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Siri takes more control: Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference begins Monday, and there's rumors the company will introduce a Siri-controlled speaker, reports Engadget, which said the new speakers would counter Amazon Echo and Google Home, and would likely ship later this year. On iPhones and iPads, Siri has proven to be a popular jumping off point for voice-controlled financial transactions, such as P-to-P transfers supported by the likes of RBC and PayPal. The Siri speaker could additionally manage most of the tasks of the iPhone version of Siri, such as checking weather, playing music, and controlling household functions like turning on and off lights.
A customer uses the new iPhone 5 Siri function at a Telstra store on George Street in Sydney, Australia, on Friday, Sept. 21, 2012. Photographer: Ian Waldie/Bloomberg News ***Local Caption***
Ian Waldie/Bloomberg
Bank boost for remittance: As banks become more interested in the remittance market, remittance gateway bridge21 has added several new financial institutions to its cross-border network. The Denver-based bridge21 has added Bank of America, Citibank, Chase, Fidelity, Navy Federal Credit Union, PNC Bank, SunTrust Bank, TD Bank, U.S. Bank, USAA, Wells Fargo and others. The additions triple bridge21's network. Bridge21 has also integrated with BitGo Instant to speed transaction processing time. The company specializes in the U.S.-to-Mexico corridor, offering services to anyone with a U.S. bank account who wishes to send money to a recipient with a Mexican bank account.
Kids' debit wins over investors: A lot of companies have tried to attract the youngest consumers by offering parental supervised payments, with mixed results. Greenlight Financial Technology, the creator of the Greenlight debit card for kids, has gained enough early traction to lure 7.5 million in seed financing. Relay Ventures led the round, which also included Social Capital, New Enterprise Associates and TTV Capital, reports TechCrunch. The Atlanta-based Greenlight launched in 2017, and is on track to process 1 million transactions this year. Greenlight will use the funding to accelerate plans to hire new engineers, marketers and customer service reps. The company's debit card enables parents to manage their children's spending via a smartphone app, picking stores, setting alerts and freezing the card.
Merchant tech scores at Indian startup camp: Five startups out of a list of 300 applications won the attention of banks in India following Demo Day at Startupbootcamp Mumbai. The event produced a total shortlist of 11 companies, with local corporate backers such as Icici Bank, RBL Bank, Capital First, Icici Lombard and others picking five startups for pilot programs, reports Finextra. The five include Bitgram, a company that uses blockchain to protect data integrity, which will pilot with Icici and RBI banks; Doboz, a retention marketing platform that allows merchants to create loyalty and other marketing programs, which will work with Icici and RBL on testing; Canopi, which has developed technology to enable small businesses to raise working capital using unpaid invoices, which will go into beta with RBL; mTracker, which will test its personal finance app with Icici; and Rupie, a microloan engine for underbanked. RBL will pilot Rupie's technology.
From the Web
Business in the age of Ethereum TechCrunch | Mon Jun 5, 2017 - When Bitcoin burst onto the scene in 2009, it challenged preconceived notions about the limitations of transactions. Fast-forward 8 years, and another platform is dominating the headlines. Ethereum has built on Bitcoin’s potential and is driving a revolution in financial transactions. Ethereum is an open-source platform that facilitates the development of next-generation decentralized applications. It was conceptualized in 2013 by Vitalik Buterin, who at the time was conducting research within the Bitcoin community. Since Buterin’s initial ideation, Ethereum has grown in interest and scale; today it is poised to overhaul open-source development.
Wall Street says PayPal will keep surging due to online payments dominance CNBC | Fri Jun 2, 2017 - Robert W. Baird reiterates its outperform rating, predicting PayPal's earnings will top expectations next year. Baird raises its price target to $59 from $54, representing 11 percent upside from Thursday's close.
Justice Department Drops Antitrust Case Against Amex, But 11 States Press On The Wall Street Journal | Fri Jun 2, 2017 - Attorneys general from 11 states filed a petition Friday afternoon asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review their case against American Express Co., which centers on whether the card company can ban merchants from encouraging consumers to use cards that run on competing networks, like Visa and Mastercard.
Fear of insider payments fraud spikes at U.K. corporations: ReportU.K. corporations are increasingly worried about business payment fraud, and while more than half fear attacks from the outside, concerns over insider fraud have spiked, according to a new report from Bottomline Technologies.
6 ways millennials are changing payments The millennial generation — defined by some as consumers 18 to 36 years old — has shifted the expectations for how banks and retailers approach payments. Here are some of the trends driven by this tech-savvy demographic.
As it rolls out dozens of new products to up its game in stablecoins and artificial intelligence, the payment company is also working with sellers wishing to expand activities involving non-U.S. corridors.
Jim Richards, who served as the bank's head of anti-money-laundering compliance, says the Federal Reserve is wrongfully denying him compensation that was designed to keep him employed at Wells Fargo.
New Jersey-based ConnectOne Bancorp received FDIC approval for its merger with First of Long Island Corp; lending-services fintech Oportun makes changes to its board of directors; Associated Banc-Corp's Steven Zandpour will succeed David Stein as head of consumer and business banking; and more in this week's banking news roundup.
The Trump administration says it will nominate Jonathan McKernan to serve as Treasury undersecretary for domestic finance. McKernan has already been nominated as the next director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
