Новости за 26.03.2021

Pilot has extended its Series C funding round to bring in a total of $100 million with further funding from Whale Rock Capital and Bezos Expeditions, becoming a unicorn with a $1.2 billion valuation, according to an announcement from the company. “That’s $100 million to put toward fixing more areas of the back office, for […]

Already facing a historic $19 billion class-action suit in the U.K., Mastercard is fighting an attempt to add compound interest to the plaintiff’s claim. According to Reuters, the credit card company pushed back against the notion of compound interest in court this week during a two-day hearing to determine the scope of the case. The […]

As restaurants look to take advantage of the trillions of dollars in stimulus, including $28.6 billion in funding designated to restaurant relief that was passed earlier this month, many businesses just received a much-needed two-month extension to apply for their Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, reports CNBC. The PPP Extension Act, which passed 92-7 in […]

Today in B2B payments, WEX discusses the latest B2B payments buzz, and B2B FinTechs end 2021's first quarter with a venture capital boom. Plus, Snapdeal accelerates payouts for small firms, Enterpryze launches in Ireland and Inxeption explores how B2B sellers can take the lead in B2B commerce digitization. WEX President On What’s Driving The B2B […]

Airbnb inventory is overflowing with all kinds of vacation stay options as the travel industry looks ahead to a vaccinated population seeking getaways at short-term rental properties rather than at more traditional venues. There are more than 5.4 million active Airbnb listings worldwide, more than double the number in 2017, according to the short-term vacation […]

In a move to help drive the adoption of digital keys, mobile identification and eMoney tools, Google has formed the Android Ready SE Alliance to facilitate the creation of open-source, validated and ready-to-use SE Applets. “Most modern phones now include discrete tamper-resistant hardware called a Secure Element (SE). We believe this SE offers the best […]

After spending almost a year inside their homes, consumers have learned to love a lot of things about their digital lives. According to PYMNTS' most recent survey, consumers have decidedly shifted to digital — and are quite content to continue doing all sorts of things from the comfort of their own homes. It seems that […]

In today’s top news, Fiserv, Inc. has inked a definitive deal to purchase Pineapple Payments, and Fort Financial Credit Union has tapped Lumin Digital to provide digital banking tech. Plus, former GoDaddy CEO Scott Wagner discussed retailing with PYMNTS. Fiserv To Purchase Pennsylvania-Based FinTech Pineapple Payments Fiserv, Inc. has signed a definitive deal to buy Pineapple Payments, which is […]

The advent and then dominance of COVID-19 has put the concept of globalization in a different light. What was once the darling of economists and CEOs has been questioned, as the pandemic had no regard for borders or populations. Maybe, the under-the-radar whispers have said, global commerce needed to retreat behind those borders until the […]

As if the supply chain disruptions brought about by the global pandemic last year weren’t enough to point out just how connected the connected economy really is, earlier this week a 1,300-foot-long container ship wedged itself in the Suez Canal, effectively pushing the pause button on the movement of goods through the critical waterway. Now, […]

The online finance startup SoFi is bucking Wall Street tradition by giving amateur investors an easier way to purchase shares in companies as they go public. As CNBC reported on Friday (March 26), these shares are traditionally reserved for institutional investors or people who boast a high net-worth, leaving retail investors paying substantially higher prices […]

Chainalysis has obtained $100 million in a Paradigm-led Series D financing, bringing the blockchain analysis company’s valuation to more than $2 billion. Previous investors Ribbit and Addition upped their investment in the firm and TIME Ventures, the investment fund for Marc Benioff, took part as well, according to a Friday (March 26) announcement emailed to […]

In-restaurant table service is on its way back. Flynn Restaurant Group, Applebee’s largest franchisee with 444 units, told Bloomberg in a recent interview that the restaurant chain is seeing a sharp increase in sales, which the firm believes to be the result of “stimulus checks, enhanced unemployment and tax rebates.” “I’m seeing some of the […]

The intersection of creativity and brands used to be populated by the “Mad Men” types of the 60s and 70s. It was all about the campaign, the image and the three-martini lunch. Now, a brand’s creativity is expressed digitally in media and through websites, but it’s also expressed through its business model and, to a […]

Well-publicized government aid aside, small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) — both on the supply and retail sides — still struggle with cash flow. PYMNTS research shows that 30 percent of all of what it calls “Main Street Survivor” business owners report having used their own money to support their businesses since the pandemic began. This […]

Consumers continue to tap online channels more often to make retail transactions, interact with their financial institutions (FIs) or pay their bills during the pandemic. PYMNTS data shows that they are still using many familiar payment methods even as they shift to digital channels, with U.S. consumers’ debit card use rising 15 percent since the […]

The question hangs over the cryptocurrency space. Can it be used for everyday purchases? A company called Fast Private Jet has part of the answer. It accepts crypto payments, but taking a private jet is hardly an everyday usage. The company links customers with private jet operators to find a luxury ride anywhere in the […]

In a year that saw a surge in contactless payments, QR codes have risen with the tide. As reported in several PYMNTS research projects, contactless payments have surged by 150 percent in the U.S. since March 2019, which, in turn, has boosted QR code adoption by 11 percent since the pandemic began. According to the recent How […]

Consumers’ use of digital and mobile wallets has tripled in the past three years and has only been accelerated by the pandemic, as consumers have shifted to online and mobile shopping and away from physical cash and card payments within the past year. The result is that an estimated 13 percent of the world’s population […]

Paris will be the recipient soon of a blank-check company for technology investments, the latest sign that they're not immune to the recent special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) trend, according to a Thursday (March 25) Bloomberg report. Looking to join in the investment craze is 360 Disruptech EU which wants to raise 250 million euros […]

Enterpryze launched in Ireland as of March 22, announcing its intent to help small businesses connect with banks, a company blog post said on Tuesday (March 22). The blog claimed the company is “disrupting” banking via accessible new software, which it said will improve upon some other software that lacks the ability to secure host […]

Instant payments, integrated — and pan-European in scope. This week, the Council of the European Union backed the formation of an integrated and instant system for retail payments, interoperable across all of the European Union’s member states. The Council noted in a release that the “EU member states want to make it easier for consumers to […]

The New York Times (NYT) has sold a non-fungible token (NFT) for more than $500,000, according to the Foundation page for the NFT. Columnist Kevin Roose entered his own column as the NFT for sale. NFTs have been surging in popularity lately as a type of digital asset tracking uniquely virtual items like pieces of […]

GeoComply Solutions has received minority investments from funds managed by Blackstone and Atairos, the company’s first institutional investors, according to a Tuesday (March 23) press release. The investments will support the company’s growth and expansion into new verticals, the release stated. Amounts and terms of the investments were not disclosed. GeoComply uses geolocation data to […]

In today’s top payments news around the world, PPRO upped its latest funding round to $270 million, while Sequoia Capital India’s Surge accelerator announced that it has closed its second round of seed funding at $195 million. Plus, China’s central bank said it planned digital yuan will not replace the payment services of the country’s […]