The Ethereum merge is done, opening a new era for the second-biggest blockchain - The Merge was no small feat, swapping out one way of running a blockchain, known as proof-of-work, for another, called proof-of-stake. The payoff is potentially gigantic - Ethereum should now consume 99.9% or so less energy. Ethereum’s developers say the upgrade will make the network – which houses a $60b ecosystem of cryptocurrency exchanges, lending companies, non-fungible token (NFT) marketplaces and other apps – more secure and scalable, too. Read more
Milk, diapers and checking accounts: banking comes to Walmart - A venture that’s majority-backed by Walmart is poised to emerge from the shadows this month with digital bank accounts meant for the retail giant’s 1.6m US employees and legions of weekly shoppers. The move heralds the arrival of Walmart’s fintech push after years of fitful efforts to expand its financial-services offerings. Eventually, One -- the financial-technology startup Walmart is leaning on for the effort -- is hoping to offer a bevy of other products, from loans to investing, in an effort to become a one-stop shop for consumers’ financial needs. Read more
Starbucks details its blockchain-based loyalty platform and NFT community, Starbucks Odyssey - Starbucks Odyssey, launching later this year, is the coffee chain’s first foray into building with web3 technology. The new experience combines the company’s successful Starbucks Rewards loyalty program with an NFT platform, allowing its customers to both earn and purchase digital assets that unlock exclusive experiences and rewards. Read more
U.S. banks lost a record $370b in deposits last quarter - The outflow in the quarter isn’t a problem for banks, which are sitting on more deposits than they want. Deposits in the banking system usually stay relatively stable, but swelled by some $5t in the past two years due to pandemic stimulus. Now, a series of Federal Reserve rate increases is taking some of that money out of the system, in part by decreasing demand for loans and increasing demand for government bonds. Read more
Schwab, Citadel Securities, Fidelity, other Wall Street firms start crypto exchange EDX Markets - The exchange will be led by CEO Jamil Nazarali, formerly a senior executive at Citadel Securities, billionaire Ken Griffin's massive trading operation. Other high-profile EDX backers include trading firm Virtu Financial (VIRT) and venture capital firms Sequoia Capital and Paradigm. Read more
J.P. Morgan to acquire Renovite Technologies - The strategic acquisition of Renovite will help J.P. Morgan Payments build its next-generation merchant acquiring platform, bolster the firm’s payments modernization strategy and support its journey to the cloud. Upon closing of the transaction, Renovite will become part of J.P. Morgan Payments, which combines corporate treasury services, trade finance, card and merchant services capabilities at the firm, delivering an integrated payments experience to clients across the economy. Read more
Major credit card companies are making it easier to track gun sales - The International Organization for Standardization, which sets standards for payment transactions, has approved the creation of a special code for gun stores to use when processing credit or debit card transactions. Visa and Mastercard had resisted the code but said they will adopt it. Read more
Payments company Bolt scraps $1.5b deal to buy crypto firm Wyre - The official line is a mutual termination, but a source close to the deal says the final call was made by Bolt CEO Maju Kuruvilla, who was hired shortly before the original deal was announced, and that Bolt wasn't required to pay a termination fee. Read more
Brazilian unicorn, EBANX, expands into Africa - EBANX, a multinational fintech company, has announced plans to expand its payment gateway solution and operations outside Latin America for the first time. Present in 15 countries in Latin America, the 10-year-old unicorn has processed over $1b in payments and wants to initially focus on mobile money in Africa. Read more
Goldman Sachs partners Modern Treasury to push embedded payments - The partners say they will help joint customers seamlessly embed and scale domestic and international payments into their products. Modern Treasury’s payment operations software platform will provide mutual clients with an integrated money movement solution, with payments powered by Goldman Sachs Transaction Banking (TxB). Read more |
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