The information you need to start your day, from PaymentsSource and around the web:
Person to person
U.S. Bank is personalizing Zelle P2P payments by giving its customers the option to attach a digital greeting card design customized for any occasion.
The move comes through a collaboration with Toronto-based Vouchr, a startup whose platform enables companies to add personalized messages and other media to money transfers, remittances and disbursements, U.S. Bank said in a press release.
More than 200 eCards are available to send with Zelle payments. U.S. Bank said it’s the first bank to offer digital greetings through Zelle.
Salon quality
Square is taking its payment processing services to the beauty shop. The San Francisco startup worked with salons and wellness centers to develop Square Appointments, combining payments acceptance with small-business management.
The solution works with Square Register, enabling salon operators to book, confirm appointments, manage inventory, accept payments and check out customers with a dual-sided device that provides for social distancing, Square said in a press release.
Square Appointment gives sellers a single-screen view of the schedules and availability of up to 20 staffers.
Close connection
Walmart plans to tweak its mobile app to enable customers in Mexico to receive remittances directly through Walmart de Mexico’s Cashi app, according to the Arkansas Democrat Gazette.
It’s not clear yet how much Walmart will charge to send and receive remittances through the Cashi app, which launched two years ago, but the goal is to increase online and in-store sales, the report said.
Walmart operates 2,600 stores in Mexico, where it’s the largest retailer. Walmart continues to support U.S.-to-Mexico remittances through a partnership with MoneyGram. About 98% of remittances sent to Mexico originate in the U.S.
Modern touch
Swedish consumers will be among the first in the world to try biometric debit cards authorized by fingerprint ID.
Identity-tech firm Idemia is partnering with startup bank Rocker to launch fingerprint-enabled debit cards in Sweden early next year, adding a new method of conducting secure, contactless payments, according to an Idemia press release.
The F.Code biometric payment cards bypass the need for users to enter a PIN, with all biometric details stored in the card, which has no battery.
From the web
REUTERS | Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2020
Uber Technologies Inc said on Wednesday its package delivery service, Uber Connect, will now be available in more than 2,400 new cities and towns in the United States.
REUTERS | Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2020
Criminals are becoming more sophisticated in their use of cryptocurrencies to launder money, with hundreds of millions of dollars of dirty funds last year flowing through digital wallets that allow users to hide their trail, according to Elliptic.
TECHCRUNCH | Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2020
Demand for contactless payments and e-commerce has grown in South Korea during the COVID-19 pandemic.
More from PaymentSource
Faster payments haven't always lived up to the hype and promise because of development and adoption stagnation in the U.S., but the idea of speedier transactions is becoming more popular.
Looking to ease contactless payments for cash wary consumers and businesses, PayPal has launched QR code payment acceptance in its iZettle point-of-sale application for small businesses in the U.K.
Wells Fargo has partnered with Bill.com to embed the vendor’s online bill payment technology within the bank’s digital portal for business clients, which is called Commercial Electronic Office, or CEO.
Fidelity Digital Assets will allow its institutional customers to pledge bitcoin as collateral against cash loans in a partnership with blockchain startup BlockFi.
Technology giants have been expanding their financial services — and portfolios — vertically and horizontally for years, creating new payment and financial innovation that is pressuring banks to change.
Cash is fading in the Middle East, and traditional banks are turning to fintechs to expedite upgrades before challenger banks and digital wallets seize the advantage.
Corporate heads shouldn’t blame a limited pool of talent on their inability to promote and hire Black executives, said Kenneth Chenault, the former longtime chief executive of American Express.
Capital One contends point of sale credit transactions are too risky to support, but competitors believe it's credit card debt that's falling out of favor with consumers.
Since the onset of the pandemic, businesses have found new ways to operate efficiently across remote and dispersed workforces. Calls to action to streamline, automate and implement new technology have flooded the conversation of how to work smarter to carry out mission-critical functions and stay positioned for growth through this year’s ups and downs.
Crooks are hiding payment skimmers in plain sight on retailer websites, using social contact buttons in a way that's hard for security protection to spot.
