The information you need to start your day, from PaymentsSource and around the web:
Opening up
NatWest has launched a service that allows businesses to send payments to customers without requiring bank account details.
The bank is using Payit by NatWest, an open banking portal that allows parties to replace checks and transfers, enabling instant payments for refunds, customer services, compensation or emergency disbursements, reports Finextra.
The bank plans an additional API that will allow merchants to integrate Payit into their own technology infrastructure. NatWest is trying to address what it says is a slow process for refunds and other payments that come at “crucial moments” in a relationship between businesses and consumers.
Direct to the source
Coinbase has filed to go public and has reported its revenue more than doubled in the past year.
The crypto exchange had net revenue of $1.14 billion in 2020, compared to $483 million in 2019, reports CNBC. It also reported net income of $322 million after posting a loss in 2019.
The company is using a direct listing instead of an IPO. Investors and employees will convert ownership stakes to stock listed on an exchange — Nasdaq, in Coinbase’s case. Many technology firms are avoiding the long process of a traditional IPO, turning to alternatives such as special purpose acquisition companies (SPACS) to go public.
Crypto license
Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, GIC, and Andreessen are among the investors in an $80 million Series C round at blockchain company Anchorage.
Anchorage recently received a federal banking charter. That gives it a green light to offer banking services such as lending and transfers to cryptocurrency companies — or challenger banks that wish to offer cryptocurrency products, according to TechCrunch.
The company’s core product is a custody solution that allows cryptocurrency holders to safely store crypto without having to regularly monitor their wallet, public and private keys.
Terror track
The U.S. Congress is examining how cryptocurrency, decentralized technology and other alternative payment methods are being used to fund domestic terrorism.
The House Financial Services Subcommittee on National Security, International Development and Monetary Policy is following up concerns Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen raised about extremists’ crypto use. The House Select Committee Intelligence has requested more information about how extremists may be using a crypto transfer service called DLive, reports Coindesk.
Several payment companies, including PayPal, Venmo, and Stripe, recently cut services to organizations tied to the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol attack.
From the web
DoorDash Sees a Year of Slower Growth
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL | Thursday, February 25, 2021
The food-delivery service sees the days of breakneck growth coming to an end as vaccinations sweep the country and the economy crawls toward reopening.
Former top Paytm exec is building his own financial services startup
TECHCRUNCH | February 25, 2021
Pravin Jadhav, the former chief executive of Paytm Money, revealed on Thursday his own startup, Raise Financial Services.
Robinhood added 6 million crypto users in last two months
REUTERS | Thursday, February 25, 2021
Online brokerage Robinhood on Thursday said 6 million new users signed up for its cryptocurrency services in the first two months of 2021 amid higher retail trading volumes and sharp rises in the prices of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Dogecoin.
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Biometric authentication gives cards a head start
With mobile payments and banking apps on the rise, biometric authentication is now increasingly common in consumer finance, says Fingerprints’ Michel Roig.
Demand for 5G can improve payments speed, authentication
The COVID-19 pandemic led many locked-down consumers to stream or download more movies and video games, and this trend is leading to a rise in demand for faster data services such as 5G — a potential driver of payments innovation.
Affirm debit card brings installment payments to all merchants
Affirm has taken its buy now/pay later model a step further by introducing a debit card that lets shoppers use installment payments for any purchase from any merchant.
Advent to merge payment firms into $3 billion company
Private equity firm Advent International is merging portfolio companies Transaction Services Group and Clearent, paving the way to another payments giant.
Waystar brings a P2P payment model to health care
Taking a page out of the person-to-person money transfer model, health care payments software provider Waystar has added a text messaging option for patients to pay their bills.
Compliance officers are e-commerce’s first line of defense
Compliance officers have long been among the first to flag suspicious financial activity, but increasing activity on digital payments and banking platforms has created additional responsibility on an organization’s compliance team to root out criminal behavior.
Western Union links to Swift GPI, adds B2B currency options
The payments division of Western Union has integrated with the Swift Global Payment Initiative for faster transfers, and has added international currency options.
Global payment specifications matter more than ever
The shift from cash has boosted digital and called attention to the importance of standards, says EMVCo’s Brian Byrne.
BNY Mellon sees a global role for banks to manage digital dollars
Governments are digitizing money, creating a need for banks to provide rails to connect consumers and central banks.
More than half of Square’s revenue now comes from bitcoin trading
Square, which built its reputation on bringing card acceptance to the small-business masses, has now officially linked its fortunes to bitcoin trading as it delivered 56% of its fourth-quarter revenue.
Capital One starting to raise credit limits in hunt for growth
Capital One Financial has begun to lift borrowing limits for certain customers as it seeks to restart growth in its sprawling credit card business.
Fed restores some services after outage on ‘operational error’
For about four hours Wednesday, Federal Reserve systems that execute millions of financial transactions a day — everything from payroll to tax refunds to interbank transfers — were disrupted by what appeared to be some sort of internal glitch.
McDonald’s partners with Sift to block rising fast-food fraud
Though the lower-ticket sales in fast food traditionally weren’t a large fraud magnet, that’s changed as fraud expanded to new channels during the pandemic.
