Iraqi company and Lebanese fintech launch the first digital-only payment card ‘Neo’ in Iraq
Iraq-based International Network for Cards and Digital Payment Services (INC Iraq) and a Lebanese fintech startup NymCard that is digitizing how payments cards are issued, delivered, and used, in collaboration with Visa have launched the first digital-only (prepaid) payment card ‘Neo‘ in Iraq to serve the underbanked Iraqi population, the two companies announced in a joint-statement to MENAbytes. The virtual card that can be requested through Neo’s mobile app within seconds will enable users to make online purchases on both local and international websites. The entire KYC process is digital. Neo’s mobile application (available for both iOS and Android) comes with a mobile wallet that allows users to keep an […]
Tron partners with Fintech firm Simplex
Tron, the blockchain-based decentralized platform, has announced a new partnership with the provider of fraudless crypto payment firm Simplex. The announcement on Tron was made on twitter. Simplex acknowledged that it will enable TRX’s purchase with credit cards on its platform. Simplex is a fintech firm that acts as a credit card processor in the crypto world. It is a secure platform with no exposure to fraud (so it claims). The firm makes use of artificial intelligence (AI) to provide a fraudless payment option to users. The partnership between Tron and Simplex will enable TRX purchase with credit card and also zero risk. It is worthy to note that the […]
Softbank pumps £510m into finance firm Greensill that could kill off payday lenders
Japanese conglomerate Softbank is set to inject another £510million into British online finance firm Greensill as part of plan to launch a new service that aims to wipe out controversial payday loans. City sources said Greensill, set up by former Morgan Stanley banker Lex Greensill, is in advanced talks to buy FreeUp, a technology company that should enable the firm to offer ordinary workers early payment of their wages. SoftBank’s Vision Fund, led by maverick entrepreneur Masayoshi Son, is pouring in more than half a billion pounds to support the expansion strategy. Sources said the deals could be announced as soon as this week. To read more, please click on […]
Canada becomes the first country to launch Samsung POS
Today, Samsung Electronics Canada announced that Samsung POS (Point of Sale), a new, NFC-enabled contactless payment acceptance system designed for micro-merchants and small businesses, is now available exclusively in Canada. Samsung POS enables merchants to accept debit and credit payments – up to $100 CDN – by tapping contactless cards, Samsung Pay, Apple Pay, and Google Pay wallets onto Samsung NFC-enabled devices, without the use of dongles, cables or other additional hardware. The Point of Sale solution was engineered in partnership with Mobeewave, a pioneer in contactless mobile card payment acceptance, specifically for micro-merchants and small businesses looking to grow their revenue by accepting card payments. “There is a strong […]
Japanese fintech firm Digital Wallet acquires PH’s Speed Money Transfer
Digital Wallet Corporation (DWC), a Japan-based financial technology (fintech) company, announced today that it has acquired remittance and foreign exchange firm Speed Money Transfer Philippines (SMTP) for an undisclosed amount. SMTP, which operates in the Philippines and Australia, will be renamed as Digital Wallet Philippines following the acquisition. The deal and the name change have been approved by the country’s central bank, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). DWC’s acquisition of a Philippines-based remittance company comes as Filipinos working abroad remitted $2.88 billion in August, slightly higher than July’s $2.87-billion tally, according to data from the BSP. Of the total remittances in August, about $2.59 billion were sent through banks, […]
London Fintech Yordex adds smart cards to suite of software
UK fintech Yordex is making it simple for fast-growing companies to control business spend by adding company cards to its smart spend management solution, giving businesses complete visibility and authority over their current and future finances. Expense management currently takes up a disproportionate amount of time and money within most organisations; on average, it costs in excess of $20 in people power to process every invoice or expense claim, while expenses only account for less than 6% of total company spend. In addition, firms struggle to get a real-time picture of their financial health, as their existing software platform only provide a historical view of spend. It takes an average […]
Cambodia’s Central Bank tests out digital wallet to reduce cross-border payment fees
Cambodia’s Central Bank wants to curtail the cost of cross-border payments and is examining its in-house digital wallet, the Hyperledger Iroha-powered Bakong. Last week, the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) signed an agreement with Malaysia’s Maybank. The banks will work together to cut down the remittance fees of their respective digital payment platforms – Bakong and Maybank2u. H.E. Chea Serey, Cambodia’s chief central banker, told the Khmer Times that the remittance fees can range as high as 30%. Chea Serey also stated that the partnership can reduce the fees. He said: “The introduction of Bakong system will provide more possibilities in enhancing payment system at both domestic and regional level” […]
Google steps up global fight for digital wallet as China dominates mobile payments
Mobile payment transactions in China added up to more than US$12.8 trillion last year, making it the world’s largest mobile payments market. Now US tech giants are playing catch up. To get a sense of how pervasive mobile payments have become in China, consider that on the eve of this year’s Spring Festival, 668 million people on Tencent Holding’s WeChat app sent virtual hongbao – digital red packets containing money – to friends and family as part of their well wishes for the new year. Now western tech giants are accelerating efforts to tap into the market, with Google this week launching Google Pay in a move that rebrands and […]
