8.23.19 Your morning briefing

The information you need to start your day, from PaymentsSource and around the Web:

Coupon shopping

Amazon has taken a 49% stake in Future Coupons (a subsidiary of Future Group, India's second largest retail chain), in an effort to accelerate loyalty cards, gift cards and other incentive marketing.

The deal is designed to enhance Amazon's existing payment technology investments in India, reports TechCrunch, noting Amazon has invested more than $6 million overall in India's internet industry.

Amazon also recently partnered with Axis Bank in India to issue UPI IDs to link bank accounts to the Amazon app.

Simon Dawson/Bloomberg

Cross-border rate battle

Ripple has gained a following over the past few years by using blockchain to cut steps out of international transactions to cut costs, and is accelerating that strategy by adding an online payment service that charges no fees in certain circumstances.

Xendpay has joined RippleNet, extending its "Pay What You Want" service to new corridors, mostly in Southwest Asia. Pay What You Want waives all fees for transfers up to $2,500 per year, an offer that's helped Xendpay build a base of micro-merchants and migrant communities.

Ripple recently extended its blockchain to streamline cross-border payment settlement for MoneyGram, and also took a $30 million stake in the company, with an option to buy more.

More pressure to ease PSD2 deadlines

Tink, an open banking platform, is asking the National Competent Authorities, or the national commissions that oversee PSD2 in EU countries, to be flexible on the September 14 strong authentication deadline that most firms likely won't meet.

U.K. authorities have already delayed the authentication deadline at least 18 months, while other European governing bodies have expressed a willingness to extend the deadlines in certain circumstances, provided the company has a detailed roadmap.

Strong/multifactor authentication is considered a key element in protecting e-commerce, mobile and real-time payments.

New lease on mobile rent

Point of sale and mobile payment technology developer Net Element has collaborated with property management firm VIP Systems to produce Internet of Things payment services for rental properties.

The two companies are attempting to combine rental payments, utility bills, service requests, deliveries and supply ordering through a single app that connects tenants, property managers, utilities and local businesses that serve properties, such as repair centers or landscapers. There's also links to food and grocery ordering and delivery through the same app.

Rent has traditionally lagged other payment types in migrating away from checks, often leading payment companies to tie other services to the payment to encourage adoption.

From the Web

Rwanda’s central bank researching official digital currency
_{YAHOO FINANCE | Thu August 22, 2019}
The National Bank of Rwanda, Rwanda's central bank, is researching ways to issue its own digital currency. According to Peace Masozera Uwase, the bank's Financial Stability Director-General, it plans to learn from the experience of other nations' central banks such as Canada, Singapore, and the Netherlands when researching the use cases of blockchain technology.

BitGo Launches Multi-Signature Wallet and Custody for EOS
_{YAHOO FINANCE | Thu August 22, 2019}
BitGo announced support for multi-signature EOS wallet and custody services. BitGo now supports over 200 coins and tokens enabling institutional clients to hold a broad array of assets. The EOS token is one of the top 10 digital assets by market capitalization, and is used on the largest public blockchain that utilizes the EOSIO blockchain open sourced software, a blockchain protocol focused on transaction speed and scaling for distributed applications.

RBI cuts a cheque for ePay companies with recurring payments
_{ECONOMIC TIMES | Fri August 23, 2019}
Digital payment companies like Paytm, Razorpay and card schemes like Visa, Mastercard are eyeing new avenues of business as the Reserve Bank of India has allowed consumers to make recurring payments of up to Rs 2,000 by giving an e-mandate from next month.

More from PaymentsSource

Can contactless cards bring riders back to Miami's subways?
Miami’s mass transit system is adding contactless card payments on its Metrorail service as it combats ridership decline.

Europe's PSD2 delay puts more pressure on 3-D Secure 2.0
Banks, for the most part, have not advanced their core digital technologies as quickly as payments networks and disruptors ahead of the original PSD2 deadline. And the European Banking Authority has also cited the payments networks for not advancing the 3D Secure 2.0 online authentication model far enough to comply with PSD2 provisions.

Telia tests 5G and face payments with Finland's OP Bank
In a double-teamed effort to showcase new technologies, Finnish telecom operator Telia demonstrated the use of 5G wireless service in an open-to-the-public face payments pilot with OP Bank.

Poor onboarding suggests equally bad security
Onboarding is a particularly key early engagement for customers. It can include crucial, make-or-break moments for companies.