The information you need to start your day, from PaymentsSource and around the web:
Digital relationship management
Facebook will allow businesses to manage Instagram messages through third-party apps, part of an
The Instagram API update is designed to improve CRM by tracking shopping, payment and loyalty transactions alongside a user's messages, reports
Additionally, the API will centralize messages from Shops, Stories and other parts of Instagram. An earlier feature of Facebook's project, deployed in September, allowed consumers to post content across Facebook, Instagram and Messenger, creating a seamless checkout experience.
Pacific crossing
MoneyGram and PayMaya Philippines have co-launched a mobile feature that allows consumers in the U.S. to send funds to the Philippines via Visa Direct's push payment rail.
Visa Direct has been part of MoneyGram's efforts to reduce reliance on physical agent locations in favor of digital transactions over the past few years. The migration can also save costs as overall remittance flows decline during the pandemic.
The Philippines is expected to be one of the hardest hit countries in
All in one
Curve has hired cloud-powered bank technology firm Thought Machine to run Curve's lending and credit service.
Curve's core business is an all-in-one card that combines several accounts and allows users to retroactively change the card for a purchase through a "back in time" feature. It also supports most of the
The company's credit product will allow borrowers to pay in three, six, or nine-month installments. The back in time function will allow credit to be applied to different card accounts over time.
Government job
The Bank of Canada is recruiting an expert on economics, digital currency and financial technology as part of its research into a potential central bank digital currency and the broader impact of fintech, digital payments and financial intermediation.
The job's responsibilities include monitoring crypto exchanges and cryptocurrencies. The central bank is looking for someone with knowledge of bitcoin and ethereum, reports
Dozens of countries are considering central bank digital currencies, with China likely the closest to launch. Most of the projects have the growth of stablecoins and cryptocurrency in mind, with the central bank currencies designed to curb the influence of crypto on traditional monetary policy.
From the web
YAHOO FINANCE UK | Tuesday, October 20, 2020
“King Cash” is being slowly dethroned across the European Union, according to a new survey from ING bank. The study found that even Germany’s famous addiction to paying with cash has deteriorated during the COVID-19 pandemic, by an amount that would have normally taken a generation.
TECHCRUNCH | Tuesday, October 20, 2020
Open banking enables bank-to-bank payments, meaning that (in theory) merchants should be able to accept payments without having to hand over fees to Visa or Mastercard or other payment providers, such as Stripe.
TECHCRUNCH | Monday, October 19, 2020
A startup that is aiming to digitize millions of neighborhood stores in Bangladesh just raised the country’s largest Series A financing round.
More from PaymentsSource
Capital markets play a key role in a modern economy because they move money, stocks or bonds from people who have them to those who need them to execute trades, secure equities or invest. But as core a function as this is, it hasn't been very fast.
Alipay’s assembling a portfolio to stitch together a multinational financial services ecosystem. The mobile payments titan’s IPO will provide an enormous war chest to develop new services, turbocharge international expansion, and fund acquisitions, says Intrepid Ventures' Eric Grover.
Fewer consumers are relying on physical banks to get payment cards, giving Visa and Mastercard an incentive to bet on technology that expedites the work of neobanks and fintechs.
Citigroup said Monday that it is now offering transgender customers the option to use their chosen first name on branded credit cards.
If the advent and eventual rise of big tech has taught the financial industry one thing, it’s that vital customer data equals dollar signs.
In too many places, identity verification and other vetting is still done manually, says Signicat's John Erik Setsaas.
Online fraud typically spikes when holiday shopping begins in November, but so-called friendly fraud poses another big threat this year with the pandemic pushing more consumers — and inexperienced merchants — to online sales channels.
MagicCube has launched i-Accept, a software-based replacement for traditional terminals, allowing acquiring banks and financial services providers to offer merchants an option for contactless and PIN payment acceptance through Android devices.
With the U.K. careening toward a no-deal Brexit in the midst of a health crisis and economic downturn, the government is suggesting a breakup with the EU could defray the costs of cash usage and access.
