1996, succeeds Betsy Mercier, who is retiring after 22 years at the helm.

History will remember Wednesday for the anti-democracy domestic terrorism that resulted in death, injuries and damage inside the U.S. Capitol — but did not thwart the process of confirming the presidential election. It was also a day that Georgia's Senate runoff gave much-needed clarity to the fintech sector.

The final outcome of the November election will be decided on Jan. 5 in Georgia, with the balance of power in the Senate at stake, as well as at least two years of financial services and technology policy.

The simplest of mechanisms, having evolved over time, has now become a trending solution, a beacon of a brighter time and an essential service provider in an hour of need, says PPS' Tessa Unsworth.

Fundraising platform TapSimple has raised nearly £1 million (U.S. $1.3 million) in an investment round that will help it to continue to develop fundraising activity in what it describes as an increasingly cashless world.

The U.K. Supreme Court has rejected Mastercard’s attempt to force individual lawsuits over claims the card brand overcharged consumers and negatively impacted competition for more than a decade.

As a way to help small businesses maintain COVID-19 social distancing measures, Judopay is using a longer-range QR code that removes the need for any interaction at a point of sale device.

Looking to ease contactless payments for cash wary consumers and businesses, PayPal has launched QR code payment acceptance in its iZettle point-of-sale application for small businesses in the U.K.

Cash is fading in the Middle East, and traditional banks are turning to fintechs to expedite upgrades before challenger banks and digital wallets seize the advantage.

Banking trade organizations are usually cautious about making endorsements. But with Democrats winning the White House and control of Congress on the line in the two races, some groups are pouring in cash for the GOP candidates.