Новости за 10.12.2021

As the tagline for “Alien” so helpfully reminds us, “In space, no one can hear you scream.” That’s probably for the best as commercial space flights and projects proliferate, carrying crews not of military-trained fighter pilots and aloof NASA scientists, but of regular people instead. Thing is, those regular people may scream when blasted into […]

Getty Images is going public through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) deal that values the firm at $4.8 billion and is supported by CC Capital and Neuberger Berman, according to a Financial Times report Friday (Dec. 10). That valuation is more than 15 times Getty’s 2022 EBITDA. The CC-Neuberger SPAC has raised about $1.2 […]

Consumers’ use of automated payments for subscription services has grown steadily, but growth has been particularly substantial over the past two years. This behavior aligns with consumers’ increased appetite for subscription services, with many now subscribing to TV streaming, online gaming, digital music, online software and connected devices, consumer retail products, financial services, education and […]

London-headquartered next-generation FinTech and banking app Twig Group acquired secondhand clothing marketplace Loopster for an undisclosed amount. Twig Founder and CEO Geri Cupi said in a press release on Friday (Dec. 10) that together, Loopster and Twig will “deliver the next generation of resale” that is not only green but optimally “combines with banking and […]

European Central Bank executive board member Fabio Panetta said during a lecture in Rome that cryptocurrencies and digital assets won’t benefit society or the wider economy, according to a Bloomberg report Friday (Dec. 10).  “There is no sign that crypto assets have performed, or are performing, socially or economically useful functions,” he said during his […]

Payment and invoice management platform Bottomline Technologies Inc. is looking into a potential sale and is working with Deutsche Bank AG on its options, people with knowledge of the situation told Bloomberg on Thursday (Dec. 9). Bottomline has recently been courted by private equity firms, the sources said. The company hasn’t made any financial decisions […]

Proprietary tech-enabled data platform Spend Matters closed an investment deal with private investment firm Copley Equity Partners for an unspecified amount, according to a press release on Friday (Dec. 10). Copley Equity Partners, which focuses on lower middle-market companies with strong growth opportunities, backed Spend Matters in part due to its ability to affect purchasing […]

Meta is offering new tools for creators on Facebook to monetize their work and track their audience growth. According to the company blog and a variety of published reports this week, the platform’s new professional mode lets creators access the bonus program offered in Reels. Reels is the short-term video feature offered by Instagram — […]

Digitizing business-to-business (B2B) payment processes that have long been manual is no easy task, but this action is becoming more necessary for companies operating globally. Organizations continue migrating toward digital channels and are beginning to incorporate newer technologies to assist their accounts payable (AP) and accounts receivable (AR) processes. Considering the cost of paper-based invoices in […]

User data platform Inrupt has raised about $30 million in its Series A financing round, giving Worldwide Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee and technologist John Bruce fresh capital for global expansion.  Forte Ventures led the latest funding round for Inrupt, while existing investors including Akamai Technologies and Glasswing Ventures contributed, as did new investors Allstate and […]

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Thursday (Dec. 9) that he wants to allow businesses to pay state fees with cryptocurrencies. He’d be wise to include stablecoins like USD Coin among them. Celebrities and athletes like (most recently) the Rams’ star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. are taking their salaries in bitcoin — and BTC-boosting Miami […]

The World Health Organization sounded a hopeful-yet-cautious note this week on the omicron variant of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to published reports, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that “certain features of omicron, including its global spread and large number of mutations, suggest it could have a major impact on the course of the pandemic.” […]

Business-to-business (B2B) payment and financing platform for emerging markets Tribal Credit is teaming up with Latin American crypto exchange Bitso and the Stellar Development Foundation to develop a new platform to facilitate cross-border B2B payments, according to a press release. Using Tribal Credit’s new cross-border payment service, Mexican businesses can send B2B payments in pesos […]

The Kraft Heinz Company will acquire 85% of Just Spices GmbH, with the company’s three founders retaining the other 15% of the German-based food company and shifting their focus to international expansion, according to a joint announcement Friday (Dec. 10).   Just Spices has annual sales of about 60 million euros (almost $68 million), selling […]

Irish FinTech startup CoinCub has released its cryptocurrency rankings for the fourth quarter of 2021, putting the nation of Singapore in the top spot. Under the heading “The future is happening in Singapore,” CoinCub calls the country the most promising for crypto investors to live and work. “The city-state’s robust economy, positive legislative environment, and […]

Aside from it being their busy season, what do the CEOs of AutoZone, Best Buy, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Target and over a dozen other mega-retail leaders have in common?   In a word, theft.  But more specifically, a growing concern and frustration with the recent rise of brazen, organized, “smash and grab” mass robbery attacks on […]

Employer-sponsored buy now, pay later (BNPL) offering medZERO on Friday (Dec. 10) announced it has closed a $5.7 million seed financing round that it will use to invest in its digital platform and hire new employees in the sales, marketing and operations departments. Silicon Valley venture capital firm True Ventures led the latest medZERO funding […]

Microsoft is set to receive the green light from EU antitrust regulators on its $16 billion purchase of the artificial intelligence (AI) and speech technology firm Nuance Communications. As Reuters reported on Friday (Dec. 10), sources close to the matter say the deal will receive unconditional approval. The news comes just three days after a […]

Shopping and delivery company Shipt is teaming up with digital commerce solution provider Wynshop (formerly ThryveAI) to launch a fully integrated solution for local grocers to offer same-day delivery. The collaboration will have Shipt deliver orders made through grocers’ digital storefronts on Wynshop’s platform. The partnership is intended to make it easy for local supermarkets […]

Social investment platform eToro on Friday (Dec. 10) launched the eToro Money program across the U.K., allowing users to deposit and withdraw money as well as manage their cryptocurrency and other investments in one place.  eToro Club members will get a free Visa debit card as part of their accounts with no setup costs or […]

The Worcester Red Sox and Standard AI on Friday (Dec. 10) launched the first autonomous retail experience in professional baseball in the WooSox Market at Polar Park, a minor league baseball stadium in central Massachusetts, according to a press release.  The WooSox Market uses cameras equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud connectivity to allow […]

With just over two weeks left before Christmas, consumers are starting to enter crunch time for holiday shopping, and Walmart is continuing to push to stay top of mind in these final 15 days. Earlier this week, the box store giant expanded its partnership with Yahoo! to include a new game on Instagram, a video […]

Nike on Wednesday (Dec. 8) filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission, asking it to block imports of 49 Adidas shoe designs that use Primeknit technology, saying they infringe upon six Nike patents related to its Flyknit design technology. Last year, Adidas was unsuccessful in its attempt to invalidate two of the Nike […]

Quickly and easily identifying consumers online is critical for any entity conducting business on virtual channels, especially financial institutions (FIs), government entities and merchants. Determining the identities of their users with the necessary speed and security is becoming more and more difficult in a world where digital fraud is an increasing concern. This concern has […]

Twenty years ago, the payments system in the United States was so stable that it was considered the backwater of banking and finance, Rob Hunter, deputy general counsel of The Clearing House (TCH), a banking association and payments company owned by the largest U.S. commercial banks, told Karen Webster in a PYMNTS TV TechREG conversation. […]