The information you need to start your day, from PaymentsSource and around the Web:
The grocery battle gets bigger
Target is expanding Shipt, the same-day grocery service it acquired last year, to ship not just grocery products but all major product categories Target offers in 2019, according to
Meanwhile, Kroger is attempting to compete by using driverless vehicles. The grocer is collaborating with Nuro to use a vehicle called the R1, which travels on public roads,
Swiss squabbles
It's not unusual for Apple Pay's introduction to involve fighting and claims that the app is being shut out in some manner, or vice versa. It happened in the
In Switzerland, regulators are investigating claims that Apple is selectively blocking NFC technology for competitive advantage, reports
That follows an almost
Cryptoready
Western Union contends it is ready to support cryptocurrency, but there still isn't enough interest in the company's market to move forward.
The transfer company bases its potential on its knowledge of money transfers and its large existing network and consumer base, reports
Fintechs and banks already widely use the
Avoiding the dollar
One of the main attractions to cryptocurrencies is the outsider reputation, or the idea that it's an alternative to centralized currency.
Coinbase is removing a lingering tie to tradition supporting direct cryptocurrency-to-cryptocurrency conversions, removing the intermediary step that converted to dollars before final conversion,
The conversions are only available in the U.S. and include bitcoin, ethereum, ethereum classic, litecoin, 0x and bitcoin cash.
From the Web
Verdict | Tue December 18, 2018 - Banco de Moçambique, the central bank of Mozambique, has selected Euronet USA in a bid to upgrade its national payment network. The solution offered by Euronet will facilitate a range of services.
China Daily | Wed December 19, 2018 - E-commerce and internet behemoth Alibaba Group Holding Ltd aims to register 2 billion individual users around the world by 2036. With its technology in core commerce, cloud computing, cross-border e-commerce and mobile payments, the group said it is committed to helping domestic and foreign consumers to buy products from all over the world, and to make mobile payments global.
Fortune | Tue December 18, 2018 - Security research firm Gemini Advisory published a report Tuesday that provides new details on how vulnerabilities in Click2Gov, a widely used type of government payment software, has affected towns from Oceanside, Calif. to Sarasota, Fla.
More from PaymentsSource
Alipay is upgrading its facial recognition technology to make it more accessible to users and to make it harder for crooks to game the system
TransferMate, a cross-border B2B payments provider based in Ireland, has announced plans to buy Devisenwerk, a Swiss foreign exchange firm, to expand its capabilities and geographic reach.
The Global Payments Innovation service now moves 55 percent of Swift's cross-border transactions as it nears its second anniversary.
The high-tech and visual user experience is getting set to take hold, giving merchants something to think about, according to Radu Spineanu, co-founder and CEO of Two Tap.
