In a digital age, cash still has its attractions - This week the European head of payments company Visa told the FT that the pandemic would lead to a “permanent” shift away from cash but as more technology companies move into the payments business, cash is a means for consumers to keep data on their spending to themselves. Read moreTransferWise receives authorization from Brazil's Central Bank to act as foreign exchange broker - It has been operating in the country since April 2016 as an exchange correspondent for local banks. The approval will greatly reduce costs for sending and receiving funds from abroad. Read more
WhatsApp launches payments, starting in Brazil - After months of talks and trials, WhatsApp has finally pulled the trigger on payments in its app. Users in Brazil will be the first to be able to send and receive money through the messaging app, using Facebook Pay. Read more
ByteDance bids for Singapore banking license - Chinese tech group behind TikTok seeks to expand reach with a move into financial services by joining forces with Singapore’s influential Lee business family. The MAS is set to issue five virtual banking licenses by the end of the year. Read more
TPG, L Catterton, PIF become latest Jio backers - In recent months, the Indian telecom upstart has attracted a slew of significant investments from corporates, VCs and private equity firms. The list keeps growing. Read more
EU opens antitrust investigation into Apple Pay - European Commission opened antitrust investigation into Apple's terms and conditions and its steadfast refusal to open up its NFC functionality on iOS devices to proprietary bank payment apps. Read more
UK's top court rules against Visa and Mastercard in interchange fee battle - The UK's Supreme Court has come down in favor of the UK's biggest supermarket chains in a long-running legal battle over the level of interchange fees charged by Visa and Mastercard. Read more
Cambridge, World Bank and World Economic Forum launch survey to assess COVID impact on fintech - Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, alongside the World Bank and World Economic Forum, launches survey to assess impact of COVID-19 on the global fintech industry. Read more
Wirecard’s missing $2.1b forces out CEO, panics lenders - Markus Braun’s almost two decades as Wirecard AG’s CEO ended after accusations about the company’s accounting culminated in a shock disclosure that it was was unable to locate $2.1b. Read more
Square acquires European peer-to-peer payment app Verse - Square has attracted a ton of users with Cash App, its P2P payment app that lets you easily send and receive money from your phone, but Cash App has only been available in the U.S. and the U.K. Acquiring Verse seems like a good fit to expand Square’s presence in Europe. Read more
Coalition including Ripple, GoPay launches universal PayID - More than 40 different fintech firms, digital currency companies, and nonprofits are teaming up to launch a universal payment ID in a bid to make transferring money akin to sending an email. Read more
Why GS is delaying its robo advisor until 2021 - Goldman has decided to delay the launch of its robo advisor, COO John Waldron said. The firm is also slowing its hiring of financial advisors. Read more
Having stolen the spotlight, now Robinhood has to dance - Robinhood has captured the zeitgeist, but the online finance industry is evolving rapidly around it forcing it will to continue to figure out how to keep more than its fair share. While the current $8.3b valuation may sound like a lot, it implies a value of roughly $600 per account which is less than half of what Morgan Stanley is paying for E*Trade. Read more |
|
