1.11.19 Your morning briefing

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

Investors hail Ola's ride sharing, payment app
Ola, an Indian ride hailing app that also offers services such as mobile payments and ordering, is now valued at $6 billion, following a new $75 million investment from existing backer Steadview Capital.

The investment isn't large, but signals further funding for Ola, which was valued at $4.3 billion at the end of 2017, according to TechCrunch, which adds the company's current valuation is about $5.7 billion.

Ola's quick rise is comparable to Grab, another regional ride sharing app that has picked up investment as it has diversified into financial services.

OlaBL
A pedestrian walks past an advertisement for the Ola ride-hailing service and application, owned by ANI Technologies Pvt., in New Delhi, India, on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2015. Ola, the operator of an Indian taxi-hailing app, will lease cars to boost the number of vehicles in its network to stave off competition from Uber Technologies Inc. Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg
Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg

Mobile funds race
German mobile bank N26 has raised $300 million from Insight Venture Partners and other firms, bringing it valuation to $2.7 billion.

N26 has grown quickly through support for emerging payment technology — it's helped Apple Pay expand in Europe — and its latest round allows it to jump past rival Revolut's $1.7 billion valuation, according to Forbes.

Both Revolut and N26 have been aggressively expanding beyond payments by adding more financial services, and plotting geographic moves into the U.S. and elsewhere.

Brexit shuffle
London fintech TransferWise has applied for a transfer license in Europe and will open an office in Brussels to ensure it can continue operating if there is a "no deal" hard Brexit in March.

The cross-border payment company will keep its presence in London, but will house a small staff as a local hedge, reports the Financial Times.

TransferWise offers what it calls a borderless account to power international transactions and support banking in multiple countries.

Less bikes
WeChat has dumped bike rental service Mobike from its in-app wallet feature, putting up an extra barrier for users.

The move is due to the expiration of a partnership between the tech firms, reports TechNode, which adds riders can still use WeChat's QR code function to access Mobike.

WeChat still supports Didi's ride hailing platform and the JD e-commerce marketplace, according to TechNode.

From the Web

Secret Service: Theft Rings Turn to Fuze Cards
Krebs on Security | Thu January 10, 2019 - Street thieves who specialize in cashing out stolen credit and debit cards increasingly are hedging their chances of getting caught carrying multiple counterfeit cards by relying on Fuze Cards, a smartcard technology that allows users to store dozens of cards on a single device, the U.S. Secret Service warns.

People are panicking because they can't report identity theft during government shutdown
Yahoo Finance | Thu January 10, 2019 - As the federal government enters its third week of a partial shutdown, many people have taken to social media to voice their displeasure about the state of affairs. With many government agencies closed, Americans are airing their discontent over the inability to report instances of identity theft.

Update: Feds, Financial Crimes Task Force Investigating Alleged Identity Theft Ring in Keller, Three Arrested
NBC | Thu January 10, 2019 - Federal agents and members of the North Texas Financial Crimes Task Force raided a home in Keller Thursday morning, as they investigate an alleged identity theft ring. Officials have not released many specifics about the case, but in a news release, said it involves the "fraudulent use of credit card information throughout the region."

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