Afterpay rival PayRight targets larger purchases with $30m funds raised
Australia’s booming, but controversial, buy now, pay later market has another major competitor after fintech firm PayRight raised a total of $30 million to expand its operations, which targets consumers making larger purchases than Afterpay allows. The company has largely flown under the radar in the sector, with $4.7 billion-valued ASX-listed Afterpay its most prominent rival. But PayRight is pitching itself as an option for retailers and service providers of bigger ticket items, rather than smaller impulse buys like clothing. Its funding has been compiled through a mix of debt and equity raisings over the last year led by corporate advisory firm Henslow and wealth manager Escala Partners, with the […]
Verrency extends its global reach with Banco Davivienda partnership to explore payment innovation services in Latin America
Banco Davivienda, one of Colombia’s largest banks, has signed an agreement with global payments innovator Verrency to be a launch partner in Latin America. The deal enables Banco Davivienda to leverage the Verrency platform to rapidly trial and launch new card programs, payment services and fintech partner solutions to its consumers and small business customers.Banco Davivienda joins Verrency’s growing list of financial institution clients recognized as innovation leaders in digital transformation around the world. The list includes banks such as Emirates NBD’s Liv., the fastest growing bank in the UAE targeting millennials through lifestyle-based banking experiences; Volt Bank, Australia’s first independent 100% digital bank; UnionPay, Asia’s largest cards network; an […]
50 person Facebook team plans cryptocurrency payment tech, report says
The purported coin is geared for ordinary money transfers and not investment speculation, according to The New York Times. Ready to send some virtual money to your Facebook friends or WhatsApp contacts so you can split the restaurant bill? Maybe someday you’ll be using a cryptocurrency to do so. Many people in the tech world have soured on cryptocurrencies and their accounting underpinnings, called blockchain. But Facebook remains interested, with a 50 person project underway to build a technology that’ll let members send each other digital money, The New York Times reported Thursday. Cryptocurrencies initially excited fans who wanted a new digital-era payment mechanism, but as the hype increased, investors […]
Australian regulator trials Blockchain to Automate Transaction Reporting
An Australian financial regulator is trialing blockchain technology to automate reporting of cross-border transactions by institutions. ZDNet reported Sunday that the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) has partnered with the Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne to build a prototype for the trial. The two partners will specifically examine how blockchain and smart contracts, as well as other technologies, can help entities such as banks to automate reporting of international funds transfer instructions (IFTIs) to the regulator. Australia’s Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act mandates that institutions or specific categories of individuals involved in a cross-border transfer of funds – including payer, sender and beneficiary institution – must report […]
The Samsung Galaxy S10 has a cryptocurrency wallet built in
Samsung is one of the first major smartphone makers to include a cryptocurrency wallet in its latest flagship Galaxy S10 phones. The wallet lets users store bitcoin, Ethereum, and a beauty-related cryptocurrency called Cosmo Coin. It’s a cold storage wallet, meaning it’s not connected to the internet. The Galaxy S10 phones also support select decentralized apps (“Dapps”). Currently, Samsung’s main Dapp that’s available is called Cosmee, and it lets users earn Cosmo tokens in exchange for leaving beauty reviews in the app. Cosmochain, the South Korean blockchain startup behind Cosmee, describes its app to The Verge as a blockchain-powered beauty review app — the blockchain is supposed to be a […]
Apple Pay goes plastic: Goldman Sachs and Apple partner on new credit card launch
The Apple and Goldman Sachs joint credit card could be hitting the market soon. After announcing last year that the tech giant and Wall Street firm would be launching an Apple Pay credit card, the Wall Street Journal reports that employee testing of the product should begin within the coming weeks. Both companies are looking to expand their consumer base, and this new Apple Pay credit card just might be their ticket. Apple has long been a tech favorite among the Millennial crowd, but they are beginning to shift their focus to other products and services as iPhone sales start to lose steam. To read more, please click on […]
Afterpay rival Zip narrows losses
Zip’s first-half net loss has narrowed as it more than doubled its turnover. On Thursday, the buy now, pay later provider posted a net loss of $6.8 million for the six months ended December 31, 2018, compared with a $14.6 million loss in the year earlier period. Its revenue was up 114 per cent to $34.2 million from $16.0 million turnover in the year earlier period. Zip said it now has over 1 million customer accounts and over 12,600 merchants. In the last six months Zip signed a number of major retailers to its platform, it said, including Bunnings, Target, Officeworks, Appliances Online and the Super Retail Group. To […]
Hut34 goes live with world’s first Google-powered Ethereum wallet and enhanced wallet-as-a-service offering
The Hut34 team has gone live with the world’s first Google powered cryptocurrency wallet. With a single click, users can securely, quickly and easily access their Ethereum and cryptocurrency tokens via their own Google credentials. The Hut34 Wallet beta launched late 2018 and since then a raft of exciting new features and functionality have been added to ease the public adoption of emergent token economies. “We are excited about the future applications of blockchain and cryptocurrencies, but as it stands access to and using the technology is too hard and time consuming. Only the highly motivated are willing to cross the pain threshold to enter the space,” says Tim McNamara, […]
