Ant plans to be a financial holding company; Apple, Epic Games prepare for court

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Ant goes marching on

Ant Group, the Alibaba affiliate behind China's massively popular Alipay wallet, will apply to become a financial holding company overseen by China's central bank, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The People's Bank of China provided a statement saying regulators created a “comprehensive, viable rectification plan,” and Ant representatives were summoned to a Monday meeting that included the country’s banking, securities and foreign exchange overseers, the article said.

Ant agreed to the restructuring plan in February, after halting a planned initial public offering.

Bloomberg

Fee games

The legal fight between Apple and Epic Games over in-app payment policy is scheduled to commence in a California court on May 3, while a legislative effort to curb app store payment tolls has hit a wall in Arizona.

Epic Games, which operates Fortnite, sued Apple and Google after Epic was bounced from both companies' app stores when Epic tried to implement its own payment system.

Epic CEO Tim Sweeney and Apple CEO Tim Cook are both expected to testify virtually at the hearing. Epic will argue that Apple's 30% fee for in-app payments is anti-competitive and should be regulated under antitrust law, reports TechCrunch, citing pre-trial discovery documents that were filed late last week. Apple's counter is it has plenty of competition and that payment fees are not illegal. The technology company is also expected to contend Epic's suit is a publicity stunt.

There have been legislative efforts in Arizona and other states to install an equivalent of the Durbin amendment for app stores that would not ban payment fees, but would require app stores to provide other payment choices. These bills have mostly stalled, with Arizona's Senate pulling the bill just before a recent vote, likely preventing the bill from becoming law this year.

Chip and pen

Swiss pen company Von Moos has developed technology that allows writing utensils to make payments.

The company will install a payment chip in a line of its fountain pens in partnership with wearable technology company Fidesmo, reports Finextra. Fidesmo will tokenize payment cards through its Fidesmo Pay app, allowing the pens to work at any contactless payment terminal.

The concept isn't entirely new. Starbucks introduced pens that can make payments in Japan in 2019.

Crypto roar

New York fintech MoneyLion plans to introduce features that allow users to buy, sell and earn digital currencies, with launch expected later in 2021.

The crypto support includes a strategic investment in Zero Hash, a digital settlement provider, giving MoneyLion a stake in one of the largest cryptocurrency settlement firms.

The product rollout and investment will allow MoneyLion to offer a crypto-based incentive program that's similar to a cashback offer for traditional cards. A planned program called Spending Roundup will allow users to round up debit payments to the nearest dollar through digital currency investments.

State of Denmark

The Nordic API Gateway has connected to Denmark's banking system via BEC Financial Technologies, enabling consumers to view accounts across different banks and make payments from different accounts.

The open banking partnership covers 27 banks and more than 2 million consumers, who can also connect banking accounts to mobile payment apps and other third-party financial services. Nordic API estimates it will cover about a third of Denmark's banking market.

The BEC deal follows other Nordic API partnerships that provide open banking connections for more than 40 additional banks in the Nordic region.

From the web

Alibaba shrugs off $2.75 billion antitrust fine, shares rally
_{REUTERS | Monday, April 12, 2021}
Alibaba does not expect any material impact from the antitrust crackdown in China that will push it to overhaul how it deals with merchants, its CEO said on Monday, after regulators fined the e-commerce giant $2.75 billion for abusing market dominance.

Google is shutting down its iOS and Android Shopping apps
_{ENGADGET | Monday, April 12, 2021}
Google is adding another entry to its app graveyard and this time it's Shopping that's getting the guillotine.

Austin’s newest unicorn: The Zebra raises $150M after doubling revenue in 2020
_{TECHCRUNCH | Monday, April 12, 2021}
The Zebra, an Austin-based company that operates an insurance comparison site, has raised $150 million in a Series D round that propels it into unicorn territory.

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