Mastercard expands environmental plan; SumUp upgrades store branding

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Green house

Mastercard plans to reach net zero emissions by 2050, part of a greenhouse gas reduction program that includes decarbonizing operations and supply chains.

Mastercard contends it achieved 100% renewable energy in 2020 as an early stage of that goal.

Credit card manufacturing and disposal create environmental stresses, prompting changes in production and issuance over the past several years. Amex has added recyclable plastic to cards, and Visa's corporate responsibility reports include data on sustainable energy progress.

mastercard cards
Bloomberg

Clip art

Hoping to reach newly online small businesses, payments technology company SumUp and visual content firm Shutterstock are enabling redesigns for merchant storefronts.

Merchants in SumUp's network will be able to access Shutterstock's image library as part of their branding. Media companies and businesses often use Shutterstock as a source of representative imagery, and the SumUp integration is aimed at smaller merchants.

SumUp has expanded its reach over the past few months, adding a partnership with Mastercard and Ford to embed payment technology in vehicles tied to small businesses.

Partner now, pay later

Hoping to add options to keep pace in the point of sale credit arms race, PayU is integrating with Czech buy now/pay later (BNPL) firm Twisto to power added features such as a 45-day payment postponement with no extra fees.

Investors have been pouring funds into BNPL companies, hoping to cash in on a trend as consumers select an alternative to revolving credit card debt. Many of these companies reported triple-digital volume growth in 2020, often in a few months.

But there are also challenges to BNPL, particularly from regulators in a growing list of countries including the U.S., Sweden and the U.K. The regulators are pressuring BNPL out of concern it encourages consumers to build debt while making purchases that are beyond their budgets.

Branching out

Payroll company Branch is trying to dump paper from small-business salaries by upgrading an API to link salary disbursements to partners that support other corporate functions.

Branch will tie tips, wages and digital paycard alternatives to broader HR portals such as Rippling. Branch and Rippling are positioning the technology pandemic play, saying it allows businesses to onboard, manage and pay staff with less paper and physical contact.

The coronavirus and related economic crisis have drawn more attention to digital payroll and other products that automate salary processing while adding more flexibility to how staff gets paid.

From the web

Walmart plans to fill online orders with help from robots at some U.S. stores
REUTERS | Wednesday, January 27, 2021
Walmart Inc will add small robot-staffed warehouses to dozens of its stores to help fill orders for pickup and delivery, the company said on Wednesday, as Americans shift their spending online amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Corporate card startup Mooncard challenges American Express in France with miles
TECHCRUNCH | Wednesday, January 27, 2021
French startup Mooncard is partnering with Flying Blue to offer Air France miles to its customers. This is the first time you can earn miles with a payment card in France that isn’t an American Express card.

Club Feast raises $3.5M to help restaurants deliver meals that only cost $5.99
TECHCRUNCH | Tuesday, January 26, 2021
Club Feast, a startup with a more affordable approach to meal delivery, is announcing that it has raised $3.5 million in seed funding led by General Catalyst.

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