Grab gets $300M for financial services expansion; Visa takes part in Minna investment

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

Finance for financial services

South Korean asset management firm Hanwha led a $300 million investment in Singapore ride-hailing app Grab, which is building services to sell to its considerable enrolled user base. Other VCs such as K3 Ventures, GGV Capital, Arbor Ventures and Flourish Ventures were also in on the round.

Grab's valuation passed $3 billion, according to the Financial Times. Grab's fintech division is targeting Southeast Asia's underbanked population with a suite of financial products, spurred by a coveted Singapore banking license.

The license allows Grab to pursue a model similar to Apple Card, combining mass enrollment, account opening, card issuance and banking. Grab has more than 187 million users and Singtel, the Singapore-based telco that's Grab's partner in the financial services project, has more than 700 million users.

Bloomberg

Subscriber offer

Visa and a group of VCs including Element Ventures and Nineyards Equity have poured about $19 million into Minna, a Swedish startup that allows consumers to use their bank's app to manage subscriptions.

Minna's app terminates and onboards subscriptions, cutting or establishing data and financial links between merchants and consumers automatically, according to TechCrunch.

Minna has signed deals with Lloyds, Swedbank and ING thus far, giving it a route to tap into the popularity of digital subscriptions, which have grown during the pandemic.

Building blocks

Cryptocurrency exchange Gemini has bought Blockrize, providing access to a pending credit card and incentives that pay out in crypto.

Blockrise has 10,000 users on the waiting list for the card, which will launch this year under Gemini's brand, reports Finextra. Gemini has started its own waiting list for the card.

Cardholders will earn 3% back on purchases in bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, with the crypto deposited into Gemini accounts.

Checking in

Payment IT company ITT Data and Confirma have collaborated on a feature that supports virtual payments for hotels in an effort to eliminate contact or interaction with a hotel's front desk.

Hotel reception desks will be directed to a billing portal to confirm rooms that are booked with digital payments. Staff will avoid manually processing payments or entering key card numbers into terminals.

The pandemic hit the travel industry hard, with virtual cards playing an increasing role for both airlines and hotels to encourage contactless transactions.

From the web

Google is testing the ability to shop directly from YouTube videos
_{ENGADGET | Thursday, January 14, 2021}
YouTube is testing a streamlined way to buy items that are used or mentioned on your favorite channels. The service says that creators who are part of the pilot can include certain products in their videos. If you click or tap on a shopping bag icon in the bottom left of the screen, YouTube will display a list of the featured items.

Instacart will give shoppers $25 when they take time off to get the coronavirus vaccine
_{THE VERGE | Thursday, January 14, 2021}
Instacart will give its shoppers — the workers who pick and fill grocery store orders for customers — a $25 stipend for the time they take off to get a coronavirus vaccine, the company announced Thursday.

Google closes Fitbit deal as U.S., Australia probes continue
_{REUTERS | Thursday, January 14, 2020}
Search and advertising giant Google closed its deal to buy fitness tracking company Fitbit, the companies said on Thursday, even as U.S. and Australian competition regulators said they were continuing probes of the $2.1 billion transaction.

More from PaymentsSource

As stablecoins gain footing, Circle sees a path to growth
Fresh market interest and government action have created a chance for payment technology providers like Circle to promote blockchain-powered transactions.

Fintechs rise in value but should be prepared for scrutiny
While fintech's advancement creates a pathway for innovation, it also expands exposure to unintended risk, says Flywire's Mike Massaro.

Startup goes beyond payments as market demands more digital services
What started as Mezu and went through 18 difficult months competing as a payments offering has now rebranded as Alviere, with a broader range of digital banking services.

Visa: COVID-19 payment habits may be here to stay
Most consumers expect to be offered a variety of digital payment options in stores in a post-COVID-19 world, and small and midsize businesses believe that change will be permanent, a Visa study finds.

Upgrade launches mobile banking and debit card with 2% cash back
Upgrade, the San Francisco-based online lender and card issuer founded by Renaud Laplanche, is launching a mobile app, checking account and debit card.

Cashless leaves unbanked behind, but it doesn't have to
While there are many pros in moving toward a cashless society, the shift raises the question: Where does this leave the 55 million Americans who are unbanked or underbanked and rely on cash for daily essentials?

In bid to buy Cardtronics, NCR aims to reinvent the ATM
CEO Michael Hayford wants to transform Cardtronics' ATM fleet into a distribution network for fintech services. But first he has to persuade the company to accept his offer.

Self-serve payments need an up-front dose of automation
Self-service payments require investment by the biller, but the payoffs can be huge, says PayNearMe's John Minor.

Visa's plan to move on from Plaid
After calling off its bid to buy the data aggregator Plaid, Visa is shifting its focus back to its role as an enabler of digital payments and related services.

Worldline launches payments data service through Ingenico engine
With data collection and analysis becoming a vital aspect of digital payment methods, Worldline is launching its first data-as-a-service dashboard as Ingenico Insight.