Новости за 23.12.2021

Decentralized finance solutions have transformed the payments landscape, presenting a new vista of possibilities for seamless cross-border expansion for multinationals and businesses aspiring to launch new global initiatives.  Cross-border firms have many use cases for cryptocurrency and blockchain. The leading use case is blockchain-based smart contracts that trigger payment, which 42% of businesses currently employ […]

Cryptocurrency in the South American nation of Paraguay could be facing new rules in the new year. The measure was approved by Paraguay’s Chamber of Senators last summer. Under the legislation, virtual assets are defined, and a license would be required to mine cryptocurrencies. It will now be considered by the country’s Deputy Chamber. The […]

Buy now, pay later (BNPL) gives those with spotty credit histories a second chance. Plus, digital spinoffs are becoming increasingly popular across the fashion landscape, and retailers must figure out a way to implement eye-tracking technology in a way that benefits customers. Data:  4%: Average price drop of Nordstrom products 35%: Drop in Nordstrom’s stock […]

U.S. executives say they are worried that U.S., U.K. and European Union regulators are scheming to block transactions they dislike, even if they do not strictly fall under their domain. The criticism stems from recent deals that are being subject to more antitrust scrutiny than initially anticipated, like Nvidia-Arm, Illumina-Grail or Facebook-Giphy. But if you ask Margrethe Vestager, the European Union’s competition chief, the […]

Latin American consumers are ditching legacy banks in favor of service providers that better meet their mobile-first banking needs. In the Digitizing Payments In Latin American Playbook, Brad Liebmann, CEO of Brazilian FinTech alt.bank, discusses how outdated infrastructure is hampering the ability of legacy financial institutions (FIs) to satisfy consumers' evolving needs.

While dozens of industry executives took part this fall in PYMNTS “Ten Minutes With...” interviews, five key themes emerged from our expert panelists concerning the future of digitized business — including greater visibility, easier access to credit, faster processes, more consumer-like transactions in the B2B space and an eventual recognition of the advantages of cryptocurrency.  […]

Sudhir Jha, senior vice president and head of Mastercard’s Brighterion unit, told Karen Webster in the most recent On the Agenda discussion that artificial intelligence (AI) can strengthen credit and risk management and broaden its value well beyond simply improving day-to-day operations. But to get there, enterprises need a bit of guidance. “What used to […]

It’s been a decade in the making, but with the pandemic, and with 2022 gaining ground on the road ahead, invisible payments are a reality — or will be soon. Greg Cohen, CEO of Fortis, told PYMNTS’ Karen Webster that as 2021 passes into 2022, that assertion can be backed up and brought to fruition […]

Being able to identify your customers accurately and quickly is no longer something cryptocurrency companies can afford to ignore. Increasingly, having a strong know your customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) process “is table stakes to be in the industry, and to be a reputable player,” said Steve Munford, CEO of identity verification company Trulioo. […]

Financial institutions (FIs) that offer financial education to consumers find that it helps to build trust, Alexis Castorina, head of consumer education for Early Warning®, told PYMNTS. “The more financial institutions can invest in education overall, the more trust they’re going to build and the more value they’re going to provide to their customers — […]

We look back and take stock of what was in order to gain a roadmap for what will be. To that end, J.P. Morgan Chase Global Head of Payments Technology Mike Blandina and Global Head of Payments and Commerce Solutions Max Neukirchen said the trends in digital payments set in motion well before 2021 will […]

The pandemic has spotlighted a key urgency for financial institutions (FIs) of all types: investigating and investing in the connection between human and digital engagement while remaining focused on members’ financial wellness. CO-OP Financial Services Senior Vice President of Client Relationships Tiffany Doty told PYMNTS that the competitive landscape is heating up for credit unions […]

Metro Africa Express (MAX), a Nigerian mobility tech startup, has raised $31 million in a Series B funding round and is looking to enter more African markets as it continues to establish the transportation sector, TechCrunch reported. The funding will go toward extending vehicle financing credit to more than 100,000 drivers in the next two […]

The European Union has cleared Microsoft’s buy of Nuance, an artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing company, according to a Wednesday (Dec. 22) press release from the European Commission, which found the acquisition doesn’t pose competition concerns in the EU. “Based on its market investigation, the Commission found that the transaction, as notified, would not […]

In a report released Wednesday (Dec. 22), the Federal Reserve said that payment behavior saw a massive, pandemic-driven shift in 2020. As in-person commerce dwindled, in-person card payments also fell. As a result, there were around 11.7 billion fewer payments made, which is the first one-year decline of in-person payments in the Fed’s data. However, […]

Fintech Oportun has acquired neobanking platform Digit, which provides automated savings, investing and banking tools, the companies announced Wednesday (Dec. 22). Oportun works in low- to moderate-income lending. By buying Digit, Oportun will boost its artificial intelligence (AI) and digital capabilities to further help its customers meet financial needs. The acquisition went through for $211.1 […]

Life may get a bit easier for urban, suburban and rural consumers alike who want to shop at a big-box retailer for big-ticket items like furniture. Big retail ideas often come in small retail footprints. Case in point: Some of the world’s largest retailers have been trying out an innovative store concept lately — the […]

British nonprofit DeHealth is looking into making a “decentralized metaverse” to allow doctors and patients to interact in another “new world,” a Wednesday (Dec. 22) press release says. The release says doctors and patients will be able to work and earn virtual assets by selling anonymized medical data. The DeHealth world will incorporate a HLT, […]

Welcome to the ninth installment of PYMNTS’ nine-part series on decentralized finance (DeFi). Over the previous days, we’ve looked at every part of DeFi — the biggest, hottest, most rewarding and risky part of the blockchain revolution. Now that we’re at the end, you should know what DeFi is, how it works, and the risks […]

U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) announced Wednesday (Dec. 22) that $4.3 million in federal funding will go toward numerous Illinois healthcare providers as part of the COVID-19 Telehealth Program. The program builds on the 2020 CARES Act, and the funding was awarded by the Federal Communications Commission. It will give providers […]

Hive Blockchain will likely mine more bitcoin in the third quarter this year compared to the second quarter, the company announced in a Wednesday (Dec. 22) press release. It will also likely see a drop in ether mining because of more competition. Between Oct. 1 and Dec. 21, Hive mined 600 bitcoins and more than 6,280 […]

Short-form video-sharing service TikTok was the most popular internet site in 2021, passing even Google, online infrastructure-provider Cloudflare Inc. reported in a blog post Monday (Dec. 20). TikTok visitors use smartphone apps or browsers to watch videos that TikTok’s algorithms predict the users will find engaging, typically on a user’s “For You” page. Those algorithms […]

Louisville, Kentucky — which was a major delivery hub for U.S. carriers even before the COVID-19 pandemic turbo-charged online shopping — is suffering a severe labor shortage, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday (Dec. 22). The Louisville/Jefferson County unemployment rate for October, the latest month for which U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data is available, […]

B2B marketplace Full Harvest, which works with surplus or imperfect produce, has secured $23 million in a Series B round, per a Dec. 17 press release. With the funding, Full Harvest plans to continue building its online market, boosting data and market insights offerings and tripling its tech and product teams next year. Full Harvest […]

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is moving forward with an investigation into Amazon Web Services (AWS), the Amazon cloud computing business, over competition issues, Bloomberg reported. FTC officials have been getting information from various companies about the issues with AWS, according to the report. The probe began under the President Donald Trump administration, which […]