B2B Online Marketplace SAFQAT to Open in UAE

B2B payments platform OnlineCheckWriter.com has added integrations with several accounting platforms. With these payment integrations, users of the platforms can import checks, bills and invoices and pay them, thereby avoiding manual entries, OnlineCheckWriter.com said in a Tuesday (Feb. 7) press release. The new integrations include Bill.com, Create Check from PDF,...

Open banking can help small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in more ways than one. In fact, from payment gateways to automatic invoicing software, a variety of Europe-based startups are using the technology to better cater to the needs of the SMB market. Payments Automation. Managing and tracking payments can be...

Indian banks and retailers have reportedly begun accepting contactless payments made with digital rupees. The move is part of the Reserve Bank of India’s retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot project, TechCrunch reported. Reliance Retail is the first merchant to take part in the pilot, the report said,...

Fintiv and Geoswift have partnered on enabling cross-border remittance payments into Asia. The collaboration — which brings together Fintiv’s mobile commerce platform and Geoswift’s payment technology and Asian cross-border payments expertise — will allow the remittances to be made through Fintiv’s mobile wallets, the companies said in a Thursday (Feb. 2) press release.

Bill payment in the U.S. needs an overhaul as PYMNTS research shows the majority of bill-paying consumers are encountering friction in the process. More than half experienced at least one key pain point in the past 90 days, such as a lack of payment options or security concerns. These and...

In 2023, it is anticipated that the availability of beef will decrease, leading Americans to seek alternative sources of protein and dietary staples. The USDA projects that the average American will consume 5.6% less beef in 2023, marking the largest decrease in consumption in almost four decades, as reported by Beef Magazine.

The old-fashioned check looms as a 2023 flashpoint in the battle vs. the fraudsters. Criminals steal checks from mailboxes. Enter the search term “check washing” into any search engine and headlines have massed over the past several weeks, citing businesses and banks that have been scammed. In September,...

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is reportedly considering an antitrust lawsuit against Amazon. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Friday (Feb. 3) that it is not known what part of the company’s operations would be targeted but that the FTC has been looking for years at how it treats competitors’ products on its platforms, how it deals with third-party sellers and how it bundles offerings with its Prime subscription service.

Xolvis has teamed with Volt to integrate open banking payments into its platform. The Munich-based software developer announced in a Thursday (Feb. 2) blog post that it will enable open banking payments for its customers in Europe thanks to the partnership with Volt, a London-based FinTech that specializes in real-time, account-to-account payments.

ShiftMed has raised $200 million to expand its digital healthcare labor marketplace. The platform, which connects healthcare providers with licensed nurses, aims to expand its national footprint across the healthcare market, ShiftMed said in a Monday (Feb. 6) press release. “Healthcare providers continue to struggle with access to credentialed workers...

For an emerging market, Latin America is in many ways leading the global digital transformation of payments through endless innovation and new ways of partnering. This was the upshot of a recent conversation between PYMNTS’ Karen Webster and PayU Latam CEO Francisco Leon, who said the platform has not let up on investment in innovation in both cross-border and local payment methods, and it’s paying off amid an economic slowdown.

Instacart’s first Scan & Pay checkout deployment comes as in-store mobile features catch on among grocers. The grocery aggregator announced Monday (Feb. 6) that Foodcellar Market, a grocer in Queens, New York, is the first to offer the own-device self-service option to all in-store customers. “Our technology helps [grocers]...

Many businesses have gone through several stages of technology spending since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Initially, retailers and manufacturers focused on investing in the digital shifts that would keep them in business. As 2022 drew to a close and economic uncertainty became more of a worry, many began boosting efficiency and cutting costs.

Scotland-based digital pharmacy Phlo has reportedly raised 10 million pounds (about $12 million) in Series A funding. The digital pharmacy will use the new capital to expand the reach of both Phlo Digital Pharmacy, which offers patients same-day delivery of medications in two British cities, and Phlo Connect, which provides healthcare providers with a digital infrastructure platform, Tech Funding News reported Friday (Feb. 3).

Moving a classic fashion brand into a digital-first world has its challenges, so famed watchmaker Movado Group has kept a tight focus on its core while undergoing a digital transformation. Movado Group President of Commercial, Chief Digital Officer and Chief Technology Officer Behzad Soltani told PYMNTS how the brand has...

Mobily has expanded its new mobile payment service, Mobily Pay. The Saudi Arabian telecom service provider has expanded Mobily Pay services in the county via a partnership with Swedish technology company Ericsson, according to a Monday (Feb. 6) press release. Ericsson will “continuously evolve and enhance” the Mobily Pay platform...

Business-to-business (B2B) payments are fueling the uptake of buy now, pay later (BNPL) in Europe. While the explosion of the BNPL concept has primarily centered on the business-to-consumer (B2C) sector, in recent years, BNPL for business has been gaining traction, buoyed by increasing funding rounds and partnerships. In Europe, for...

Even small changes may reap cost-cutting rewards for small businesses seeking to weather 2023’s projected rocky road. Economic news over the past few days has felt grim. Grocers are seeing even their higher-income customers buy less, and interest rate hikes are influencing the shopping behaviors of the same demographic. Discretionary items such as smartphones are also experiencing record sales slumps.

Turns out, emerging nations may hold some clues for the rest of the world when it comes to doing digital commerce right. This, as new research into shopping ease and customer satisfaction from six key geographies around the world, revealed that developing countries put up the highest marks and are leading the way.

Visa is reportedly exploring plans to let customers convert crypto assets into fiat currencies. Speaking at the StarkWare Sessions 2023 conference in Tel Aviv, Cuy Sheffield, head of Visa’s crypto operations, said the company has “been testing how to actually accept settlement payments from issuers in USDC starting on Ethereum and paying out in USDC on Ethereum,” per a report by Cointelegraph.