Morning Brief 9.26.19: Rabobank, Mastercard make an agriculture financial inclusion play

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

On the farm

Rabobank and Mastercard will provide a digital payment and financial platform for farmers in Africa and India, in an effort to streamline financial transactions for a troubled industry.

Mastercard will provide mobile payments and transaction records through an existing farm network, while Rabobank will provide financial services.

Funding sustainable farming in emerging markets is a $2.5 trillion opportunity, according to BNP Paribas, which is also active in the sector. The National Academy of Sciences warns that up to a third of crop yields in emerging markets are threatened by climate change and financial challenges.

Daniel Acker/Bloomberg

On TV

India's first video on demand platform, SonyLIV, has signed a deal with PayPal to support payments for shows, sports, news and other content.

The deal covers both Indian shows and programming from the U.K. and U.S., reports IndianTelevision. It follows a trend in India to more closely tie digital entertainment with online checkout. Paytm, for example, has added a movie ticketing feature to its mobile payment app.

It's also a way for PayPal to extend its reach in India, where it's in competition with myriad local and external firms to build digital payments in a largely cash-based economy.

Amazon specs

Amazon has developed Echo Frames, which are Alexa-powered glasses that can be paired with a smartphone to help calculate information related to transactions, such as computing a tip amount.

Echo Frames do not have a camera or a display like Google Glass, reports TechCrunch, and can come with a prescription or without. Amazon announced the glasses, and the Echo Loop (an Alexa-enabled ring), at a hardware event on Wednesday. Both products will be released on a limited basis later this year. Loop will sell for about $100 and the smart glasses will cost about $180.

Both pieces of hardware fit with a larger Amazon strategy to extend where consumers can access the e-commerce site and its related technology, including more in-home innovation such as smart doorbells.

Auto race

Daimler has accelerated its strategy to combine blockchain payments with automotive technology by adding parts to electric charging.

The automaker uses the Marco Polo Trade Finance network to process transactions with Durr, a German engineering firm, reports Coindesk.

Marco Polo's blockchain reconciles with pre-negotiated terms and data, automatically triggering the payment.

From the web

Crypto payments coming to 25,000 French retailers in 2020
_{COINGEEK | Wed September 25, 2019}
Consumers in France are reportedly set to enjoy a boom in cryptocurrency support, following the announcement of plans for 25,000 retail points of sale to onboard crypto payments in 2020. The crypto payments will be available through 30 major French retailers, providing consumers with a point of access for crypto payments—many for the first time.

Checkout.com, Europe’s Fastest-growing Payment Processor, Awarded E-Money Institution Licence in France
_{YAHOO FINANCE | Wed September 25, 2019}
Checkout.com has been awarded a licence as an E-Money Institution in France. The Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution (ACPR), the regulatory arm of the Banque de France, approved the company licence for the London-based tech business which announced a record-breaking Series A fundraise of $230m earlier this year.

Hackers looking into injecting card stealing code on routers, rather than websites
_{ZDNET | Wed September 25, 2019}
Security researchers at IBM have found evidence that hackers have been working on creating malicious scripts they can deploy on commercial-grade "Layer 7" routers to steal payment card details. This discovery is a game-changer in what researchers call Magecart attacks, also known as web skimming. These are attacks where hackers plant malicious code on an online store that records and steals payment card details.

More from PaymentsSource

Johnson and Trump's political crises place fresh pressure on fintechs
Politics have become a major pain point in advancing financial and payment innovation, particularly for companies seeking international partnerships and acquisitions. This week's direct threats to the Trump presidency and Boris Johnson's tenure as prime minister of the U.K. create an extra layer of uncertainty, if not outright instability.

GOP senators skeptical of Fed's faster payments network
WASHINGTON — As big banks and the Federal Reserve lock horns over a government-backed faster payments system, Republicans senators are sounding the alarm about potential complications with the Fed holding the reins.

How The Clearing House is paving Zelle's path to the point of sale
The Clearing House is working to add its Real-Time Payments (RTP) network as a third payment rail for Early Warning Services’ Zelle P2P payments service and to enable Zelle bill pay and possibly point of sale transactions.

Visa creates fintech portal
Visa has launched an online portal for fintechs to explore payments technology and find resources such as shortcuts to applying for fintech licenses.