The information you need to start your day, from PaymentsSource and around the web:
Eastern block
Russia is floating a payment platform to rival the Swift network, which Russian politicians view as a Western-influenced monopoly that may cut off Russia due to geopolitical pressures.
The rival would use blockchain technology to dilute the need for centralized management and to take advantage of new payment innovations, reports
Russia was reportedly behind
Caribbean central currency
While much of the first-mover attention for central bank digital currencies has been focused on China, the greater Caribbean region has also been moving forward.
Following the Bahamas'
DCash can be accessed via participating financial institutions or through an app on Google Play or Apple Store. The initial markets include Antigua, Grenada, St. Kitts, Nevis and Saint Lucia.
Small biz seed
Ribbit Capital has led a $26.7 million round in Cora, a Brazilan fintech that supplies lending and payments to businesses in Latin America.
The Central Bank of Brazil recently granted Cora a banking license ahead of its October 2020 launch, reports
Ribbit invests in a variety of financial technology companies, and has partnered with
VC installation
Soros Capital Management, JS Capital, Tybourne Capital Management and Wellington Management have poured $120 million into Japanese buy now/pay later firm Paidy, suggesting
Paidy's BNPL product has its roots in a 2014 product that allows consumers to buy online without credit cards, reports
Consumers use a mobile phone and email address to make a full cart of purchases and set up monthly payments. The payments can be made online, at a convenience store or by bank transfer.
From the web
REUTERS | Tuesday, April 6, 2021
Digital payments giant Stripe on Tuesday announced the opening of an office in United Arab Emirates financial capital Dubai, its first expansion into the Middle East region.
THE WALL STREETJOURNAL | Monday, April 5, 2021
A cyber yuan stands to give Beijing power to track spending in real time, plus money unlinked to the global financial system dominated by the dollar. It also could soften the bite of U.S. sanctions.
TECHCRUNCH | Tuesday, April 6, 2021
Charles, a Berlin-based startup that offers a “conversational-commerce” SaaS for businesses that want to sell on WhatsApp and other chat apps, has raised €6.4 million in funding.
More from PaymentsSource
There are new regulations to address, but many requirements streamline current AML practices, says Mark Srere, an attorney at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner.
The trend toward open banking and open networks is forcing issuing banks to look more closely at how they can keep pace with customer demands — without the risk of a full tech overhaul.
Bank of America is big in health care — more than 2,000 hospital clients in the U.S. and more than 17,000 relationships with health care providers — and now it's focusing on being faster to market.
Citigroup hired Ken Blanco, the director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, as the chief compliance officer of its newly created financial crimes unit.
The financial technology firm Plaid is close to a new round of funding at a valuation of about $13 billion, almost three months after scrapping its sale to Visa, according to people familiar with the matter.
The April 17 transition deadline for EMV at outdoor fuel pumps is just a few weeks away. Failure to comply means operators, instead of the credit card companies, will assume 100% liability for chargebacks associated with fraudulent transactions at the pump.
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.
