The information you need to start your day, from PaymentsSource and around the Web:
'Very, very illegal'
Ahmad "Andy" Khawaja has reportedly profited from routing "dubious" businesses by credit card and banking rules via his company, Allied Wallet. He then used some of the profits to make millions of dollars in political donations to Hillary Clinton before switching to Donald Trump, reports the
Khawaja initially donated to $4 million to Democrats, including Hillary Clinton, during the 2016 election cycle, according to the AP; then donated to Republicans after the election, including a $1 million donation to Trump's inauguration committee.
Does Paytm have an AML problem?
The Reserve Bank of India has asked Paytm Bank to stop onboarding new customers after making "observations" about Paytm's customer acquisition and Know Your Customer adherence, reports
Paytm's reported ban follows a similar ban against Airtel Payments Bank, which ended about a month ago.
The reserve bank is reportedly concerned about Paytm's data storage security. Paytm is often the subject of political disputes in
$1 billion fare
Asian ride hailing app Grab has drawn a fresh $1 billion investment from a group of mostly U.S.-based investors, reports
Grab will reportedly use the funds to expand its myriad initiatives that it's adding to Grab's core car service app.
The new investment follows another $1 billion infusion from
Google Pay picks up turf
Fresh off news of
The additions follow several strategic moves
FX marketing crackdown
The U.K.'s Financial Conduct Authority is tightening marketing restrictions for fintech payment services that include currency conversions as part of their services.
The new exchange disclosure rules will fall under general regulations for payment services and electronic money transfer companies.
From the Web
USA Today | Wed August 1, 2018 - Supermarket chain Kroger is considering expanding a ban on Visa credit cards, which it will soon stop accepting at Foods Co. stores in California. Foods Co., part of Kroger's California-based Food 4 Less Stores subsidiary, says 21 supermarkets and five gas stations in central and northern California no longer will accept Visa credit cards starting Aug. 14.
Los Angeles Times | Wed August 1, 2018 - Corporate America’s love affair with all things blockchain may be cooling. A number of software projects based on the distributed ledger technology will be wound down this year, according to Forrester Research Inc.
TechCrunch | Wed August 1, 2018 - European consumer electronics retailer Dixons Carphone’s apologetic admission yesterday that a 2017 data breach was in fact considerably worse than it first reported suggests disclosures of major breaches could get a bit more messy — at least under the early reign of the region’s tough new data protection framework, GDPR — as organizations scramble to comply with requirements to communicate serious breaches “without undue delay”.
More from PaymentsSource
Sensing an opportunity in the small business credit card market, Stripe is setting out to outflank big banks by offering APIs to enable its clients to issue their own physical and virtual credit cards.
As busy consumers with on-the-go lifestyles, we are always looking for ways to save time and simplify our daily routines, from finding the fastest route for our commutes, the shortest line at the grocery store, or the easiest way to order ahead.
Mobile e-commerce is growing fast, and online retail fraud levels are keeping pace with this expanded sales volume.
London-based fintech Flux is leveraging open banking and PSD2 to work with U.K. banks and retailers to give their customers paperless receipts, digital loyalty stamps and digital cashback offers.
