WhatsApp doubles down on P2P payments in India

WhatsApp doubles down on P2P payments in India

The Meta-owned messaging platform said it will offer cashback rewards for Indian consumers who make peer-to-peer payments on the app. It will also look into similar rewards for merchant payments.

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EBA, SWIFT, TCH launch cross-border program

EBA, SWIFT, TCH launch cross-border program

EBA CLEARING, SWIFT, and The Clearing House (TCH) announced this morning that they will launch a pilot program for immediate cross-border (IXB) payments. The pilot would support payments in dollars and euros.

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What’s next for Robinhood?

On Tuesday, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev announced that the online brokerage would lay off 9% of its 3,800-person full-time workforce. Shares dipped by more than 5% after news of the layoffs broke.

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Bank shareholders vote down climate-change proposals

Proposals at annual shareholder meetings for Citigroup, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo would have pushed management to curb lending for projects in oil and gas. The proposals received between 11% and 12.8% votes in favor.

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Fort Worth city gov first to mine bitcoin

This afternoon, Fort Worth, Texas, became the first city government in the U.S. to mine bitcoin. The pilot program is limited to three machines mining Bitcoin for six months.

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CFPB doubling down on fintechs

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said it would carry out supervisory exams of nonbank fintech companies that pose a risk to consumers. The CFPB has had the authority to look into nonbanks since 2013, but it’s only decided to invoke that authority now.

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Leaks suggest Apple Cash switching to Visa

According to Mac Rumors, Apple is now opening new Apple Cash virtual debit cards with Visa. Apple Cash has historically partnered with Green Dot Bank and operated on the Discover network.

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Super Bowl ads and the future of crypto trading

After dumping millions into advertisements for the Big Game earlier this year, market insights experts said they failed to see an influx of retail investors. Sources cited market uncertainty, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as reasons for the tepid response.

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Payday dispute resolutions moved online. Chaos ensued.

Analysis by The Markup, a data-driven newsroom covering Big Tech, suggests Utah’s decision to move payday disputes to online courtrooms has increased default judgments against defendants. Defaulting on these loans can lead to garnished wages and a lower credit score.

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Boosting its SWIFT alternative, Russia keeps members under wraps

In a speech to the country’s legislators, Bank of Russia Governor Elvira Nabiullina announced that members of Russia’s alternative to SWIFT, the international payments network, would be kept anonymous. She said 52 institutions from 12 countries currently participate in the network.

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JPMorgan finances $285B for ESG goals

In its ESG report for 2021, JPMorgan announced that it had financed and facilitated $285B toward various ESG goals, including development finance, green projects, and community development. It’s part of its larger goal to commit $2.5T toward ESG initiatives over the next decade.

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Will the public accept biometric payments?

Amazon announced that it had added Amazon One—which lets customers pay with their palm print—to the checkout process at a Whole Foods store in Austin, Texas. It’s one of the first Amazon-owned stores outside Seattle to have the feature.

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Mastercard links bonuses to ESG goals

In a memo to staff, Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach said all employees’ compensation would be tied to the company’s ESG goals. This had previously only been the case for Mastercard executives.

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What’s next for SMB payments?

This morning, Fyle, an India-based expense-management platform serving US businesses, announced that it launched a real-time spend-management integration for all Visa cards. Fyle said it would roll out similar integrations with other card issuers at an unspecified date.

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How can crypto affect the future of taxes?

Adam Willems, Lead Reporter for The Financial Revolutionist, wrote about the future of taxes for WIRED. Looking at crypto’s efforts to tokenize city taxes, Adam argues that crypto is trying to turn taxes into another investment vehicle.

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