Friday March 15, 2019 –
Here are the new and noteworthy stories we have been following this week.
UK bank to trial fingerprint technology for card payments
NatWest is launching a 200 customer trial of biometric fingerprint technology for contactless cards.
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/11/uk-bank-to-trial-fingerprint-technology-for-card-payments.html
Facebook’s cryptocurrency could be a $19 billion revenue opportunity, Barclays says
Barclays sees $19 billion in additional revenue from cryptocurrency and payments in its “upside case” for Facebook by 2021.
Goldman’s Apple Card Leads to Big Win for Tiny Georgia Firm
Goldman Sachs to reportedly license credit card issuer processing software from CoreCard for its new credit card program.
CULedger and IBM Announce Collaboration to Deliver Blockchain Services for Financial Cooperatives and Credit Unions Worldwide
CULedger and IBM announced a collaboration to use permissioned blockchain technologies to develop new business models and services for credit unions.
Mastercard to buy Ethoca to reduce fraud in digital commerce
Mastercard is acquiring Ethoca, a firm that helps merchants and card issuers collaborate in real-time to identify and resolve fraud in digital commerce.
https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/33522/mastercard-to-buy-ethoca-to-reduce-digital-commerce-fraud
Green Dot targets social media influencers in banking-as-service push
Green Dot is developing an affinity banking service, Bank OS which is a ‘lighter’ version of its enterprise banking-as-a-service platform.
PayPal now lets US users instantly transfer funds to bank accounts in seconds
PayPal is launching Instant Transfer to bank, which will let customers receiving money via PayPal instantly move it into their bank accounts.
ZayZoon Closes $15M Financing Round
ZayZoon, a Canada-based provider of Wages On-Demand and employee financial payroll solutions, raised $15 million in funding to continue its North American expansion.
Micro-investing startup Stash raises $65 mln, launches stock rewards program
Stash has raised $65 million in new funding and launched a new debit rewards program through which users can receive fractional shares of stock of companies or in an ETF.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/micro-investing-startup-stash-raises-130000453.html
Why Goldman Sachs Is Interested in a Small Bike Shop in Mexico
A number of investment firms are increasingly active in Mexico providing capital to fintech firms operating in the credit sector.
Alliance Data Provides Card Services Performance Update For February 2019
In conjunction with the release of the Company’s Master Trust Monthly Noteholder’s Statement, Alliance Data released similar metrics for the overall total managed portfolio.
