RBI to Regulate Payment Aggregators; Square Gets Conditional FDIC Approval: 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.

Regulatory Revamp

RBI issues plans to supervise payment aggregators. The Reserve Bank of India released new guidelines this week detailing how it plans to change its regulation of payment aggregators. The bank provided new application criteria and new direction for the subset of payments companies, including governance, technology, security and operational requirements. From The Economic Times.

POS Evolution

Ghana’s QR payments launching soon. Ghana’s government says it is ready to become the first African country to establish a universal QR code system to enable businesses to accept digital payments without POS devices. Consumers will be able to scan any QR code displayed at a merchant location to make their payment. The launch is planned to take place this month. From GhanaWeb.

“Asset-lite” technology could be India’s acquiring news story of 2020. In its annual report on the state of digital payments in India, Worldline predicts that “asset-lite” technologies – digital payment solutions to accept all forms of payment using merchants’ mobile phones rather than traditional POS systems – will be the “game changer” for merchant acquiring during 2020. The technology’s lower cost, ability to add new revenue streams and convenience are likely to drive its mainstream adoption, the company said. From Worldline.

Fintech Forward

FamPay raises $4.7 million for teen payment app. FamPay, a startup that has developed a payments app for teenagers in India, just raised $4.7 million in seed funding. The app provides a way for teens to make purchases digitally online and in stores without first setting up a bank account. The company plans to use the funds to help build out its engineering team and develop its technology. From YourStory.

Smartphone maker Lava enables payments for feature phones. India-based smartphone company Lava has launched a payment option for users of its feature phones. The app works without an internet connection. It enables users to enter the phone number of the person they would like to send money to and enter a transaction passcode to make a payment. Users can also check account balances and perform other banking and payment functions through the app. From Hindustan Times.

Buy-now-pay-later capabilities come to France. French consumers can now buy now and pay later through a new startup, Alma, which underwent a $14.1 million funding round. The company operates similarly to Klarna, which does not have a presence in France. Merchants who offer the payment option are paid instantly while consumers can spread out their payments. From TechCrunch.

Industry News

Square: Square Receives Conditional FDIC Approval for Industrial Loan Charter Application for Deposit Insurance

ControlScan: ControlScan Becomes One of the First PCI Software Security Framework Assessor Companies

Fattmerchant: HindSite Software Partners with Fattmerchant to Create Seamless Payment Processing Experience for Field Service Industry

AnywhereCommerce: AnywhereCommerce Announces a Partnership with FroogalPay to Activate Payment Processing at Stadiums and Arenas Across the US

ClientPay: ClientPay Partners With Deltek, Offering Customers The Ability To Streamline Credit Card Acceptance And Accelerate Cash Flow

Shopify: Announcing Native Support for 3D Models and Video on Shopify

Mastercard: phos and Mastercard Enable MSMEs to Accept Digital Payments

Wirecard: Wirecard and Klarna Launch Joint Payment Solution for Merchants

RunSignup: RunSignup Releases Tools for Coronavirus Emergency Planning

PAR Technology Corporation: PAR Technology Corporation Announces 2019 Fourth Quarter and Full Year Results

Karma Payments: Nonprofits Can Now Rent Technology to Boost Fundraising

Karma Payments: New Partnership Creates Comprehensive Payment Solutions for Vending and Nonprofits

Innoviti: Innoviti Introduces Cloud Payment Reconciliation Technology to Provide Single Integrated View of Wireless Instore Payments

athenahealth, Inc.: Healthcare Consumers Increasingly Making Payments Online, New athenahealth Research Shows

Barclays: State of the Industry: Global Financial Services Players Yet to Align on Key Issues of Collaboration, Innovation and Cybersecurity

Nets: Nets Acquires Leading Polish Payment Provider Polskie ePłatności (PeP)