The information you need to start your day, from PaymentsSource and around the web:
Restaurant e-gift cards
Restaurants have been among the hardest hit businesses during the coronavirus pandemic, forced to rely on pickup and delivery as communities lock down.
Instagram co-founder Mike Krieger and his wife Kaitlyn have launched a gift card portal called SaveOurFaves that allows users to search for restaurants, then buy gift cards from the eateries. SaveOurFaves is not charging a fee for the service, reports
The founders said they noticed New York restaurants were asking the community to support them via gift cards, but there was a lack of a centralized search site. While SaveOurFaves is focused on San Francisco, the Kriegers have open sourced the code for other cities and types of businesses, according to TechCrunch.
Malware distancing
Financial and payment technology firm
Two U.S.-based financial institutions told Krebs the breach would disrupt services in North America. Finastra said it has isolated the incident.
The attack comes as some ransomware gangs have promised to ease up on their activity because of the coronavirus, Krebs says, with health care companies and hospitals in particular getting a pass. Some of these gangs have gone as far as to use their "victim shaming" sites to offer an ease on the ransom tied to the malware, according to Krebs.
Higher limits
Dutch banks are allowing contactless payments without entering a PIN for transactions as high as 100 euros, up from the previous 50 euro limit.
The move is designed to encourage contactless card and mobile transactions over plastic cards and cash to mitigate spread of the coronavirus. Other countries such as Norway and Ireland are making similar moves, reports
More cash payments are migrating to contactless and other digital channels given concerns over
Lower fees
London fintech SumUp has dropped fees for mobile payments, covering WhatsApp, email, SMS or other messaging platforms.
Many
While there's at least a temporary loss of fee income, the moves could expedite a long-term migration toward digital payments.
From the Web
FOX | Sat March 21, 2020
A growing number of businesses around the world have adopted the use of credit and debit cards as fear grows over the spread of COVID-19. Despite assurances from public health officials, some retailers are banning banknotes.
VERDICT | Fri March 20, 2020
Wirecard has supported the integration of the WeChat Pay option, increasing the e-commerce offering for Chinese online shoppers. As a result, Chinese shoppers will be able to pay using WeChat Pay at these merchants online or in the app.
COINTELEGRAPH | Sat March 21, 2020
Canadian cryptocurrency payments provider, NetCents, has completed the technical integration of its consumer credit card into its proprietary ecosystem. The NetCents credit card promises users will not have to pre-load cryptocurrency onto their cards, differing from otherwise-similar products already on the market.
More from PaymentsSource
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Over the past year, buy now, pay later schemes have risen to become the trendiest method of retail payments in the U.K.
While the global coronavirus outbreak may be grounding corporate travel to a near standstill, leading travel companies and fintechs are continuing to hone AI-based payments platforms to reduce the problem of corporate travel fraud.
