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New kid
U.K.-based Monavate has raised $7 million in seed money to build a platform for other companies to issue payment cards quickly, Finextra reports.
Monavate will be the BIN sponsor enabling third parties to launch payment solutions through partnerships. Leeandrajae Vaile, a founding executive at both Revolut and Curve, is co-founder and CEO of the venture.
An unnamed U.S.-based institutional investor put up the first round of funds for Monavate, which is based in Cambridge.
Hot deal
Starbucks is giving extra loyalty points (stars) to customers who use PayPal for purchases and reloads within the Starbucks app during April.
In a promotion that runs through April 30, Starbucks customers who select PayPal as a funding method within the app will receive an additional star for every $2 spent via PayPal, on top of existing rewards.
Starbucks emphasized on its website that customers can still earn stars when paying with the Starbucks Rewards Visa credit card during the promotion by using it within PayPal when adding value to the Starbucks app.
Off the lot
The last stage of buying a car online — annoying DMV paperwork — has been crushed by the first all-digital vehicle purchase.
The California New Car Dealers Association worked with the California DMV and Vitu’s digital signature service to complete the nation's first secure, 100% paperless transaction including vehicle tag issuing, according to a press release.
Vitu’s platform, which supports e-commerce and point-of-sale payments for government agencies and automotive retailers, plans to work with other DMV operations around the U.S. to roll out the digital service nationally as more car sales move online.
Local allies
Cross-border payments tech specialists Nium, and SentBe, based in Singapore and Seoul, respectively, have teamed up to streamline fund transfers to South Korean banks and businesses.
The move will provide a simplified approach to sending payments into South Korea, which traditionally has involved multiple steps, according to a press release.
Nium supports collection and disbursement of funds in local currencies to over 100 countries through an API-based platform, and SentBe provides payment services to more than 50 countries and already has partnerships with Moneygram, Ripple and Samsung Pay.
From the web
REUTERS | Monday, April 5, 2021
The Bank of Japan (BOJ) began experiments on Monday to study the feasibility of issuing its own digital currency, joining efforts by other central banks that are aiming to match the innovation in the field achieved by the private sector.
TECHCRUNCH | Monday, April 5, 2021
Meesho said on Monday it has raised $300 million in a new financing round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 as the Indian social commerce startup works to become the “single ecosystem that will enable all small businesses to succeed online.”
REUTERS | Thursday, April 1, 2021
Coinbase Global Inc, the largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, has received approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to list its shares on the Nasdaq, paving the way for what will be a landmark victory for cryptocurrency advocates.
More from PaymentsSource
While working with government agencies and supermarkets to implement the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the company also had to innovate on the fly.
One particular type of scheme, swapping, involves thieves stealing and replacing cards before the consumer is aware, says The ai Corporation's James Crawshaw.
Online ordering, outdoor pickup and digital shopping features are more than emergency workarounds, and merchants need to make them a regular part of their strategies, says Signifyd's Mike Cassidy.
Cryptocurrency wallet provider Neptune is launching a new service that will allow investors to manage multiple currencies for various uses through a single channel.
Payment tech firms and challenger banks are leaning into the pandemic in a way that's gaining trust of clients, says Anvil's Mang-Git Ng.
Top executives from the 49 companies that earned a spot in this year's ranking of the Best Fintechs to Work For cite the need for nimble shifts in business strategy, leadership style and recruiting tactics among the lessons they took away from the challenges of the coronavirus crisis.
