OCC Payments Charter in the Works; Ezetap Introduces App for Fine Collection: News Roundup

PaymentFacilitator’s News Roundup is a curated mix of the past week’s news and articles from around the web, including company announcements, global payments news, and other coverage and analysis of topics relevant to payment facilitators.

Charter Chatter

The OCC is preparing to launch “payments charter 1.0.” During this podcast interview, Acting Comptroller Brian Brooks said that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is planning to roll out the first iteration of a nonbank payments charter, which he called a “national version of a state money transmission license,” soon – perhaps as early as this fall. From ABA Banking Journal.

Cashless Expansion

Cashless payments hit a record high last year in Japan, a country that is notoriously attached to its cash. Consumers used cashless methods for household spending 26.8% of the time in 2019, up 2.7% from the previous year. The country still lags other countries including South Korea, China and the U.S., however. From Nippon.com.

Amazon is planning expansion into shops in India. The ecommerce giant is launching what it calls “Smart Stores.” The program will provide small businesses with software to maintain their inventory and a QR code that customers can scan to see the inventory, choose a product, and pay for it online through Amazon Pay. From TechCrunch.

Indian PF Ezetap is introducing the ability to collect fines on the spot. The company has launched a free app for government organizations to accept fine payments from offenders without a payment device. From Express Computer.

Google It

Google Pay has the top spot in the Indian payments market… The tech giant beat out PhonePe, Amazon Pay and local leader Paytm during May, according to a report. With 75 million transacting users, Google had the largest share of the market during that time period, but its greatest competition could end up being WhatsApp. The app’s widespread use by many Indian consumers could spell trouble for Google once the payments service passes its regulatory hurdles. From Business Insider.

…and it’s now expanding the platform there to include lending. Google plans to provide credit for small and medium-sized businesses through its Google Pay app by the end of the year. The feature will be launched in partnership with Indian bank partners. Offering more value from its platform is part of the company’s strategy to remain relevant among fierce competition in the market. From Economic Times.