Morning Brief 11.15.19: Target expands same-day delivery via Shipt unit

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

Delivery battle

Target has integrated Shipt into its mobile app, supporting same-day delivery as Amazon and Walmart both aggressively expand fast delivery to streamline the "last mile" of service that follows ordering and payment online.
Target acquired Shipt about two years ago in anticipation of building out its delivery service. Shipt primarily focused on groceries, though Target hopes to expand merchandise, reports TechCrunch.
Target has placed more than 65,000 items on its same-day delivery list, including toys, baby care, kitchen supplies and other household items.

VICTORIA AROCHO/VICTORIA AROCHO

API-powered

Spreedly, a Durham, N.C., payments software company launched in 2007, has won its first large VC funding with a $75 million investment from Spectrum Equity. Spreedly’s tools enable online and mobile businesses to capture and store tokenized payment card data in Spreedly’s vault to transact across many payment gateways and third-party APIs.

The company will use the capital to accelerate product development and expand its existing cross-border payment capabilities for clients including Hopper, Chargebee and SeatGeek, according to a press release.

New Singapore bankers?

Stored value card company EZ-Link and furniture manufacturer Ron Sim are among the parties pursuing one of the new banking licenses that Singapore plans to issue.
Sim's Singapore-based company, V3 Group, is in discussions with Heliconia Capital Management, EZ-Link and property management company Far East Organization to bid for the license, reports the South China Morning Post.
EZ-Link is already active in Singapore payments technology, supporting transactions for transit and other uses.

Digital inclusion

Pakistan's state bank is pushing several digital payment initiatives that are designed to reduce the country's reliance on cash and address its gender gap.
The government will rely on existing onboarding rules that encourage merchants to accept noncash payments, and the country will also develop a faster payment system, reports Finextra.
The Pakistani government's goal is to eventually create a shared platform for disbursements and collections.

Thai 'pay'

Thailand's government plans a digital payment system that's designed to bring more merchants into the country's tax system.
The app is part of an effort to fully digitize the country within three years, reports Bangkok Post, explaining a government agency will likely manage the system.
It will also be tied to a digital government portal that ties to different agencies, creating a digital ecosystem that includes payments, identity and licenses.

From the web

Russia Says BRICS Nations Favor Idea of Common Payment System
_{THE MOSCOW TIMES | Thu November 14, 2019}
Russia and its fellow BRICS countries — Brazil, China, India and South Africa — have backed a plan to create an anti-sanctions international payments system, a Russian official said on Thursday. President Vladimir Putin is seeking to internationalize Russia’s System for the Transfer of Financial Messages (SFPS) — an alternative to the widely used Swift system which facilitates interbank payments. SFPS was launched in 2017 as an attempt to sanctions-proof the Russian financial sector should the U.S. cut Russian banks’ access to Swift.

Ameriprise Financial introduces Visa credit cards
_{VERDICT | Thu November 14, 2019}
Ameriprise Financial has introduced new reward-focused Visa Signature and Premier Visa Signature credit cards for its customers across the US. The rewards programme of the new cards includes cashback rates of up to 1.875%. Also, the products offer options for travel, lifestyle and retail redemption. The cards feature no reward points cap or preset spending limit, travel credits and enrollment benefits. Ameriprise designed the credit cards for contactless transactions.

Alibaba ends relationship with US bitcoin-based retail startup
_{TECH NODE | Thu November 14, 2019}
Just a day after US retail startup Lolli announced a partnership with Alibaba to offer shoppers bitcoin rewards when purchasing items on its marketplaces, the Chinese e-commerce giant has “deactivated the partnership without cause,” according to Lolli.

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