7.10.18 Your morning briefing

Enjoy complimentary access to top ideas and insights — selected by our editors.

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

Cash pours into cross-border payments
There's been a lot of investment in international payments to serve travel and cross-border transfers.

Stockholm-based private equity firm EQT is expanding its position in the market by acquiring Banking Circle from Saxo Bank for about $300 million, according to TechCrunch, which pegs the remittance market at nearly $613 billion yearly, citing figures from the World Bank.

Banking Circle processes about $90 billion annually for banks, card brands and payment companies. While many emerging cross-border payment companies are using blockchain to remove overhead and costs from payments, Banking Circle relies on partnerships with local banks for direct clearing, thus removing third parties from processing.

Ulrik Jantzen/Bloomberg

No to pirate payments
A federal court in Florida has granted a restraining order against about three dozen pirate sites, which would impact the sites' domains, advertising and PayPal transactions.

ABS-CBM, a Philippines-based media and entertainment company, claimed the sites were streaming content without permission in the U.S. and other countries, reports TorrentFreak, which adds the company has already won several cases as part of its overall piracy claim.

The order also covers other payment processors and financial institutions, the tech news site reports.

Stability for supply chains
Stablecoins, which are designed to mitigate the volatility of cryptocurrencies, have become a major part of efforts to increase cryptocurrency payments by removing the fear of a transaction having different values at the point of sale and settlement.

MakerDAO, a stablecoin startup, is partnering with Tradeshift to speed and automate small business payments for supply chains and other corporate relationships.

The product will tokenize invoices, then sell the resulting coin to cryptocurrency investors to speed the payments to the billing company, a process that is designed to boost cashflow.

Western Union branches out in Africa
Western Union hopes to take advantage of a fast-growing digital payment market in Africa and respond to myriad mobile money ventures by extending its presence on the ground.

The transfer company has opened a new office in the Ivory Coast. The location will support and expand the 1,600 agent locations as well as focus on increasing relationships with banks and mobile wallet.

Driven by mobile technology and easy access to smartphones, digital payments in Africa have taken hold, creating more competition for traditional providers such as Western Union.

From the Web

Ant Financial sees huge growth for cashless payments in South America, Africa
South China Morning Post | Tue July 10, 2018 - Ant Financial Services, China’s largest online payment operator, sees mobile wallet applications becoming the next big technology trend in the emerging markets of South America and Africa. Kenny Man, head of international investment for Ant Financial, said over the next five years, countries in South America and Africa will be priority for the company’s global partnerships.

Philippine Central Bank Approves Two New Cryptocurrency Exchanges
CCN | Mon July 9, 2018 - The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has approved the accreditation of two new virtual currency exchanges, bringing the total number of regulated crypto exchanges in the country to five. In a statement released by Deputy Governor Chuchi G. Fonacier, the BSP announced that it has granted operating approval to Virtual Currency Philippines, Inc. and ETranss to carry out conversion of Philippine pesos (PHP) into virtual digital currencies.

Earth Dollar and blockchain associations partner to launch global cryptocurrency payment system
Irish Tech News | Mon July 9, 2018 - To jointly deploy a Global Cryptocurrency Payment System (GCPS), the Earth Dollar has recently formed a strategic alliance with the U.S. Blockchain Association, the Nevada Blockchain Association, and other associations worldwide with the goal to bring Cryptocurrencies to point-of-sale locations everywhere, including both brick-and-mortar retailers, as well as online retailers.

More from PaymentsSource

Verifone CEO Galant to step down as private equity takes over
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Can a high-tech piggy bank salvage the youth payments market?
Companies of all sizes have attempted to serve kids and teens with prepaid cards or digital wallets with parental controls, but there are very few success stories. GoSave's twist is that it doesn't make a card or an app the focus of its experience.

Fraudsters are flocking to online/in-store hybrids
Once regarded as a safer option for consumers, BOPIS (buy online and pick up in store) has now joined the ranks of targets that cybercriminals are learning to exploit. It comes down to correctly identifying the shopper, writes Ryan Wilk, vice president of customer success at NuData Security.

An indie film dips into fintech to cut distribution costs
The film industry may be setting new box office records this year, but it still struggles with how to adapt its distribution methods for a digital audience. That's where blockchain — the distributed ledger technology originally developed for bitcoin — plays a starring role.