5.17.19 Your morning briefing

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

New cards hit India
Just a couple of days after Paytm partnered with Citi to launch a credit card in India, ride sharing company Ola has announced a collaboration with the government affiliated SBI to launch the Ola Money SBI card.

The Ola Visa cards won't include joining fees and are designed to support Ola's diversification strategy, reports Gadgets 360 in India. Ola has set a goal of issuing 10 million credit cards in the next three years.

Ola received a fresh $75 million investment this year, and is valued at about $5.7 billion as it competes in the region with Grab, another quickly expanding ride-sharing provider.

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

Google Pay adds incentives in India
India's mix of government support and a large addressable market for digital payments is also attracting Google, which is reportedly moving Google Pay closer to Android apps.

Google is adding in-app engagement incentives to use Google Pay as part of project that's expected to roll out in India later this year, reports TechCrunch.

Google has been working on expanding its payment presence in India, rebranding its payment app Tez and adding support for rail payments.

Busted
U.S. authorities and Europol have halted a malware ring and charged suspects across five countries connected to a scheme to compromise more than 41,000 computers and steal about $100 million.

The suspects used the GozNym malware to lift banking credentials and commit account takeovers, money laundering and payment fraud, reports Engadget, which adds it's unclear how much money the suspects were able to steal.

A total of 10 suspects have been charged, though five are in Russia and remain at large because of the lack of an extradition treaty with the U.S.

Travel pay
Insignia Venture Partners is the lead investor for a $25.5 million pre-Series A funding round in YouTrip, a Singapore-based multi-currency mobile wallet that includes a prepaid Mastercard.

It's one of the pre-Series A rounds for a fintech in Southeast Asia, reports VietnamNews, adding YouTrip's mobile wallet is designed for travelers, supporting payments in more than 150 currencies and is available at more than 30 million merchants that accept Mastercard.

The startup also hopes to reach the Southeast Asian travel market, which has been expanding rapidly over the past several years, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council.

From the Web

Square Spends $20 to Acquire Each New Cash App User
Motley Fool | Thu May 16, 2019 - CFO Amrita Ahuja noted the company's per-customer acquisition cost for Cash App is about $20. Not only is Square attracting consumers at a relatively low price, but it's also growing quickly. The number of users doubled in 2018, reaching 15 million by the end of the year.

Fintech sees a blueprint in RBI’s 3 year payments vision
Economic Times | Fri May 17, 2019 - The Reserve Bank of India’s three-year vision for payments and settlements systems will offer huge opportunities for technology-enabled disruptions in finance, say fintech players. Merchant acquisition of non-banks, participation of private entities in retail payments and a wider push to electronic mandates will open fresh business avenues for fintech startups, they say.

Wells Fargo and Barclays back fintech company OpenFin
Reuters | Fri May 17, 2019 - Financial services software startup OpenFin has raised $17 million in a funding round led by Wells Fargo & Co with participation from Barclays, the company said on Thursday.

More from PaymentsSource

5 questions about the future of blockchain
Although the euphoria over blockchain has dissipated recently, many still see it as vital to the future of banks and the economy at large. Following are key issues being hashed out.

A blockchain startup seeks to duplicate Amazon's control of payment data
A Brooklyn startup predicts a mix of blockchain and AI can give retailers a referral and conversion model like Amazon and eBay, but the merchants will have to cede some data control.

OpenFin raises $17M in funding backed by Wells Fargo, JPMorgan
OpenFin, a fintech that offers an operating system for financial applications, has raised $17 million in Series C funding from banks and fintech investors including Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, Barclays, Bain Capital Ventures and Pivot Investment Partners. This brings its total venture funding to $40 million.

Artificial intelligence is the final straw for B2B checks
If you watch "Saturday Night Live," you may have seen “Cheques,” a recent sketch that embellishes the intrigue behind check writing. With a storyline reminiscent of "Dynasty," the segment casts a sardonic grin at the check in today’s fast-paced, electronic era. But, in its serial drama, SNL left out the biggest offender: the business check writer.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
MORE FROM AMERICAN BANKER