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Paysafe, Square Expand Mobile Ordering for Local Businesses
Ordering ahead with your mobile phone isn’t just for pizza anymore.
Mobile ordering is often associated with pizza delivery and big fast casual chains. But increasingly, platforms are enabling smaller, local businesses to get in the game.
London-based payment facilitator Paysafe is rolling out a new mobile ordering app called GOLO. The app will enable customers to order not only from local restaurants, but other businesses as well. They can then either pick up their order or have it delivered.
Read MoreSquare Trims Losses, Continues Steady Payments Volume Growth
New sellers and an expanding product line made 2016 a good year for Square.
In its earnings report on Wednesday, the company said its net loss per share during the final quarter of 2016 was $.04, a significant improvement from $.34 during the same period the previous year.
Read MoreETA Launches Committee for PFs, Acknowledging Tremendous Market Growth Potential
The Electronic Transactions Association is launching a new committee, pointing to the growing importance of PFs within today’s payments industry. Members of ETA’s Payment Facilitator Committee will address challenges and issues having to do with compliance, business and technology in the PF space.
Read MorePayPal to Acquire TIO Networks, Citing Shared Interest in “Democratizing Money”
Leading payment facilitator PayPal announced on Tuesday that it plans to acquire TIO Networks. TIO is a Vancouver-based bill payment processor.
The companies cite their interest in providing services to the underserved as a key philosophical fit. And with this acquisition, PayPal gains an expanded offering for its consumer base.
Read MorePodcast: Getting the Most Out of Underwriting Tools
In this week’s podcast, we talk to Marcus Smith, senior vice president of Risk Management for iPayment, a provider of payment solutions and processing services, about the tools used in underwriting submerchants.
Smith points out that while underwriting tools themselves are relatively simple, interpreting the results effectively requires some training.
Read MoreFLYR Hoping Installment Payments Will Make Fliers Out of More People
Travel tech company FLYR thinks you shouldn’t have to pay a significant upfront sum for your travel booking, so it’s offering another option: installment payments.
Through client partners such as travel sites, airlines and online travel agents, FLYR offers consumers the ability to spread out the expense of their travel with no interest and no credit check, through a product they call TripPay.
Read MoreThailand’s PromptPay Arrives, with Plans to Displace Cash
Thailand took a step toward a digital economy this past week with its release of PromptPay, which enables consumers to send and receive payments using mobile phone numbers or national identification numbers rather than bank account numbers.
PromptPay is part of the Thai government’s effort to develop a national electronic payments infrastructure, which is intended to reduce cash usage and to make the payments system more efficient and transparent, as well as to provide e-commerce opportunities for small to medium businesses.
Read MoreWestern Union Settlement a Reminder for PFs: AML Responsibility Doesn’t End at Onboarding
In the announcement last week that Western Union had agreed to pay $586 million as part of a settlement with the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission to resolve investigations into anti-money laundering and consumer fraud violations, authorities described the settlement as the “largest forfeiture ever imposed on a money services business.”
What should payment facilitators take away from this settlement?
Read MoreNews Roundup: Stripe Adds European Payment Methods
In our roundup of this week’s industry news, payment facilitators in the U.S. and in Europe are building out features and expanding their services.
Leading payment facilitator Stripe announced that it has added support for five local European payment methods: Bancontact, Giropay, iDEAL, SEPA Direct Debit, and SOFORT.
Read MoreOpinion: States Have Potential to Transform the Regulatory Landscape for Payments
Policymakers in D.C. and across the country are looking at the modern payments industry with an eye towards regulating it, taxing it, or increasing their cost of doing business. Now is the time for industry officials to work with policymakers to shape good public policy.
One area state policymakers are examining is money transmitter laws. Regulations on money transmitters are changing rapidly and are changing how the payments industry operates.
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