Category: Business | Page 4

Mastercard Joins with Unilever to Empower Small Merchants

Mastercard and Unilever announced a partnership on Wednesday through which they plan to expand access to resources for small and micro businesses in emerging markets.

The partnership will combine Unilever’s distribution network with Mastercard’s payments technology and expertise.

After Demonetization, India Seeking a New Normal

The payments news from India just keeps coming.

As the government continues its push toward a cashless society, its policies are getting mixed reviews. But companies continue to shore up their digital payment offerings, hoping to capitalize on the climate there.

European PF Klarna Expands with BillPay Acquisition

Stockholm-based payment facilitator Klarna is again expanding in Europe, this time with the purchase of German e-commerce payment company BillPay.

BillPay enables customers to pay by invoice, direct debit, or in installments through its PayLater product.

PF Leaders Square and Stripe Criticize Trump Immigration Order

President Trump’s executive order on Friday halting immigration from seven countries sparked a vocal reaction from many among the tech business community. The CEOs of Square and Stripe were among those expressing concern about the potential impact of the order, both in economic and human terms.

Worldwide Focus on Fintech Regulation Signals Opportunity for PFs

In the U.S., regulators, businesspeople and other groups are in the midst of a debate about how financial technology firms should be regulated. The OCC’s proposed special purpose national bank charter for fintech companies is one example; a white paper outlining policy objectives around the fintech sector issued by the Obama administration at the end of its term is another.

But the U.S. is hardly the only place where the deliberation over just how to oversee this rising sector is taking place. Financial technology is on the minds of governments worldwide, which signals real opportunity for payment facilitators.

European News Roundup: Rewards for U.K. Shoppers, Mastercard and Apple Pay in Spain

In this week’s roundup of news, Google offers rewards for U.K. Android Pay shoppers, Mastercard brings Apple Pay to Spain, and SecurionPay adds a cross-sale feature to its payments software.

PayPal Integrates Voice Commands in Time for Holiday Group Shopping

PayPal recently predicted that more than 17 million P2P transactions will occur during the month of December, as consumers – particularly millennials – pool money for gifts and use P2P payment apps to collect payment from each other.

According to the company’s Holiday Money Habits Study, an online survey of 1,000 American consumers released this week, half of millennials planned to go in on gifts together this holiday season compared to two-fifths of consumers in general.

GoOpti Expanding its Reach, Getting More Riders Where They Need to Go

Getting to the airport is not necessarily an easy thing to do. Driving yourself isn’t always practical, nor is it always pleasant after a long flight. Public transportation and shuttles can be difficult to schedule; you have to work with available times, and pick-up and drop-off points may not always be nearby.

GoOpti is looking to change all that, in an expanding number of locations across Europe.

Europe News Roundup: Mobile Payments Have Taken Off

A look at European payments news this week reveals that financial technology is alive and well across Europe. Visa released statistics on explosive growth in mobile payments, and several new partnerships are expanding the ways Europeans – and visitors – can pay.

Exploding Internet Access Plus Ubiquitous Smartphone Use Equals Digital Payments Boom

All the digital payments innovation will pay off in some crazy numbers soon, says a report from non-profit think tank The Demand Institute, which is run by Nielsen and The Conference Board.

That strengthens the future of PFs worldwide, as cashless payments could result in over $10 trillion in additional consumer spending over the next 10 years, the report says. That figure is hand in hand with the report’s assertion that by 2020, the Internet will be available to over 1.2 billion more people than use it today. Much of that access will be through smartphones.