The information you need to start your day, from PaymentsSource and around the Web:
Visa gets Sirius
Furthering its plans for in-car commerce, Visa is working with Sirius XM's Connected Vehicles Services subsidiary to enable in-car payments.
The companies designed a SiriusXM e-wallet to be used for shopping, coffee orders, locating and paying for gas, locating and paying for parking, paying tolls and more, according to
Visa's past work on in-car payments included a 2017 pact with
Amazon Key's plan B
Amazon has come up with many inventive ideas to improve delivery and thwart package fees, including the controversial Amazon Key, which let couriers unlock customers' doors to place packages inside their homes.
Perhaps feeling that this approach was too intrusive, Amazon has come up with an alternative called Amazon Key for Garage, which grants access to customers' garage doors but not their full homes,
Amazon has also unveiled a version for businesses to receive packages without pestering a receptionist to be buzzed in,
Samsung's smarter fridge
Samsung has upgraded its high-tech refrigerator, which debuted in 2016 and allowed owners to order and pay for groceries via a built-in screen and integrations with
The 2019 edition of Samsung's Family Hub fridge adds features such as its Bixby voice assistant and the ability to order an Uber,
Samsung is working to improve voice control, allowing it to handle more difficult questions, the article states.
Accidental crypto fan
Fortnite, the massively popular online battle royale game, briefly started accepting the cryptocurrency Monero for merchandise sales — but it wasn't on purpose.
A vendor was to blame,
"A lot more work is needed on volatility and fraud-proofing before bringing it to such a broad audience that includes younger gamers," Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic (the developer of Fortnite), said in a message on Twitter.
From the Web
The Wall Street Journal | Mon January 7, 2018 - Two leading experts on the “gig economy” now say their estimates of its impact were too high, skewed by spotty data and the recession of a decade ago.
The Guardian | Mon January 7, 2018 - The German government and security agencies have been accused of not taking internet security seriously, following a huge data breach that affected hundreds of politicians and celebrities.
TechCrunch | Mon January 7, 2018 - Announced way back at CES 2016, Motiv’s fitness ring was surprisingly capable and accurate for its tiny form factor. Earlier this year, the startup promised to bring even more functionality to the finger, starting with biometric authentication that uses a wearer’s gait to unlock devices.
More from PaymentsSource
The market for cross-border person-to-person (P2P) remittances is massive. It experienced double-digit growth in 2018 as consumers migrated from one country to another in search of better economic opportunities, as well as to escape political and financial upheaval in their home countries.
As consumers continue to migrate to banking apps, it may be tempting for banks to focus solely on improving that channel experience. But doing so would be making the same mistake as focusing only on cards or cash at the point of sale.
Mastercard is counting on its logo to do the talking. It plans to drop its name from the Mastercard symbol in some physical and digital marketing and advertising situations.
China’s expanding number of tourists is creating demand for more payment choices, and Wirecard hopes to tap into the growth with a prepaid card it’s developed with Ctrip, China’s largest travel agency.
