American Express, best known for its array of personal and corporate cards, is making a push into territory held by banks and a growing list of fintech players. The card company is launching its first checking account for small businesses by leaning on technology acquired last year in the acquisition of online lender Kabbage, CNBC has learned. The product, called Kabbage Checking, is a no-fee digital account that pays 1.1% interest on up to $100,000 in balances.
May require account to read. Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. are facing a new, proposed class action from small business owners who allege the credit card giants conspired with banks to improperly hike transaction fees on purchases made on Square Inc.'s devices. Hiking the “interchange” fees, which are charged by the credit card companies when customers swipe their cards using a Square device and ultimately passed onto merchants, violates 26 states’ antitrust laws, according to the complaint, filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York,.
The IMF offered a guarded assessment of El Salvador’s bitcoin move, with spokesperson Gerry Rice saying at a press briefing, “Adoption of bitcoin as legal tender raises a number of macroeconomic, financial, and legal issues that require very careful analysis.” The World Bank was less generous. “We are committed to helping El Salvador in numerous ways, including for currency transparency and regulatory processes,” a World Bank spokesperson told Reuters. “While the government did approach us for assistance on bitcoin, this is not something the World Bank can support given the environmental and transparency shortcomings.”
A number of startups have fashioned themselves as the “Stripe for identity verification”, providing an easy way for developers to integrate ID authentication into a platform. Today, Stripe is stepping in to fill that need itself: The company is launching a new product called Stripe Identity — a self-serve tool that companies can use to verify user identities, with Stripe managing the customer data in an encrypted format, using computer vision and machine learning to “read” and match up government IDs with live selfies. Stripe says the service works in as little as 15 seconds.
Payment companies are having their own awakening, spurred by a COVID-related surge in e-commerce. While some 20th-century payments companies are household names, such as credit card giant Visa and digital payments processor PayPal, the bevy of young companies driving the industry’s change and filling their coffers with venture capital are names most Americans have never heard. They’re businesses that don't have the swagger of a space travel company, and they don’t routinely grab headlines like their fintech cousins in cryptocurrencies.
The first fruits of GoDaddy Inc.’s acquisition six months ago of payments-technology provider Poynt Inc. emerged Tuesday with the announcement of GoDaddy Payments, a service aimed at unifying payments capabilities for GoDaddy’s base of e-commerce clients. To start with, GoDaddy Payments will focus on e-commerce transactions for clients using GoDaddy Websites + Marketing and Managed WordPress WooCommerce services.
If you do any shopping online, you’ve no doubt seen offers to pay for that sweater or mattress in installments using services from Affirm, Afterpay, Klarna and other fintech companies. These “buy now, pay later” startups got a boost from the growth in online shopping during the pandemic. The e-commerce platform Shopify just expanded its partnership with Affirm to nearly half a million merchants. And the model is moving beyond retail to include things like rent, travel, even medical bills.
The companies make money in different ways. Some charge merchants for their services, others charge fees and interest to users. Some require a credit check. Others don’t. I spoke with Sheridan Trent, a research analyst for the Strawhecker Group, a consulting firm that works with some “buy now, pay later” companies.
An influential shareholder activist, Ackman immediately thought about the growing interest in ethical, or ESG, investing. In this case, he wasn’t an investor in any of the publicly traded companies that he knew were profiting from Pornhub’s content, which is often uploaded from users the same way individuals post videos on YouTube. But he was friendly with Mastercard’s then-CEO Ajay Banga, whom he had met through a mutual friend. Ackman texted Banga, providing a link to Kristof’s story with his tweet: “Amex, VISA and MasterCard should immediately withhold payments or withdraw until this is fixed. PayPal has already done so.” (Ackman was unaware that American Express already did not allow its card to be used on adult sites.) Banga quickly wrote back: “We’re on it.”
May require account to read. Capital One has landed a credit card partnership with Williams-Sonoma, becoming the home furnishings retailer’s exclusive issuer and reaching a deal to buy its existing card portfolio. The McLean, Virginia, company signed a long-term agreement to offer co-branded and private-label credit cards, it said Tuesday. Williams-Sonoma’s brands include Pottery Barn, West Elm and Mark & Graham. Capital One’s deal to buy the retailer’s existing card portfolio ends a yearslong partnership between San Francisco-based Williams-Sonoma and Alliance Data Systems, the parent company of Comenity Bank.
In the latest sign of peak cryptocurrency mania subsiding, a token backed by billionaire Mark Cuban crashed down to zero dollars Tuesday, joining a slew of other hyped-up cryptocurrencies that have crashed over the past month after frenzied trading drove the market to meteoric price highs this year. A wave of panic selling Wednesday morning drove the price of Iron Titanium, a token Cuban disclosed he owned earlier this week, from a Wednesday high above $64 to less than 0.01% of a penny by Thursday morning after some of its biggest investors started selling the token at high volumes, spooking individual investors and triggering the massive selloff.
British financial technology firm Wise said Thursday it expects to go public on the London Stock Exchange through a direct listing. Wise, which was formerly known as TransferWise, said it was seeking a direct listing rather than an initial public offering as it doesn’t need to raise any fresh capital. Direct listings allow companies to go public without involving underwriters or issuing new shares. The company said its stock market debut will be the first direct listing of a tech company in London.
Retailers and other small business owners in six US cities will soon be able to accept contactless payments on an Android NFC smartphone using Visa’s software-only Tap to Phone solution. Visa launched its first US pilot scheme for the solution in Washington DC this week and will go on to distribute the technology to small businesses in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles and Miami as part of a “commerce in a box” initiative.
Sezzle, a leader in the Buy Now, Pay Later industry, is pleased to announce its partnership with Gridiron––providing the fastest growing youth football league in the US with their innovative digital payment solution. Sezzle's "BNPL" online payment option is growing in popularity, as millions of shoppers opt for the convenience of paying in four easy installments, over six weeks, with zero interest. Among similar buy now, pay later platforms, Sezzle is gaining traction as the most user-friendly, trusted and performance-driven pay later solution for retailers.
U.S. regulators have once again punted their decision on whether to approve a Bitcoin ETF. The Securities and Exchange Commission said in a Wednesday regulatory filing that it will seek more public comment on a proposal to list a product on Cboe Global Markets Inc. It’s not the first time this year that the SEC has delayed giving an answer to the legions of crypto advocates pushing for a way to trade the largest cryptocurrency in an exchange-traded fund format.
US lawmakers are preparing legislation that would require a vast range of public and private entities to alert the government within 24 hours of a cybersecurity breach, following a wave of ransomware attacks that have threatened the nation's economic and national security. The bipartisan draft by Sens. Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat; Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican; and Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, reflects a renewed effort by Congress to pass long-awaited federal rules surrounding cybersecurity breach notifications. There is currently no single federal standard, which critics have said for years is a hindrance to protecting the nation from cyberattacks.
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday considerably raised its expectations for inflation this year and brought forward the time frame on when it will next raise interest rates. However, the central bank gave no indication as to when it will begin cutting back on its aggressive bond-buying program, though Fed Chairman Jerome Powell acknowledged that officials discussed the issue at the meeting. “You can think of this meeting that we had as the ‘talking about talking about’ meeting,” Powell said in a phrase that recalled a statement he made a year ago that the Fed wasn’t “thinking about thinking about raising rates.”
The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits increased last week for the first time in 1-1/2 months, but layoffs are easing amid a reopening economy and a shortage of people willing to work. While other data on Thursday showed factory activity in the mid-Atlantic region continuing to grow at a steady pace in June, a measure of future production surged to its highest level in nearly 30 years.
After a year stuck at home, the majority of U.S. consumers, 70%, say they want to start traveling again, with more than 50% planning one to two vacations in the next six months, according to Discover’s annual travel survey. “It’s clear consumers have a strong desire to travel again as we head into the summer months and the economic recovery continues,” said Jacob Ayoub, vice president of consumer and competitive insights at Discover.
The US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has approved Adyen's application to establish a Federal Foreign Branch in San Francisco, California. The OCC's approval and its granting of the branch charter in combination with the Federal Reserve's approval of the application on May 24, 2021 permits Adyen to commence operations as a Federal Foreign Branch. Obtaining this US branch license allows Adyen to enhance its US activities and operations in line with those conducted in Europe under its European banking license (obtained in 2017).
Funds managed by Advent International are investing $430 million in the Brazilian payments company Ebanx, financing its growth in Latin America ahead of an initial public offering planned for the coming months, Ebanx Chief Executive said on Tuesday. CEO and co-founder Joao Del Valle said the company plans to use the proceeds from acquisitions to further expand operations in countries such as Mexico, Colombia and Argentina. Advent is also buying a stake from Ebanx’s existing investors.
U.K. digital wealth manager Nutmeg will soon become part of JPMorgan Chase, the company announced Thursday (June 17). With more than 140,000 clients and over £3.5 billion of assets under management, Nutmeg “will form the bedrock of the bank’s retail digital wealth management offering internationally over the long term, complementing the launch of Chase as a digital bank in the UK later this year,” Nutmeg CEO Neil Alexander said on the company blog. Alexander said the products and services customers receive from Nutmeg will not be affected.
Checkout.com, the leading cloud-based payments solutions provider, announces its largest acquisition to date of Estonian software development firm, Icefire. Checkout.com has seen the demand for its innovative payment solutions swell to an all-time high, with transaction volume tripling in the past year. The payments company helps global enterprises achieve better performing payments to drive more revenue and deliver better customer experiences through a customizable platform. Customers of the company include some of Europe’s top companies like Klarna, Revolut, Wise
BMO Harris Bank is expanding its relationship with financial technology leader FIS® with a major, multi-year program to transform its core banking systems to support the bank’s growth plans in the U.S. As a long-time FIS client, BMO will implement the FIS Modern Banking Platform to power an expanded retail digital platform, which will offer U.S. consumers a range of mobile-first deposit and checking accounts. BMO has significantly extended its retail footprint beyond the Midwest, with a national banking platform and accepting digital deposits in all 50 states.
CDK Global, Inc., a leading retail automotive technology company, launched CDK OnePay, a dealership-wide payment solution fueled by Global Payments, a leading worldwide provider of payment technology and software solutions. It is designed to help dealers create a frictionless customer experience with end-to-end seamless payment technologies and expanded payment options. CDK OnePay enables dealerships to request payments via text, email, or in person while allowing their customers the convenience to pay with credit, debit or digital wallets via mobile phone according to their preferences.
Afterpay, the leader in "Buy Now, Pay Later" payments, announced that it has appointed Zahir Khoja as General Manager of North America. Zahir will be responsible for key functions of the North American business including sales, client relationships, business growth and partnerships, as the company continues its rapid market expansion. Previously, Zahir served as the executive vice president of global merchant solutions and partnerships at Mastercard.
DailyPay, the leader in on-demand pay, has teamed up with PNC Bank and The Clearing House to offer real-time payments over the RTP® network, creating the ability to fulfill employee payment needs 24/7/365 with unmatched speed and accuracy. "We are constantly exploring ways to innovate our industry-leading technology platform and build upon the gold-standard service we provide our client partners and their employees," said Ron Munkittrick, senior vice president, External Operations, DailyPay.
Fiserv, Inc., a leading global provider of financial services technology solutions, announced Republic Bank has selected Fiserv as its new strategic technology partner for core processing, payments and digital solutions. Ranked as America’s #1 Bank for Service by Forbes in 2020, Republic Bank’s engagement with Fiserv signals its commitment to continue setting the bar for the best-in-class banking experience across every channel.
Emburse, a global leader in expense management and accounts payable automation, announces the launch of Emburse Pay - B2B Payments, delivering strategic spend management for corporate accounts payable teams. Emburse Pay - B2B Payments provides an integrated payables solution for teams to easily manage and track the entire invoice approval and payment process.
Bora Payment Systems, LLC, announced that its powerful new tool for A/P card payments will serve VISA Commercial Card customers of Western Alliance Bank to efficiently pay suppliers while offering best-of-class functionality, security and convenience with Bora’s patented Payer Direct Hub® (“PDH”). With more than $40 billion in assets, Western Alliance Bank is one of the nation’s top-performing financial institutions.
