Новости за 29.12.2021

Ultrafast delivery is expanding throughout the United States and around the world, posing questions for convenience retailers that, if not answered quickly, could become a significant threat to their existence. After all, so much of convenience stores’ value prop comes from their geographical convenience, a benefit that becomes largely irrelevant when consumers can get items […]

If you look deeper at the news of India’s central bank accepting a “basic” digital rupee as “a safe, robust, and convenient alternative to physical cash,” something jumps out of the “Report on Trends and Progress of Banking in India 2020-21,” released on Tuesday (Dec. 28).  Compared with cash, a central bank digital currency would […]

The pandemic provides an ongoing education as to what frictions consumers will and won’t endure at checkout. People now have firm ideas about what good (and not so good) checkout experiences are, and merchants need to provide the right experience at that moment or risk the sale — and possibly even the customer. Merchants are combatting […]

The Emirates Development Bank said Wednesday (Dec. 29) that since the bank launched its Business Banking App in September, more than 500 United Arab Emirates-based small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and startups have opened accounts within a 48-hour window. EDB’s Business Banking App offers access to a 24/7 secure, convenient, on-the-go digital banking services, according […]

Next year could bring food supply disruptions and empty grocery store shelves to people in the U.K. thanks to new EU border controls, British food industry officials are warning. As The Telegraph reported Wednesday (Dec. 29), the British Frozen Food Federation (BFFF) says stricter controls on plant and animal products imported into the UK from […]

India abounds in unicorns this year, the newest being New Delhi-based GlobalBees, founded in April and now valued at $1.1 billion after its $110 million Series B fundraise just announced Wednesday (Dec. 29), as the company builds and scales a portfolio of digital-first brands. Widely seen as mirroring the Thrasio model of acquiring and scaling […]

Card-to-card and international payments platform Paysend has launched a technology partnership with Tencent Holdings’ FinTech division that will let people receive money over Tencent’s WeChat service. According to a Wednesday (Dec. 29) news release, the partnership will let Paysend users make cross-border payments through licensed banks in China, with the funds going to bank accounts […]

Nearly 30 firms that are either headquartered in the U.K. or have stock market listings in the region have registered for two major “over-the-counter” markets operated by OTC Markets Group, which allows U.S. investors to buy their shares, according to a Financial Times report Tuesday (Dec. 28). That’s more than twice the number of U.K. […]

ProShares applied to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for an exchange-traded fund (ETF) focused on the metaverse on Tuesday (Dec. 28), according to a CoinDesk report. If the SEC approves the application, the ProShares Metaverse Theme ETF would track the performance of the Solactive Metaverse Theme Index, a list of companies exposed to the […]

The rapid rise in popularity of digital and contactless payments in Ireland has caught the attention of a leading consumer association when some stores reportedly started turning down cash payments from customers, the Independent reported on Wednesday (Dec. 29). Shoppers in Ireland can’t be forced to use digital payment means and cash should be accepted […]

“In stock.” Just two little words, and yet, a huge harbinger of customer joy these days as increasingly savvy digital consumers scour the web to find better prices, faster delivery or simply checking on inventory. The frustration of thinking something is available when it’s not — even in our highly digitized, artificial intelligence-capable world where it should be […]

Israeli FinTech PayMe is planning to expand into the European market, capitalizing on a change in regulations that have led to a “gold rush.” As The Jerusalem Post reported Wednesday (Dec. 29), the company hopes to offer its services to small business-focused platforms, organizations and marketplaces in Europe, allowing them to integrate services such as […]

Once among the hottest stars on Wall Street, FinTech startups lit up the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ, dazzling investors as the pandemic turbo-charged digital adoption of just about everything. But now many of those big names — think PayPal, Block (formerly Square) and Robinhood — are feeling the bitter cold winds of change […]

The great digital shift may be upon us, but money has a problem simply getting around. Drew Edwards, CEO of Ingo Money, says solving the “money mobility” issue will be key for providers in 2022 and beyond. Right now, we’re in the tech-enabled equivalent of the banking days of yesteryear, where individuals held accounts at […]

The year is almost in the rearview mirror — and looking back, 2021 represents a formative year for payments. Randy Guard, head of product at Spreedly, told PYMNTS in a recent interview that merchants and payment services have had to grow their digital businesses quickly and at scale, embracing new payments functionality along the way. […]

There is no better teacher than experience — and when you add in the benefit of holiday season hindsight that’s just a few days old, the opportunity for edification is even greater.   As much as this year’s peak retail season was fraught with supply chain challenges, pandemic uncertainties and economic under currents, Steve Sadove, former […]

Acquiring banks face a profitability challenge: Just 53% of the merchants they have on their platforms are turning a profit. The rest of their merchant accounts often wind up losing revenues to fraud, low transaction volumes and credit losses, while others just close out before they have the chance to transact enough to turn a […]

Much has been made of the great digital shift in eCommerce, where, as the pandemic wound its way through its first year, we went to online channels to get what we needed. Andrew Sajeski, vice president of solution consulting, biller segment at ACI Worldwide, told PYMNTS that billers — which let consumers receive and pay […]

DiRx, a digital health company offering savings on generic Food and Drug Administration-approved medication through an online pharmacy, has raised $10 million in Series A funding. According to a Tuesday (Dec. 28) press release, the funding will go toward the company’s expansion and national market reach of its pharmacy model. DiRx helps reduce supply chain […]

Apple has given some large, unique stock bonuses to some engineers to try and keep talent in the company as employees defect to other tech rivals, Yahoo reported Tuesday (Dec. 28). The company has been losing people to rivals like Facebook’s parent company, Meta. Last week, Apple told some engineers that there were out-of-cycle bonuses […]

Apple has given some large, unique stock bonuses to some engineers to try and keep talent in the company as employees defect to other tech rivals, Yahoo reported Tuesday (Dec. 28). The company has been losing people to rivals like Facebook’s parent company, Meta. Last week, Apple told some engineers that there were out-of-cycle bonuses […]

For all the talk of DeFi changing the financial world forever, the reality is that decentralized finance is largely a closed system. For the most part, cryptocurrency owners put up their crypto as collateral for loans in dollar-pegged stablecoins, then use them to invest in DeFi projects. The closed loop opened a little Tuesday (Dec. […]

GameStop is looking for non-fungible token (NFT) creators, with its NFT website now featuring a call for “all creators.” Interested users can request to become an NFT creator on the site by completing an online form, which asks questions like whether the applicant is an independent artist or a company representative. The form also asks […]

Crypto saw a drop in the markets early on Tuesday (Dec. 28), which then resulted in around $300 million in liquidations among numerous crypto futures contracts, according to data from Coinglass. CoinDesk reported that there were over 109,000 traders’ positions liquidated in the past day, and while bitcoin prices were up above $52,000 on Monday, […]

In today’s top crypto news, the metaverse took the spotlight as metaverse identity issuance protocol Kudo Money raised millions to bring on-chain identity to mainstream cryptocurrency. Elsewhere in the metaverse, the luxury crypto marketplace UNXD is throwing a (sort of) live fashion show, complete with an after-party — and while not yet part of the […]