The information you need to start your day, from PaymentsSource and around the web:
Turning a corner
Facebook Libra's rough start hasn't been limited to
In a bit of a counternarrative, Jason Kelly, IBM's general manager of blockchain services, told
The idea of a partnership is extremely early stage; the IBM exec was speaking generally and Libra doesn't exist yet. But IBM has worked with
Scaring up business
Mastercard's new advertising campaign uses a horror film-style trailer to draw attention to e-commerce and other online payments.
Produced with McCann Worldgroup and other agencies, the spots feature horror film entertainers who get stranded in a jungle, then later a ghost house, where they fight back against the ghosts. The tie-in to payments is that e-commerce can be used, "no matter the situation," reports
The campaign is initially aimed at Indonesia, where the government has embarked on an effort to expand digital payments. That program has also attracted
Delay for China crypto?
China's government is deflecting reports that it will soon launch a digital currency to counter
The People's Bank of China referred to a November launch date as inaccurate speculation and added the government will issue an official statement on timing, reports
The government did confirm the currency project, saying it will be backed by state credit and usable at retailers in China as a payment option.
Insolvent
Glint's troubles come just a few weeks after launching in the U.S., and about a year after its debut in Europe, reports
The company's model was to use gold to hedge against inflation by holding it in a Swiss depository. Consumers would own shares of the gold and spend the value through the debit card.
From the web
BUSINESS TIMES | Mon September 23, 2019
A private-sector study found that annual transactions in mobile payments in China reach 178 trillion yuan ($25.1 trillion). Internet giants Alibaba and Tencent Holdings, with each having about 1 billion users of their payment platforms, is responsible for 90% of the mainland's mobile transactions making them major influencers in this new financial structure.
THE GUARDIAN | Mon September 23, 2019
Labor will oppose a government push to expand the controversial cashless welfare card and extend existing trial sites, saying it will only support income management if the scheme is made voluntary.
FINANCIAL TIMES | Tue September 24, 2019
Alibaba has won the green light for the proposed restructuring of its relationship with payments affiliate Ant Financial, more than 18 months after unveiling the deal, and just weeks after chairman Jack Ma bowed out. The deal will see Alibaba swap its profit-sharing arrangement with Ant Financial for a 33 percent stake in the group, which was valued at $150bn following a fund-raising in June last year.
More from PaymentsSource
Boosted by companies like Klarna, Affirm and Splitit, payment installment plans have become a popular alternative to credit card debt for consumers — and business transactions are the next target.
The founders of Kabbage, a fintech specializing in small business lending, announced Monday that they've formed a new startup focusing on helping small businesses connect with influencers and gig workers.
When the payments industry's decision makers gathered in Los Angeles at SourceMedia's annual PayThink conference, certain topics dominated the discussion.
Fair Isaac Corp. has added a platform alongside its 25-year-old FICO Falcon fraud-detection solution for credit and debit cards that aims to ferret out risky and fraudulent real-time payments.
