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True success
Nearly 7,000 Citi credit card customers have taken advantage of the card issuer’s True Name service from Mastercard for transgender customers since Citi announced its availability in October 2020.
Through March 2021, 6,900 trans and non-binary customers have opted to use their chosen first name on the issuer’s Mastercard-branded credit cards, Citi said in a press release.
Citi was the third major financial institution to offer the Mastercard True Name service, following BMO Harris Bank in Chicago and Superbia Credit Union in Michigan who launched the service after it was announced in late 2019.
Crypto power
RocketFuel Blockchain, a Las Vegas-based cryptocurrency payments startup, is the latest to push everyday purchases via crypto with a one-click checkout service enabling merchants and consumers to transact online with 43 different cryptocurrencies.
Merchants can connect via API to RocketFuel’s cryptocurrency payment service, which is powered by blockchain technology; merchants may also opt for payments from direct bank transfers, RocketFuel said in a press release.
PayPal made a splash earlier this week with its Checkout with Crypto service that will be available to 29 million merchants in coming months.
Banking on virtue
New York-based Spiral, a new banking app emphasizing socially conscious campaigns and a streamlined approach for users to make donations to charities and nonprofits, has raised $14 million in a funding round led by Team8.
Spiral plans to match individuals’ donations with up to $150 a year, with users receiving free donation reports for their tax returns, Finextra reports.
Nonprofits may receive donations without paying fees and share their fundraising goals and campaigns by connecting to Spiral via social media.
Approved
Facebook’s WhatsApp got the green light from Brazil’s central bank to support payments between users of the social media messaging service after initially being turned down in June 2020.
WhatsApp succeeded in its second attempt by acting as a payments initiator using Visa and Mastercard to process payments as long as payments are limited to peer-to-peer transfers, Reuters reports.
In the months before WhatsApp’s second application, Brazil’s central bank launched its own social media-powered payments service called Pix, which can be used to pay businesses and individuals.
From the web
REUTERS | Thursday, April 1, 2021
Mastercard Inc will invest $100 million in Airtel Africa's mobile money operations valuing the business at $2.65 billion, the London-listed company said on Thursday.
TECHCRUNCH | Wednesday, March 31, 2021
Zapp, one of a number of startups currently battling it out in London and beyond by promising to let you order everyday items on-demand from its own delivery-only stores, has quietly raised a new round of funding from leading VCs, TechCrunch has learned.
REUTERS | Wednesday, March 31, 2021
Robinhood Markets Inc will discard its signature confetti animation that used to mark first trades for users on its trading app, following criticism from politicians and regulators.
More from PaymentsSource
Top executives from the 49 companies that earned a spot in this year's ranking of the Best Fintechs to Work For cite the need for nimble shifts in business strategy, leadership style and recruiting tactics among the lessons they took away from the challenges of the coronavirus crisis.
Small, often intangible quality-of-life perks are a big part of what makes some fintechs the best ones to work for.
The Utah fintech encourages a playful attitude by devoting the first floor of its offices to entertainment and comfort with video games, ping pong, a pool table and a lounge area. they need to clear their minds.
Without its funhouse office, annual trips or volunteering events, the executive found ways to engage his staff virtually.
Known for giving away its signature canary-hued Converse to employees and clients, this small API-centric fintech is poised to become a significant player in open banking thanks to parent company Mastercard and its vendor status with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Half of Facet Wealth’s employees haven’t met face-to-face. Here is how the fintech is working to strengthen community.
This venture-backed company, which specializes in creating banking and payment platform APIs for other fintechs, attracts new recruits through a culture of learning.
A surge in e-commerce across Asia began long ahead of the pandemic, according to new data from the Tokyo-based credit card network JCB.
Mastercard, allpay and PFS provisionally agreed to pay fines totaling more than $44 million for their alleged role in a "cartel" exploiting prepaid cards used to distribute welfare funds to the homeless and victims of domestic abuse.
