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Welcome to the new PaymentsSource Morning Briefing, delivered daily. The information you need to start your day, including top headlines from PaymentsSource and around the Web:
Charities lose with cash: Charities that accept only cash donations may be missing more than $100 million each year in the U.K. alone, according to The Telegraph, which cites research from Barclaycard. The study reports 40% of U.K. residents carry less cash than they did three years ago. The financial institution's study comes as it reports a successful test of portable NFC and chip and PIN payment boxes developed in collaboration with Payworks, Miura and Sprout. The trial, which included 11 charities placing boxes in stores or at charity events, raised about $35,000 in one month. The results should also be good news for other banks that have built donation boxes for digital payments and EMV cards.
A Barclays Plc Barclaycard contactless payment machine is seen in a cafe at Dunham Massey in Cheshire, U.K., on Friday, Feb. 11, 2011. Barclays Plc, the first of BritainÕs biggest five banks to report annual earnings, may say profit before one-time gains advanced last year, helped by a decline in writedowns at its investment banking unit. Photographer: Paul Thomas/Bloomberg
Paul Thomas/Bloomberg
Virtual virtual currency: Bitcoin technology company Paxful has launched a widget that people can use to build virtual bitcoin kiosks to digitally accept bitcoin payments over multiple methods. The widget can be embedded in any website, Facebook page, mobile app, or subscriber list and powers bitcoin purchases with more than 300 payment means. The widget's users are connected with bitcoin sellers from around the world, based on their purchasing currency, such as gift cards and debit cards, and the quantity of bitcoin desired.
Apple partners in AI: Payment pros are interested in the development of artificial intelligence as a way to improve marketing, security and other functions, with PayPal among the early adopters. Given the early stage of the technology, Apple has joined the Partnership on Artificial Intelligence, a group that is working on standards and best practices to ensure AI is developed safely, and with access to research among peers as new uses cases for AI develop. The partnership includes companies that are typically rivals, such as Amazon, Google, Facebook and Microsoft.
Former Visa prez Morris starts a new fund: Finextrareports Nyca Partners, a venture capital company started by former Visa president Hans Morris, has raised $125 million for a second fund with the goal of investing in payments, alternative finance and digital advisory services. Morris first started the fintech investment fund in 2014, with an initial $30 million capitalization, to bridge the gap between the heavily regulated banking industry and faster moving financial technology market by encouraging information sharing. "Nyca," which has invested in LendingClub, refers to "New York" and "California," part of a brand meant to evoke a marriage of technology and finance. Morris has also worked in venture capital and was an executive at Citigroup.
Will it be the year of P2P lending in India? The Economic Times of India • Rajat Gandhi The demonetisation exercise has meant returns from bank deposits are at some of its lowest levels, which means as the word gets out, P2P lending will emerge as the most prominent alternative investment opportunity.
WeChat data reveals Chinese passion with monetary gift Xinhua Giving monetary gift through WeChat, China's major instant messaging app, has become a popular holiday custom, with people born in the 1980's being the most active group, according to latest data of WeChat.
More from PaymentsSource
Prepaid card companies awaken to CFPB pressure, want more time The prepaid card industry saw strong growth during the economic downturn, when millions of consumers shut out of traditional banking channels piled into a payments niche that provided easy access with minimal federal protections.
Repealing 'Durbin' would hurt small retailers Wogan S. Badcock III’s family has been selling furniture in the Southeast since 1904. Business is good: Badcock &More has grown to 300 stores in eight states.
7 of Alipay's biggest moves beyond China Alipay's deal to buy MoneyGram for $880 million may be the centerpiece of its strategy to expand beyond China's borders, but it's not its first move in recent months. The Alibaba payments affiliate has already extended its reach in several other ways.
Mastercard teams with Oversight to track government spending Atlanta-based software provider Oversight Systems is working with Mastercard on a solution to help federal agencies ensure U.S. government spending on purchasing cards and other expenses are in compliance with policies.
Baton Rouge-based Business First Bancshares would pad its margin as Louisiana's largest state-chartered bank with an all-stock deal for Progressive Bancorp.
New research from the Federal Reserve Banks of New York and San Francisco says markets put the odds of zero interest rates lower today than in the recent past, but economic uncertainty raises the potential for drastic cuts in the "medium to long term."
The show business-themed restaurant, which benefited from a federal loan near the start of the pandemic, says it now owes millions thanks to the Miami-based bank's "fraud, negligence, and misrepresentations." A BankUnited spokesperson declined to comment.
