Новости за 25.11.2021

Nonrecurring payments to infrequent service provider and independent contractors are a fact of life for small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), but they also present a payments problem. With an average of 72 ad hoc transactions from some 15 different buyers annually, these payments represent a staggering $1.2 trillion of outstanding receivables for SMBs. According to […]

There was a time when a bike or a dollhouse made the grade for holiday gifting. Somewhat sadly, we outgrow that phase and other gift ideas enter the frame. Fancy, expensive gifts. Stuff so steep and indulgent that even the best minds in buy now, pay later can’t calculate an installment. It begins innocently enough […]

Sales via eCommerce channels skyrocketed during the pandemic, bringing cross-border payments on the rise with them. New data shows that even with travel and trade volumes down, cross-border eCommerce transactions grew 17% in 2020, and consumer-to-business (C2B) cross-border payments are projected to reach $2.8 trillion by 2022. A survey of consumers in 40 different countries […]

Consumers’ positive experiences with new digital payment methods have them craving the same convenience for their businesses, and savvy banks are taking notice. In the Next-Gen Commercial Banking Tracker, Tim Mills, senior vice president of Emerging Payments at Regions Bank, explains how investing in embedded and real-time payments is helping banks cater to the evolving needs of corporate clients.

The past several weeks have seen countless reports about the challenges that would give a cockeyed optimist momentary pause before giving thanks: supply chain issues delaying deliveries of turkeys and other staples, inflation pushing prices higher and a pandemic that just doesn’t seem to want to let go. Related news: Farm Bureau: Inflation Gobbling Thanksgiving […]

If you’re reading this, the turkey’s got you stuffed, you’ve had your fill of the stuffing, and you’ve had your fill of the relatives. Maybe you’ve had your fill of parades, dog shows and football on TV, too. You’re probably also taking a break — okay, maybe just a breather — from the loads of […]

Thanksgiving is famously a holiday for home cooking, but this year, restaurants will be seeing a bigger piece of the consumer pie as the food industry shifts toward speed and convenience — often to the detriment of grocery stores. One advantage that restaurants have now that they did not in, say, 2019, is that they […]

Black Friday might have started in the U.S., but the annual retail frenzy has exploded in popularity across the African region in recent years, with people flocking to take advantage of the best deals retailers have to offer. Africa-focused online marketplace Jumia was quick to tap into this opportunity when it introduced the event nine […]

In a year that’s seen PYMNTS readers stuffing themselves with news about the ongoing digital shift, while also enjoying a hefty helping of connected economy advancements, it only seems fitting to use this occasion to honor the many parts and pieces of the payments puzzle that keep it all running smoothly (at least most of […]

Planning to drive somewhere over the long Thanksgiving holiday weekend? There may be nearly 4 million more people on the road than there were last year. AAA forecasts that the number of Americans traveling by car for the holiday will be up 8% from 2020 — and only 3% below the number of holiday travelers […]

On Thanksgiving, many people in the U.S. are reminded of 17th century pilgrims who left “the old world” and ventured to an unknown “new world” where life would be very different. The modern-day analog to that historic passage is obviously moving to the metaverse — the next “new world” that is not only unknown but […]

FinTechs in Bulgaria achieved a record of BGN 1.86 billion ($1.03 billion) in 2020, a roughly 20% increase compared to 2019, helped by the boost in real-time transactions. This data was published in the annual FinTech report by the Bulgaria FinTech Association (BFA), released on Nov. 23, and further revealed that the digital payments segment […]

Uber drivers in Brussels may soon be out of a job after a ruling from the city’s court of appeal making an extension from a 2015 cease-and-desist order, Bloomberg writes. The order came down against an older service to drivers which hire cars and offer taxi services from the Uber app, according to the ride-hailing […]

Two of the most prevalent and fastest-growing ways of making cashless, digital payments are via scannable QR codes and tap-your-card NFC readers. Both were invented in Japan. Care to guess which developed nation is using them the least? That’s right, Japan. Despite being one of the most high-tech-friendly societies, and an early adopter of many […]

It’s a massive month for the mono-line alt-credit crowd. You’re going to love this. So many apps scored high enough to chart that we didn’t even reach 10. How do you do a top 10 without 10 apps? You don’t. It’s all tied up, see? That’s how you do a top 10 that packs in […]

Crypto wallet startup BRD has been bought by Coinbase, according to a BRD blog post Wednesday (Nov. 24), which co-founders Adam Traidman and Aaron Voisine say will accelerate the company’s decentralization goals. The post notes that “at this time, nothing will change in the BRD wallet app” and reassures users that their funds are “safe […]

In today’s top Europe, Middle East and Africa news, UK investing app Freetrade surpasses funding goal by 800%; Sweden calls on Europe to pull the plug on bitcoin mining. Plus, Kenyan FinTech Asilimia closes $2M pre-seed funding, Pan-African firm M-KOPA’s pay-as-you-go model, and UK lawmaker calls for urgent BNPL regulation. UK Investing App Freetrade Surpasses […]

With Black Friday officially underway, nearly three-quarters of consumers have now begun their holiday shopping in a year that’s expected to be more digital than ever as consumers seek out convenient and seamless shopping experiences. Last year, three in four shoppers bought items online during Black Friday, and three in 10 shoppers bought items exclusively […]

Play-to-earn (P2E) company Avocado Guild has raised $18 million in a Series A funding round to go toward expanding its gaming services, a Wednesday (Nov. 24) Yahoo report says. Avocado and similar guilds cluster platform-to-employment gamers who can rake in crypto income from various games like Axie Infinity, which lets players collect and battle with […]

Ant Group has begun telling customers whether they’re borrowing from the company or from an outside lender, as founder Jack Ma continues his attempts to follow Chinese regulations, according to a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report Wednesday (Nov. 24). Ant has been trying to revamp its business since Chinese regulators curtailed its would-be blockbuster initial […]

KurePay, the Nigerian payments app, is reported to be suspending its services in the country over crypto exchange crackdowns, a report says. KurePay, according to the report, is dissatisfied with “the increasingly hostile regulatory environment” for crypto service providers. The decision was expedited because of two Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) orders in November, telling […]

Airlines are now aloft in greater numbers than at any time since 2019, and airline earnings are showing remarkable recovery. Along with the good optics is the more bothersome question of the bottom line, and whether airlines are making money at this stage of the recovery. Giving a sense of the arc of the airline […]

eCommerce marketplace Wish is suing the French government after the government ordered that Wish be removed from online platforms and search engines over product safety concerns, per a Tech Times report Wednesday (Nov. 24). Wish says it has always complied with the demands of the General Directorate for Competition Policy, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control […]

Bitcoin has continued a trend of surprising price spikes, passing $57,400 for a brief time on Wednesday (Nov. 24), a report from Cointelgraph says. The data from Cointelgraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows BTC/USD moving erratically within familiar price ranges, reaching $57,875 on Bitstamp around that day. They failed to hold, as buyer support still […]

Pizza chains, which typically relied heavily on off-premise sales even before quarantine, have been at the forefront of the restaurant industry’s digital shift. Now, Seattle-based fast-casual chain MOD Pizza, which has hundreds of locations across 29 states, is looking to parlay the learnings of the last couple of years into success on the public market. […]