Tagged: coronavirus

January 23, 2021 @ 9:33 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

We’re experiencing more changes in the digital payments sector than we’ve seen during the past two or three decades. This seems like an exciting time as consumers across the globe are increasingly using innovative digital platforms and services. Accuity’s payments experts have identified four important… Read More

January 23, 2021 @ 7:29 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The COVID-19 outbreak has led to the increased adoption of contactless payments as one of the preferred ways to settle transactions in the United Kingdom, now representing around 90% or 9 in 10 of all eligible card transfers (as of 2020). The most significant milestone… Read More

January 22, 2021 @ 7:31 am By Omar Faridi  |  

It’s undoubtedly been a very challenging environment for retailers, however, looking ahead to the rest of 2021, UK-based Flux (which itemizes digital receipts that are “delivered straight to your banking app”) says it believes there are some “real” potential opportunities to take take advantage of,… Read More

January 21, 2021 @ 8:14 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Kansas-based TrueAccord, a Fintech firm that has created special software that allows financial institutions to negotiate debt payments with borrowers, notes that as they begin 2021, they’re “looking ahead and seeing a lot to be optimistic about in the world of collections.” TrueAccord writes in… Read More

January 20, 2021 @ 9:48 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Chicago-based Avant, a Fintech firm that aims to give everyday Americans “access to the financial products they deserve,” notes that millions of US residents continue to struggle through the COVID-19 pandemic. However, a $900 billion relief bill was recently signed into law (toward the end… Read More

January 20, 2021 @ 6:02 pm By Lee A. Schneider  |  

As with most years, I started 2020 with a sense of optimism, looking forward to another productive year at work and doing the Appetite for Disruption podcast with my co-host Troy Paredes. In fact, he and I wrote an article discussing 2019 that focused more… Read More

January 19, 2021 @ 11:07 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Online balance sheet lender, Nucleus Commercial Finance, reports that it has secured a £200 million funding line, which should help with increasing the platform’s capacity or ability to support more UK-based businesses. The new funding line should help ensure that the lender is well-positioned to… Read More

January 19, 2021 @ 10:41 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Payments company GHL has reportedly expanded its line of products and services to include road tax and vehicle insurance renewal options. GHL’s new services are being introduced after it announced a partnership with Malaysia’s Loanstreet, an established financial marketplace. Following the launch of GROW by… Read More

January 17, 2021 @ 10:37 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Europe-based online SME lender October says there’s probably no need to describe or go over how our lives have been impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak. October claims that they had to “become economists, epidemiologists, and politicians” in order to cope with the challenges created by… Read More

January 16, 2021 @ 6:01 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The developers at Fetch.ai, an artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) network, are introducing what they describe or refer to as “decentralized autonomous travel.” Fetch.ai aims to connect to more than 770,000 hotels with its Autonomous Travel system. The Autonomous AI Travel Agents intend… Read More

January 15, 2021 @ 8:06 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Ireland-based Linked Finance, a peer to peer lending platform, has reportedly received record levels of interest from SMEs that are looking for government-backed loans. After recently being approved to serve as a Coronavirus Credit Guarantee Scheme (CCGS) provider,  Linked Finance claims it has received a… Read More

January 13, 2021 @ 5:55 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Mexican workers now based in the United States have reportedly been sending record amounts of funds to friends or family members back home since 2020, which may suggest that the American economy has been fairly resilient despite the challenges created by the COVID-19 outbreak. As… Read More

January 11, 2021 @ 9:45 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Canadian banking group Scotiabank has noted that its strategic investments in machine learning (ML) technologies are beginning to pay off during the Coronavirus crisis, allowing it to effectively serve clients as they try to cope with these uncertain and challenging times. Analysts at the bank’s… Read More

January 11, 2021 @ 7:33 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Over 160 physical bank branch locations are shutting down permanently between now and the end of the lockdown period, which has been tentatively scheduled for late March 2021 in the UK.  As first reported by the Daily Mail, these bank branch closures will come as… Read More

January 10, 2021 @ 6:39 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Myanmar-based Wave Money, a mobile financial services provider, facilitated 12 trillion Myanmar kyat (appr. $ 8.7 billion) in total transactions during 2020 as the country’s residents increasingly began using digital financial services following the COVID-19 outbreak. Wave Money confirmed that these transaction volumes were nearly… Read More

January 10, 2021 @ 1:29 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Two New York City bars could potentially make history by selling for Bitcoin (BTC), the flagship cryptocurrency that’s currently trading at almost $41,000, up from only $3,800 back in March 2020 (which was when the digital asset crashed briefly along with the broader financial markets… Read More

January 9, 2021 @ 5:41 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Digital payments in Saudi Arabia surged by 75% last year, as consumers increasingly began shopping online following the COVID-19 outbreak. Meanwhile, cash withdrawals from ATMs and other payment points declined 30% during the same time period. Point of sale (PoS) refers to a location where… Read More

January 8, 2021 @ 11:23 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Cross River, a bank that delivers advanced financial and compliance products/services to the fintech industry, announced earlier this week t will be participating in the next round (Round B) of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).  In the initial round of… Read More

January 8, 2021 @ 8:50 am By Omar Faridi  |  

UK Finance, a trade association for the UK banking and financial services industry, has noted that after the extension of government support from November 2020, an estimated £600 million  in funding was provided via the topping-up of current Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) facilities. Lending… Read More

January 7, 2021 @ 10:57 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

India’s B2B digital commerce platform Udaan has secured $280 million in funding via its extended Series D investment round from new and existing investors. Octahedron Capital and Moonstone Capital are listed as new investors. They’ve joined Udaan’s existing backers which reportedly includes Altimeter, DST Global,… Read More