Tesla preps for bitcoin payment; Wirex halts U.K. onboarding under FSA pressure

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

Car lot

Tesla has detailed how the automaker will accept bitcoin for vehicle purchases, about a month after CEO Elon Musk caused a jump in the crypto market by announcing Tesla had bought $1.5 billion in bitcoin and would set aside a flow of bitcoin to support payments.

The automaker will use internal and open-source software, and will operate bitcoin nodes directly to authorize payments, reports CNBC. Buyers of Teslas, which cost between $37,000 and $124,000, have a choice of dollars or bitcoins for refunds if a vehicle is returned. Tesla can pay the refund in dollars at bitcoin's value at time of original purchase, meaning Tesla could theoretically profit off of returned vehicles.

Tesla's bitcoin investment came as a number of high-profile payment companies, including Square, Mastercard and PayPal, also expanded support for cryptocurrencies, creating momentum toward mainstream payments.

Bloomberg

Earning funds

U.K. earned wage access provider Wagestream has agreed to buy Australian rival Earnd, which is being spun off from the fiscally troubled financial services firm Greensill.

Earnd was initially acquired by the London-based Greensill in March 2020, reports Finextra. But insurers would not renew contracts covering Greensill's loans, causing the company to go into administration.

Wagestream will gain entry to the Australian market for earned wage access through the deal. Terms were not disclosed.

On pause

Following input from the U.K.'s Financial Conduct Authority, Wirex has stopped onboarding U.K. customers while it improves anti-money-laundering protections.

Wirex, which supports more than 20 cryptocurrencies, will redirect prospects to a waiting list. The halt comes about a year after the FCA assumed counter-terrorist and AML supervision, according to Yahoo. Crypto firms have complained about the move, saying it's caused delays in registration applications.

Wirecard was the first cryptocurrency-supporting company to join Mastercard's Accelerate program, which provides access to digital payment tools for fintechs.

Loyalty play

Serena Williams is among the investors in a $5 million round in Lolli, which provides "bitcoin back" as a shopping incentive.

The tennis legend made the investment through her VC, Serena Ventures, reports Coindesk. Williams' husband, Alexis Ohanian, was the lead investor through Seven Seven Six and Night Media, a firm Ohanian founded.

Merchants, including Sephora and Ulta, pay Lolli for referrals, using traditional currency. Lolli converts those funds to bitcoin, which it distributes to consumers as a crypto version of cash back.

From the web

Digital banking solutions provider Meniga closes additional €10M investment
_{TECHCRUNCH | Thursday, March 25, 2021}
Meniga, the London fintech that provides digital banking technology to leading banks, has closed €10 million in additional funding.

As more artists and musicians turn their attention to NFTs, so, likely, do money launderers
_{TECHCRUNCH | Thursday, March 25, 2021}
Outlets that follow the crypto industry have been observing a trend, which is that according to Google search data, the rise in interest in non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, now almost matches the level of interest in 2017 in initial coin offerings, or ICOs.

Fidelity applies to launch a bitcoin ETF
_{REUTERS | Wednesday, March 24, 2021}
Fidelity applied on Wednesday to launch an exchange traded fund to track the performance of bitcoin, the latest move on Wall Street to embrace the digital currency.

More from PaymentsSource

Automation won't eliminate payment jobs, but work will change
As accounts payable departments add robotics and other innovation, workflows and skill sets will adjust--but people won't disappear, says Nvoicepay's Lauren Ruef.

How Railsbank plans to fuel embedded finance in Australia
The country's banks and fintechs are still new to working together, giving Railsbank a chance to become a key player in open banking.

VCs fuel payment innovations at small businesses
Small businesses can no longer cling to paper billing out of inertia, opening a route for financial technology to reach a new audience of proprietors.

Capital One wager lifts travel startup Hopper to unicorn status
Capital One Financial led a $170 million investment in the startup Hopper as the financial giant seeks to make a deeper push into travel.

MoneyGram opens its network to enterprises, adds G-Coin integration
MoneyGram International is providing access to its global money transfer network through software it is touting as "MoneyGram-as-a-service."

Subscription payments can give financial institutions a needed refresh
In the past 10 years, the financial services industry has seen more radical transformation than any other - from new regulations like open banking to digital payments to an unusually low interest rates to a more active, gamified customer base.

Airwallex valued at $2.6 billion in new $100 million equity round
In a continuation of its Series D round to fuel its global expansion for cross-border payment solutions, Airwallex has raised $100 million in capital, valuing the fintech at $2.6 billion.

Buy now/pay later creates new risks for personal data
Keeping up with new retail trends shouldn’t come at the cost of keeping personal information safe, says Bluefin's Ruston Miles.

Canadian fintech targets small banks with buy now/pay later tech
Brim Financial contends there's an innovation gap for installment lending that favors larger lenders.

Dwolla's new top execs seek bigger clients
Dwolla executives have always been confident in its payments technology, but admittedly had a hard time explaining it to prospective clients — especially larger ones.

How fraudsters keep riding the digital wave
E-commerce, unemployment claims, stimulus payments and other needs brought many more people online over the course of 2020. Fraudsters were ready to pounce in all of these areas, gathering personal information and intercepting payments whenever possible.

Goldman didn’t discriminate with Apple Card, N.Y. regulator says
Goldman Sachs Group didn’t use discriminatory practices when deciding whether to extend credit to prospective customers of its Apple Card, said the New York State Department of Financial Services.

Banks don't have to be left out of decentralized finance
There is a lot of talk about how banks could lose out as a result of the trend toward decentralized finance. But that is a misconception.

As subscription billing proliferates, Fattmerchant buys into tech to go big
The concept of capturing recurring revenue through subscriptions always clicked for Suneera Madhani, founder of Fattmerchant, who took the novel approach of selling payment processing on a pay-as-you-go model when she launched her company seven years ago.

The Most Influential Women in Payments, 2021
2021's Most Influential Women in Payments honorees demonstrate how a diverse background and a unique perspective can prove crucial in difficult times.