🎙️ Executive Interview with the Co-Founder and CEO of BitPay
Stephen Pair, Co-Founder and CEO of BitPay, is our newest Executive Interview guest! Stephen sat down with us to talk cryptocurrency, his thoughts on the future of the company, as well as the anticipatory watershed of greater merchant acceptance.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau signaled a crackdown on late fees charged by credit card companies on Wednesday, as inflation threatens to increase those so-called “junk” fees levied on consumers. The watchdog, a federal agency created in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking seeking information from card issuers, consumer groups and the public on late fees.
Facebook Pay is becoming Meta Pay. Mark Zuckerberg announced the rebranding on Wednesday, calling the change a “first step” toward Meta creating a digital wallet for its vision of the metaverse. In the immediate future, the software won’t change too much. You can still use it to send your friends and family members money over Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, as well as to pay for purchases and donate to charitable causes.
As valuations for startups shrink and some restructure, established payments companies such as Discover Financial Services may benefit from expanding opportunities to lure talent. When asked last week at the Morgan Stanley U.S. Financials, Payments and CRE Conference if the pull-back in fintech valuations creates opportunity for the card company, Discover Chief Financial Officer John Greene said it does, and suggested it may aid the company in recruiting.
Snarled supply chains and production shortfalls continue to plague the semiconductor industry, leading the Smart Payment Association to warn early Thursday that significant shortages in card deliveries will continue in the payments industry for at least another 18 months. What’s more, these credit and debit card deliveries that are being made are coming late, delayed by “extended lead times” for plastic, metal, and other materials required to manufacture cards, the Munich-based association said.
Paya Holdings Inc., a payments technology company that went public in 2020 through a blank-check deal, is exploring a potential sale amid takeover interest, according to people familiar with the matter. Paya is working with an adviser to field interest, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. Large, publicly traded payments companies are circling the company as bidders, the people said.
Despite the crypto crash, Shopify is betting that NFTs will change the way people shop online and in person. The ecommerce giant has a new service to enable customers to use NFTs to unlock special perks, products and real-world experiences with merchants. Last year Shopify added the ability for merchants to sell NFTs using Shopify so customers don’t have to go to another site to buy them. With this new product, Shopify is taking that a step further through what’s known as “token-gated commerce.” The NFTs can come from anywhere the merchants want.
A decade ago, SumUp was one of the army of fintechs that made names for themselves with dongles that turned basic smartphones into card payment terminals. Today, the London-based company has expanded into a wider range of business services that are used by some 4 million small and medium businesses in 35 markets, and as it continues to scale out its ambitions, it’s closed in on a major round of funding of €590 million ($624 million). The money will be used for acquisitions, more hiring (it now employs some 3,000 people), and more organic product development, the company said.
Many industry experts have warned that the developments are signs of a “crypto winter,” but some advocates of blockchains — the distributed computing technology that underpins cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, smart contracts and more — think there’s a silver lining in the declines. “I’m more optimistic on crypto than ever before,” said Jason Yanowitz, a co-founder of Blockworks, a financial media company.
eBay made its biggest move yet into the world of digital collectibles with news today of the company acquiring NFT marketplace KnownOrigin. The online auction company is keeping lips sealed on the deal’s value but confirmed in the press release that the deal is closed as of June 21st. “This partnership will help us attract a new wave of NFT creators and collectors,” said KnownOrigin co-founder David Moore.
Ever since gas prices started to rise in March of this year, consumers have felt more pain at the pump. Data from commerce technology company Square finds that since then, consumers are turning to electronic modes of transportation to curb the effects of inflation and supply chain, purchasing e-bikes and e-scooters at an increasing rate. E-transportation is becoming increasingly popular as people look for alternative ways to get around town, which is good news for bike shops and sporting goods retailers.
Adyen, the global financial technology platform of choice for leading businesses, and McDonald’s Corporation announced the expansion of their mobile app partnership to the U.S. The two companies began working together in early 2020 in the U.K. and are now expanding to other markets globally. "As consumer demand evolves, Adyen has responded to our needs in a rapidly changing market,” said Whitney McGinnis, U.S. CIO at McDonald’s.
The retail industry is up against a potential wave of bankruptcies following a months-long slowdown in restructuring activity. There could be an increase in distressed retailers beginning later this year, experts say, as ballooning prices dent demand for certain goods, stores contend with bloated inventory levels and a potential recession looms. Last week, 90-year-old cosmetics giant Revlon filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, making it the first household consumer-facing name to do so in months.
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. is offering a new payment option and revamping its rewards program. The home goods retailer is introducing an all-new buy now, pay later (BNPL) solution called “Welcome Pay,” which offers customers an opportunity to pay more flexibly over time, with no fees and zero interest. Payments can be managed through any Bed Bath & Beyond banner website or mobile app, and there is an ability for shoppers to pay in advance.
The ODP Corporation has declined to split up its Office Depot and OfficeMax businesses or to pursue a sale, following a review of both public and private non-binding proposals. The retailer’s Board of Directors unanimously determined that divesting the consumer business is not in its best interest at this time, but did not rule out a future spinoff. Instead, ODP will continue as a single business structured into one B2C business and three distinct B2B businesses
The personal information, including Social Security numbers, of more than 1.5 million Flagstar Bank customers was compromised in a data breach late last year, but the bank didn't start informing those affected until earlier this month after it completed its investigation. The Michigan-based bank, which operates 150 branches and is one of the country's largest mortgage lenders, said in a disclosure to the state of Maine that its systems were hacked between Dec. 3 and 4 of last year.
Attorney General Letitia James, along with 45 other attorneys general, announced Thursday that they have reached a $1.25 million multistate settlement with Carnival Cruise Line after a 2019 data breach exposed the personal information of around 180,000 Carnival employees and customers. Over 6,000 New Yorkers were impacted by the breach. Carnival will pay New York State more than $44,000 in penalties.
Chinese President Xi Jinping chaired a meeting Wednesday that approved promoting the “healthy” development of the payment and fintech sectors, a sign that a broad crackdown on tech companies like Ant Group Co. may be easing. The meeting of the central commission for deepening overall reform also backed enhancing regulation of major payment platforms, state broadcaster China Central Television reported, adding that companies would be encouraged to return to their roots while the authorities will improve regulation.
A multinational law enforcement operation dismantled a crime gang involved in phishing, money laundering and other scams. Dutch authorities detained nine suspects for their role in crimes authorities say cost victims several millions euros. Belgian and Dutch police conducted the operation with support from Europol. The Hague-based criminal intelligence agency did not specify what charges suspects face.
Manufacturing growth is slowing worldwide as China's COVID-19 curbs and Russia's invasion of Ukraine disrupt supply chains and keep inflation at the highest in years, while the growing risk of a U.S. recession poses a new threat to the global economy. Gauges of factory activity released Thursday in Japan, Britain, the euro zone and United States all softened in June, with U.S. producers reporting the first outright drop in new orders in two years in the face of slumping consumer and business confidence.
Lawmakers pressed Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell over how the central bank would manage trade-offs it could confront if its interest-rate increases slow the economy sharply but don’t reduce inflation quickly. Mr. Powell on Thursday said that in such a scenario, the central bank would be reluctant to shift from raising rates to cutting them until it saw clear evidence that inflation was coming down in a convincing fashion.
The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits edged down last week as labor market conditions remained tight, though some slowing is emerging. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 229,000 for the week ended June 18, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 227,000 applications for the latest week.
Mastercard unveiled its first-ever music album titled Priceless® at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity. The album, available first on Spotify and then other streaming platforms, features 10 songs by 10 artists from around the globe. Each song incorporates the recognizable melody of Mastercard’s brand sound. To enhance its commitment to music fans and emerging talent, Mastercard has joined forces with acclaimed producer Timbaland’s Beatclub music creator platform.
NMI, a leading full commerce enablement technology company, today announced two new additions to its leadership team. Scott Hart has joined the company as Chief Financial Officer along with Phillip Goericke as SVP Engineering. With decades of experience in their respective fields, these leaders are uniquely qualified to foster NMI’s future growth and support independent sales organizations (ISOs), independent software vendors (ISVs) and bank partners.
The Tennessee Titans have selected Shift4 the leader in integrated payments and commerce technology, to process payments for all of its food and beverage concessions and retail sales at Nissan Stadium. Shift4 will provide an end-to-end integrated payment solution across the venue, including the company’s VenueNext point-of-sale system, mobile ordering, and mobile wallet integration. This cutting-edge solution will roll out at ‘WWE Summerslam’ on July 30.
PayPal will be simplifying the Goods & Services seller fee to 2.99%, with no fixed fee, for customers in the U.S. PayPal’s current Goods & Services fee is 2.89% + $0.49 USD.
As an example, if a customer is buying a piece of furniture for $225.00 USD, the seller will now pay $6.73 USD under the new simplified fee structure, versus $6.99 USD under the previous structure.
Truist Financial has unveiled a space within its Charlotte, North Carolina, headquarters dedicated to innovation. On Tuesday, the $544 billion-asset bank announced the grand opening of its Innovation and Technology Center, a 100,000-square-foot facility that will unite clients, engineers, designers, product managers, experts from outside firms and others to co-create products with customers and experiment with new technologies like virtual reality.
Valor PayTech, a fast-growing fintech provider of end-to-end, processor-agnostic omnichannel payments solutions, announced it is enhancing its offering with new, in-demand payments technology and functionality. Valor strives to provide resellers and their merchant customers with comprehensive, cutting-edge tools and flexibility they need to succeed in today’s rapidly changing business environment while creating revolutionary value.
PingPong, a leading digital cross-border payment provider, recently entered into a direct partnership with JCB, whereby its Hong Kong-based merchants will be able to receive online payments from JCB cardholders worldwide. With this latest agreement, PingPong will have established direct relationships with all six major international credit card networks.
Over a third (39%) of American consumers have permanently changed how they pay since early 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic began, reveals research by leading specialized payments platform Paysafe. The study, which is released today, also shows that contactless payments have gone mainstream. Paysafe’s new data on the state of in-store payments signals to merchants and small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) the importance of offering broader payment choices for their customers.
DataMesh group, the Sydney-based payment services software company and Ingenico, a Worldline brand announces a strategic partnership to support DataMesh’s growth strategy within the Australian payment ecosystem. As a part of the partnership, Ingenico has rolled out its latest Axium range of Android smart Point Of Sale (POS) terminals to DataMesh’s merchant and retailer network across Australia.
Quisitive Technology Solutions Inc., a premier Microsoft solutions and payment solutions provider, announced that it has officially received Visa certification to process credit and debit payments through its LedgerPay platform. Quisitive has successfully completed the certification process for its LedgerPay direct payment processing platform on the Visa network.
PPRO, the leading provider of digital payments infrastructure, has integrated Gojek’s GoPay e-wallet onto its platform, taking PPRO a step closer to offering complete Indonesian market coverage. According to the World Economic Forum, the Indonesian market is expected to be the fourth largest consumer market in the world by the end of the decade, with close to 76 million Indonesians joining the consumer class by 2030.
