9.17.18 Your morning briefing

Enjoy complimentary access to top ideas and insights — selected by our editors.

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

Not fare
Uber suffered a malfunction to its Instant Pay feature that resulted in some drivers not getting paid right away, putting a dent in Uber's reputation for a smooth experience for riders and drivers.

Uber drivers in the Bay Area first noticed the problem early last week and went to an Uber maintenance facility in Daly City to complain, reports the local Fox television station. Uber told the station it has identified an issue affecting drivers' "visibility" into their earnings and its Instant Pay feature, adding drivers will be paid for all trips. It was unclear if the problem extended beyond California, or how many drivers were affected.

While Uber often has problems with its corporate reputation, its payment system has generally been solid, and its near-automatic payment for drivers and riders has influenced other retail industries, a phenomenon called "Uberization," as merchants and processors attempt to replicate the experience.

Akos Stiller/Bloomberg

Cooking with gas
Digital payment companies in India are taking advantage of high gas prices to encourage e-payment for gas.

Paytm, FreeCharge and MobiKwik are offering cash back in exchange for petro payments, reports abplive, a local news service. The article reports petro and diesel prices have reached records in the past few days.

Mobile payment apps in India also took advantage of the government's removal of most of the country's paper money two years ago.

Cross-border corridor
Ripple has expanded its footprint in the Middle East via a remittance agreement with Saudi Arabia's National Commercial Bank.

The deal will open corridors between Saudi Arabia and the U.S. and Asian markets, reports Finextra. The bank will also be able to more easily connect to other banks in Ripple's network for blockchain-powered digital transfers.

Ripple will be able to broaden its reach in Asian and Middle Eastern markets.

M-Pesa goes airborne
M-Pesa has played a major role in financial inclusion in many African countries through its telco-driven mobile money service.

It's now entering airline mobile payments through a partnership with fastjet, a Pan-African airline.

Consumers can use their phones to buy airline tickets via M-Pesa accounts, which are also linked to P2P payments, airtime top-ups and utility bill payments.

Enter crypto P2P
Metallicus has launched Metal Pay, a P2P app that includes a reward in cryptocurrency for each transaction.

Similar to Venmo, users transfer funds between accounts, using mobile phone numbers to trigger transactions. Metal's cryptocurrency, MTL, is tied to transactions as a reward for using the app. MTL, which can be converted to dollars on the app, is also earned as part of a "game" to encourage savings.

Metallicus plans to offer payment cards in the near future.

From the Web

Mastercard Thinks Blockchain Can Simplify B2B Transactions in New Patent
CCN | Fri September 14, 2018 - Financial services giant Mastercard has invented a blockchain system that it believes can simplify business-to-business (B2B) transactions in a high-volume enterprise environment. That system is outlined in a series of three patent applications filed by the New York-based multinational firm in March, made public on Thursday by the US Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO).

Why U.S. Counterfeit Credit Card Fraud Is Down 75%
The Motley Fool | Sun September 16, 2018 - A new study released by Visa Inc. shows that counterfeit credit card fraud dropped as much as 75% from December 2015 to March 2018, thanks to the introduction of EMV chip-embedded credit cards. This is more proof that these chips are having the desired effect and are working to curb fraudulent transactions at retailers' points of sale (POS).

About 12 percent of people buying concert tickets get scammed
CNBC | Fri September 14, 2018 - About 12 percent of people report they have purchased a concert ticket online that turned out to be a scam, according to a new poll of 1,000 U.S. adults from ticketing technology vendor Aventus. About 94 million people in the U.S. are expected to attend a music event this year, according to Statista, so that means roughly 11 million will likely be victims of a ticket scam.

More from PaymentsSource

Fintechs push to get out of the shadow of Uber, Amazon
Executives from four companies—Worldnet co-founder John Clarke, Payrailz CEO Fran Duggan, CardFree CEO Jon Squire, and Sionic Mobile CEO Ron Herman— view Uber and Amazon as drivers of the shift to an "unattended" retail experience that removes human interaction from the process of making a payment.

British Airways breach shows the need for 'constant compliance'
Organizations that lack security controls and have experienced a breach can expect auditors, regulators and standards bodies to knock on their doors demanding information, writes Fouad Khalil, head of compliance and SecurityScorecard.

As U.K. card payments rise, retailers renew fight on fees
The growth and dominant market share position of payment cards in U.K. retail sales is prompting a new pushback from retailers who are wary of rising network fees.

N.Y. state refiles suit to block OCC's 'reckless' fintech charter
The state's banking regulator and the Conference of State Bank Supervisors are reviving litigation after the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said it would accept charter applications.