The information you need to start your day, from PaymentsSource and around the web:
Scaling up
Ripple is accelerating its Southeast Asia expansion with a deal to add Singapore-based remittance firm BKK Forex as a partner. Ripple has also hired former Uber and Google exec Brooks Entwistle as managing director for the region.
Entwistle was chief business officer (international) at Uber, where he launched the ride-sharing app in Asian markets. He also spent more than 20 years at Goldman Sachs, serving as partner and chairman of Goldman's Southeast Asia operations.
Walmart versus Google
India's United Payment Interface reported a rare decline in February, dipping to 2.29 billion transactions from 2.3 billion in January. It was the first monthly decline since the height of the initial pandemic wave in April 2020, reports
Walmart's PhonePe grabbed top share with 42.5% of the transaction volume, leading Google Pay with 36%. Paytm was far back in third with 12.6%.
The Indian government is considering
AP card
WePay has partnered with business payment technology firm Nexus to allow small businesses to accept payments through a virtual card.
Called NexusDirect powered by Chase (WePay's owner), the card is designed for micro merchants and sole proprietors in fields such as lawn care, pest management, marketing and other mobile workers. It enables the workers to have payments directly routed to their bank account.
These firms can receive payments without having to supply banking details to each customer or make contact with payment hardware.
Climate crypto
Neptune Digital Assets and Link Global Technologies have agreed to jointly build a bitcoin mining operation partly using green energy in Alberta, Canada.
The facility will use a mix of solar, wind and natural gas, according to
From the Web
REUTERS | Monday, March 22, 2021
Senior Google executive Caesar Sengupta, head of the tech giant's payment initiatives, said on Monday he was leaving the company next month, after 15 years.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL | Sunday, March 19, 2021
WASHINGTON—Cryptocurrency-exchange operator Coinbase Inc. agreed Friday to pay $6.5 million to settle regulatory claims that it reported misleading information about its trading volumes.
REUTERS | Monday, March 22, 2021
Food delivery company Deliveroo could make Britain’s biggest stock market debut since commodities giant Glencore went public nearly a decade ago, after setting a price range on Monday that values it at up to $12 billion.
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There are more reasons to love contactless payments beyond the convenience that it offers consumers as a result of the pandemic. One reason is the extra layers of cybersecurity and fraud controls provided to the customer and the businesses accepting this form of payment.
The deal can potentially boost payments on both sides, but also open new avenues such as merchandising and related content, says Kunai's Tarun Bhasin.
The rise in contactless payment options will not only encourage consumers to return to offices and stores, but also enable them to change their payment habits.
TomoCredit, a San Francisco challenger bank for immigrants and young people, is rolling out a credit card that ditches the FICO score.
Potential central bank digital currencies would need to be integrated into existing payment systems alongside cash and other forms of money, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said.
Some of the biggest names in fintech — including Plaid, Varo and LendingClub — are joining forces to raise their industry’s profile among lawmakers.
Even for well-positioned business innovators, with the best of hands at their disposal, the COVID-19 pandemic arrived to destructive effect. In payments, financial services and other industries, new channels have arrived quickly, opening new opportunities for a different kind of social interaction.
As the fintech industry matures and takes stock of how it has disrupted the banking industry for good, it’s critical we continue placing value on specialization to create a better, customer centric experience for all, says Moorwand's Luc Gueriane.
The scrutiny on installment lenders could prompt them to fine-tune their offerings and diversify into new markets.
In the space of a few weeks, Payoneer announced it would go public through a special purpose acquisition (SPAC) firm, then collaborated with Mastercard on a suite of services for B2B payments.
