The information you need to start your day, from PaymentsSource and around the web:
Non contact sport
Fitbit's new wristband includes contactless payments as standard, boosting access for what had been a premium feature.
The Charge 4 has Fitbit's prepaid wallet, with a chip that supports cards for more than 500 issuers, nearly three dozen countries and about a dozen transit systems. The new device is listed at $149.95.
Fitbit has been gradually adding
Small biz outreach
Shortly after expanding its grocery delivery business,
The ride-sharing company has also waived delivery fees for independent restaurants during the coronavirus pandemic, reports
Other technology firms have made similar moves to streamline funds to small businesses.
On Target
The European Central Bank, The Eurosystem and Sveriges Riksbank have enabled Swedish access to Eurosystem's instant payment network.
Called Target, the Eurosystem rail will hook up with RIX-INST, Sweden's instant payment system, explains
There's a long window for the migration, as transactions will be cleared starting in May 2022. But it comes amid several other instant payment projects in Europe. The European Banking Federation, The European Association of Co-operative Banks and the European Savings and Retail Banking Group are forming a five-year plan to streamline payment rails to help the continent's economy recover from the pandemic, Finextra reports.
Bigger screen
U.K. payments fintech
Monzo is adding a feature that centralizes its billing and payment services on a laptop after finding out some tasks were easier to execute on a computer than a mobile device.
The computer-friendly features include copy and paste features for payment details, as well as supporting multiple screens to render transaction information next to accounting software.
From the web
TECHCRUNCH | Mon April 6, 2020
Yapily, one of a number of fintech startups that offer an opening banking API to let enterprises, such as financial service providers and merchants, connect to banks, has raised $13 million in Series A funding. Specifically, it provides a way to retrieve financial data and initiate payments via a “single secure API” that in turn connects to each supported bank’s open API.
COINTELEGRAPH | Fri April 3, 2020
Switzerland-based crypto exchange, ShapeShift, has enabled its United States-based customers to buy Bitcoin and Ethereum with a debit card in the new exchange’s platform. ShapeShift’s new platform doesn’t require account verification to purchase cryptocurrencies, which has led to questions.
WIRED | Mon April 6, 2020
Recent attempts by both Riksbank and Sweden’s Parliament to shape the country’s cash-free future marks a shift in attitude. Many Swedes might have already decided they prefer a future dominated by digital payments but the country’s institutions are trying to have more of a say in what exactly that future will look like.
More from PaymentsSource
The U.S. Treasury is talking to digital payments providers about quick ways to disburse funds to recipients of stimulus checks within a couple of weeks, but payments industry experts foresee troubling security issues even with most of the obvious options.
Mastercard has increased the contactless payment limit to CA$250 across Canada to provide consumers with a safer way to pay during the coronavirus pandemic.
A coronavirus-spurred slowdown in travel and restaurant spending has credit card issuers reworking their offerings.
As consumers, we have the millennial generation to thank for mobile banking apps, online banking and loyalty programs.
No company is unaffected by the coronavirus crisis. Every business is facing challenges right now, but which ones your fraud team needs to look out for depends on which industry your company is in.
