The information you need to start your day, from PaymentsSource and around the Web:
AI map
IBM Watson AI, which is already supporting
IBM is co-developing a transportation planning product with SEAT, a Spanish subsidiary of Volkswagen Group. Called Mobility Advisor, it uses a voice interface to help city residents make decisions about what mode of transportation to use. It incorporates past transportation usage and transactions, combined with traffic reports, to map out a path for the user.
The partnership also includes a potential integration with Justmoove, SEAT's payment app.
Evolution?
Almost two years after calling bitcoin a "fraud," JPMorgan Chase CEO
Dimon, who also lamented JPMorgan Chase lagging
The comments aren't a full "softening," since JPMorgan Chase has not publicly announced any consumer use for JPM Coin, which is being tested within a closed group of corporate clients. Bitcoin, by comparison, is an open public cryptocurrency.
Crypto regs
Bahrain's central bank has issued rules governing a range of cryptocurrency activities, such as licensing, security and governance.
The government is making the move to attract new financial and technology business as Bahrain tries to regain its status as a financial services power in the Middle East, reports
The news site also reports Bahrain is one of the few local countries to have a formal regulatory structure in place for bitcoin and other virtual currencies.
Jumping the turnstile
Transit operators can install Visa SAM (Secure Access Module), which is based on EMV contactless technology, directly into ticketing and turnstile systems. This is designed to to avoid rip and replace projects at transit operators.
Visa is also partnering with Ingenico for an initial deployment with Metro Rio in Brazil in April, according to a release.
Cut creator
Facebook's new fan subscriptions feature will take as much as 30 percent of the subscription revenue minus fees.
That compares to Patreon, which charges 5 percent; and possibly less than YouTube, which charges 30 percent but covers ancillary fees, reports
Fees are often controversial for crowdsourced artist subscription payment sites. Patreon walked back some fees after site
From the Web
South China Morning Post | Tue February 26, 2019 - Despite escalating tensions between the US and China over trade and technology, Chinese companies accounted for nearly half of all fintech investments globally last year, according to a new report by the consulting firm Accenture.
Forbes | Tue February 26, 2019 - In Europe, and especially the UK and Sweden, customers are increasingly looking for faster ways to check out when they pay for goods. Mash, a Finnish-based payments company is offering a ‘third way to pay’ at check-outs aside from credit cards and cash.
Forbes | Tue February 26, 2019 - Enterprises who are prioritizing privileged credential security are creating a formidable competitive advantage over their peers, ensuring operations won’t be interrupted by a breach. However, there’s a widening gap between those businesses protected from a breach and the many who aren’t.
More from PaymentsSource
Walmart will offer its customers point-of-sale loans for the first time — both on its website and in nearly 4,000 U.S. stores — under a partnership with Silicon Valley lender Affirm.
Amazon, Accenture and Mastercard are using digital identity, blockchain and mobile payments to crack a window into sustainability and inclusion, but they’re also gaining potential retail benefits by capturing consumers who crave information about the origin of products.
German payments company heidelpay has made a series of recent deals to diversify its merchant appeal, including this week's agreement to buy digital point of sale terminal seller Alpha-Cash Payment GmbH.
Mobile payments adoption is patchy, but it's getting a higher profile in social media.
Jamie Dimon confessed on Tuesday to having a little bit of Square envy.
