The information you need to start your day, from PaymentsSource and around the web:
AI battle
The EU has pledged about $110 million to set up an investment fund to push blockchain and artificial intelligence out of concern the U.S. and China may dominate both markets in the years ahead.
AI and blockchain are both major cogs in e-commerce, mobile payments and cryptocurrency.
The
Penalty pay
Grab has set up a refund system for its Grab Pay wallets to cover a fine for overcharging in the Philippines.
The fine impacts about 3 million rides taken from February to May, reports the
Grab is not contesting the fine, though it does deny overcharging riders, contending uncontrollable issues such as traffic conditions were responsible for the company falling outside of the country's fare matrix.
E-commerce boost
Softbank has led a $140 million investment in VTEX, a company that provides e-commerce functions like online ordering and inventory management, and counts Walmart among its clients.
VTEX specializes in Latin America, but will use the investment to expand to other markets, reports TechCrunch, adding other investors include Gavea Investimentos and Constellation Asset Management.
VTEX's other clients include Levi's Sony, L'Oreal and Motorola, and processes orders for about $2.4 billion in merchandise for more than 2,500 store locations annually.
Not yet in Pakistan
Pakistan is reportedly not in PayPal's international expansion plans for now, a blow to the government's efforts to bring the payment app to the country.
Pakistan's Ministry of Information Technology had hoped to spur cross-border transfers, reports
From the web
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL | Sun November 24, 2019
The parent company of popular Indian mobile-payments startup Paytm said it has secured $1 billion in fresh funds from Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp. and China’s Ant Financial Services Group, giving it more firepower in a fast-growing but crowded market.
YAHOO FINANCE | Sat November 23, 2019
JPMorgan thinks a blockchain can help it keep track of the automobile inventory it finances for car dealers – and prevent them from pledging the same cars for different loans.
THE STRAITS TIMES | Sun November 24, 2019
Using passwords to protect online systems could soon be a thing of the past as other security measures — including biometrics authentication - are gaining favor among tech players.
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