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McLoyalty
McDonald’s is reportedly planning a food loyalty program that’s specifically designed to push consumers to mobile transactions.
The chain’s drive-through sales increased to nearly 100% of its business during the pandemic, reports the New York Post, citing sources from Morgan Stanley. That’s led to congestion that McDonald’s hopes to address through food incentives for mobile ordering and payment. McDonald’s relies more on coffee-based beverages for its incentive marketing. The fast food chain has had good luck recently with promotions, with its Travis Scott-themed burger nearly selling out.
Starbucks also recently expanded the payment options for its app-focused loyalty program, partly to boost contactless payments in its stores. Other quick service chains like Burger King and Taco Bell are changing the design of their stores to accommodate more drive-through and mobile ordering.
Permission granted?
India’s regulations and digital banking policies give Google India Digital Services the right to share payment data with third parties, the company has told a court in Delhi.
Google is responding to allegations it has violated data localization laws, a regulation that has drawn opposition from U.S. companies such as Mastercard and Visa. Google contends it’s adhering to United Payments Interface guidelines, which allow data sharing with prior bank permission, reports Gadgets360.
Google also says it stores basic data like names, addresses and emails, and not sensitive information like PINs or debit card numbers.
Platform jumping
Coinbase has hired executives from Venmo and Adobe to lead a new team that will expand the crypto exchange’s ability to keep pace as new use cases for cryptocurrency emerge.
Shikpa Dhar, the former head of product at Venmo, is vice president of product at Coinbase; and Ravi Byakod, the former head of commerce engineering at Adobe, is vice president of engineering, according to the Block Crypto.
The two execs will be part of what Coinbase is calling a “platforms” team. The firm has not provided details on what the team will do, but the new executives’ backgrounds suggest e-commerce development.
Crypto common market
The European Commision is formalizing rules for crypto assets, the first such rules on the continent.
The commission is concerned about “frangmenting,” or a rush of cryptocurrency companies pegging their business to one nation out of regulatory expediency, reportsCNBC.
The rules for stablecoins will also be strengthened, likely to ensure they have adequate backing from traditional currencies. These rules will create more regulatory work for Libra, the Facebook-affiliated stablecoin project.
From the web
Ant launches blockchain-based cross-border trade platform ahead of $35 billion IPO
REUTERS | Friday, September 25, 2020
Ant Group, owner of China’s ubiquitous mobile payment app Alipay, launched a blockchain-powered platform for cross-border trade settlements on Friday, as it races to launch more technology products ahead of its blockbuster IPO.
Cash payments no longer the only option for Utah cannabis patients
THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE | Thursday, September 24, 2020
Utah’s medical cannabis patients are now allowed by the state to spend their money inside marijuana pharmacies, but that doesn’t mean the nation’s major financial institutions want their fingerprints on transactions involving the federally illegal substance.
New Bipartisan Bill Would Classify Digital Tokens as Commodities, Not Securities, in US
COINDESK | Thursday, September 24, 2020
The legislation introduced by Chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) would amend existing securities laws to exclude tokens from the definition of a security.
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