4.2.19 Your morning briefing

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

Cross-border coin
Coinbase is offering a low- or no-fee international payments feature, though with some currency limitations.

The service uses Ripple's XRP and USDC, which was developed by Circle affiliate Centre, reports Coindesk, adding there will be no fees for Coinbase customers and a network fee for people sending outside Coinbase's network.

Coinbase is not offering remittance, but cryptocurrencies with conversions to local currency after the transaction. In countries where Coinbase is not active, there is an additional exchange between XRP or USDC to another exchange that does support local currency.

Michael Short/Bloomberg

New vein
Fingopay will launch its biometric payment system in Manchester, U.K. this summer, providing a view into merchant and consumer appetites for finger payments.

The technology uses vein ID for authentication and payments, and will likely find early adoption at restaurants, hospitality and leisure venues, reports BusinessManchester.

Fingopay has tested finger payments during the past year at the Costcutter supermarket chain and university venues.

Digital garden
Eurazeo Growth, Algae Ventures and Bpifrance Large Venture have invested about $150 million in ManoMano, a French fintech that offers sales, payments and other e-commerce services for small home improvement and gardening businesses that may not have access to digital merchant services.

ManoMano operates primarily in France, and it plans to use the new funds to expand to other markets, reports TechCrunch.

The company also recently started a B2B service for contract workers in the gardening and home improvement space, and plans to expand its fulfillment services.

SMB 'alt' bank
Crosslink Capital has led a $4.8 million funding round in Novo, a digital financial institution that offers digital payments, debit cards and checking.

Much like Simple, Moven and other alternatives to traditional banking that sprung up after the 2008 financial crisis, Novo offers a digital-friendly service mix and markets itself as a rebel against traditional banking, though it relies on an FDIC-insured bank partner — in this case, Middlesex Federal Savings.

Novo also offers data analytics and integration with Stripe, Slack and accounting software.

From the Web

US-China trade war deal could be too late for the likes of Mastercard, American Express and Visa
South China Morning Post | Tue April 1, 2019 - A trade deal between President Xi Jinping and United States counterpart Donald Trump could finally fulfill a long-delayed promise to open up China’s 208.1 trillion yuan (US$31 trillion) market for credit cards and other third-party payment processors to American companies like Mastercard, American Express and Visa.

Identity Theft Services Inefficient at Addressing Data Breach Risks, Watchdog Says
NextGov | Tue April 1, 2019 - The Government Accountability Office is doubling down on its recommendation that Congress reconsider the identity theft insurance it requires federal agencies to offer after data breaches. GAO reviewed documentation and conducted interviews with academic, consumer, government and industry experts to “evaluate issues related to consumers’ options” to address potential harm from data breaches.

Malware may have stolen 2 million US restaurant diners' credit card details
CNet | Tue April 1, 2019 - People who dined at Buca di Beppo, Earl of Sandwich, Planet Hollywood and other restaurants between May 2018 and last month may have been hit by a malware attack, parent company Earl Enterprises said. Details of all the affected restaurants are included in Earl Enterprises' statement, and the company is urging those who think they could've been hit to review their card statements immediately for any strange charges or activity.

More from PaymentsSource

5 ways biometrics are going mainstream for payments
While many Americans and Europeans are comfortable using biometric authentication to access their smartphones and bank accounts, the real leader in biometric adoption for payments is actually the government of India.

Mastercard sees Apple Pay as catalyst for transit payments
Mastercard has spent years attempting to overhaul transit payments to allow riders to pay with a contactless credit or debit card. This time around, it expects Apple Pay to play a significant role.

Toast raises $250 million to improve restaurant payments, management
Restaurant point of sale and back-office management provider Toast raised $250 million in a Series E funding round, valuing the company at $2.7 billion, and is adding David Yuan from TCV to its board of directors.

Sluggish banks are losing ground in the POS lending game
Banks have been in the lending business forever, but they’ve been slow to adjust to the fact that customers are no longer only relying on them to secure a loan.