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Mastercard boosts Apple Pay in Spain: Apple Pay's global expansion has been incremental, at times contentious, and has often lacked local bank support. Its move into Spain appears to be a bit smoother, as Apple has lined up support from Mastercard and Banco Santander, the credit card network announced. Macrumors reports Apple has also lined up support from American Express, the retail chain Carrefour and the prepaid company Ticket Restaurant. Apple Pay went live in Spain on Dec. 1, making it the 13th country to support Apple's mobile payment app.
A sign for the launch of the Apple Pay system, by Apple Inc. is seen on the side of a payment device at a Pret A Manger Ltd store in London, U.K., on Tuesday, July 14, 2015. Apple Inc. is making the U.K. the first market outside the U.S. for its digital-wallet system as the company fights for a place in the electronic-payments industry. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg
Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg
Will AI aid health care payments?: A government program may demonstrate the utility of artificial intelligence and bots for streamlining health care treatment and payments. The Department of Veterans Affairs and Flow Health are collaborating on a medical knowledge graph that uses AI to customize health plans for veterans based on need, and tracks treatment plans, funding and execution, reports Engadget. The tech site says the program could provide a model for the private sector health care industry, which is struggling to adjust to the spread of consumer direct plans and a changing regulatory environment. Financial institutions and payment companies, including First Data and PNC, are making investments in emerging technology that aims to streamline health care record keeping and payments.
Lithuania gets in line for Brexit recruiting: More countries trying to lure financial technology companies from the U.K. in the wake of its vote to leave the European Union. The Bank of Lithuania, Invest Lithuania and and Lithuanian law firm Sorainen plan to attend an event next week at the U.K. accelerator facility Level39. The Lithuanian parties are offering fast pre-approval for companies authorized by U.K. regulators and a three-month wait for a full Lithuanian license. The government is also offering a regulator-operated application programming interface to SEPA for nonbanks.
Virtual gaming gets a new market: Gaming has contributed a variety of innovations to the payments industry, and startup Naga hopes to join the list. The financial technology company is collaborating with Deutsche Borse to launch Switex, a joint venture that will provide a platform to execute trading and transactions on gaming platforms. Finextra reports the companies hope to tap a $46 billion global market for gaming transactions, adding the Deutsche Borse exchange has been looking to collaborate with fintech firms on new ventures, setting up a venture fund in June and touting its experience as a market infrastructure provider.
Connecticut Innovations Invests $1.5M in Fintech Company Dream Payments Crowdfund Insider • Samantha Hurst Connecticut Innovations (CI) announced on Thursday it invested $1.5 million in Dream Payments, a fintech company that provides a cloud-based mobile payment platform for merchants and financial institutions. CI stated that the $1.5 million investment will help to further fuel the growth.
How a point-of-sale system can help your business thrive MyVenturePad • Smith Big Last impressions are just as important as first. Think about it. A customer comes into your store. You help them find the right party dress or make them a cappuccino with the perfect smiley face or help them select the best motor.
Starbucks CEO Schultz to step down from role, replaced by COO Johnson Starbucks Corp.’s Howard Schultz, who built the coffee empire over the past three decades and served two separate stints as chief executive officer, will step down next year, handing the reins to technology veteran Kevin Johnson.
The Texas attorney general has accused WEX Bank of "debanking" a firearm supplier, but the Maine-based bank said it does not discriminate against any industry.
Der Spiegel and other European publications say the company continued to serve porn sites and money launderers even after regulators cracked down on it.
Regulators proposed a rule to replace the 2% enhanced supplementary leverage ratio with a capital charge equal to half of a bank's global systemically important bank surcharge. Low-risk assets will continue to count toward leverage requirements under the proposal.
As the Federal Reserve considers changes to the supplemental leverage ratio, Fed Board Chair Jerome Powell said that effort is one piece of a broader deregulation package that will also address the Basel III capital rules.
