What SMBs Need to Know About Accepting Crypto

The time is ripe for financial institutions to explore what cryptocurrency offerings their customers want. That’s despite 2022’s bear market, Jeff Billingham, director of strategic initiatives at blockchain intelligence platform Chainalysis, told PYMNTS. “There’s a sort of flight to quality whenever we have these crypto winters or downturns,...

A full audit of cryptocurrency giant Binance could be a long time coming. That’s according to Leon Foong, head of the world’s largest crypto exchange’s Asia-Pacific operations. He told Bloomberg News that while the company wants to hire an auditor, big accountants are still getting a handle on the crypto sector.

The entire crypto industry should strive for the level of transparency seen in DeFi, Chainalysis Chief Product Officer Pratima Arora writes in the new PYMNTS eBook, “2023 Payments New Year’s Resolutions.”. There is no doubt that 2022 was a tough year across the crypto industry, what I believe...

Regulated decentralized systems will be key to an improved outlook for the cryptocurrency industry, Airswift CEO Dr. Yan Zhang writes in the new PYMNTS eBook, “2023 Payments New Year’s Resolutions.”. The cryptocurrency industry, which is resilient and undergoing a self-healing process, will enjoy a much better outlook in...

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,...

Finzly now enables developers at platforms, FinTechs and financial institutions to access the FedNow Service. The banking and payment technology firm, which is a pilot participant in the FedNow Service, said in a Wednesday (Feb. 8) press release that it has launched an application programming interface (API) connection that enables developers to access the new U.S. instant payment rail.

If ChatGPT is successful in creating competition like Uber did, it could drive wages down, according to Oxford economist Carl Frey.

Having conquered retail with its digital marketplace, Amazon is taking on grocery with omnichannel offerings. The eCommerce giant appears to be trying out a new brick-and-mortar format on a site that was previously home to a New Seasons Market grocery store. According to a filing with the Seattle Department of Constructions & Inspections (certifying that the property owner has had the boiler or pressure vessel inspected), the location has been dubbed an “Amazon Market.”

In an area once dominated by banks, EMEA FinTechs are now major SMB lenders. Across Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, a generation of FinTech lenders are shaking up the way small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) access finance. And if recent events are anything to go by, demand for their services has surged.

Partech has closed its second Africa fund at 245 million euros (about $262 million). Partech Africa II is designed to support the next generation of entrepreneurs across the continent, and the fund closed above its target fund size, the venture capital firm said in a Tuesday (Feb. 7) announcement. “We...

A British regulator is promising “robust action” against cryptocurrency companies violating its advertising rules. That action, the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced Monday (Feb. 6), could include up to two years in prison for firms that breach its restrictions on financial promotions. “All cryptoasset firms marketing to...

With a spinoff ahead, NCR seeks to “run the store, run the restaurant and run self-directed banking.”. Those words, from CEO Michael Hayford during the company’s earnings call Tuesday (Feb. 7), crystalize a strategy where hardware and software meet and there’s ample opportunity to cross-sell and upsell additional services to its clients.

Nineteen percent of consumers received at least one insurance disbursement in 2022, and more of these roughly 49 million consumers are looking at instant payouts than ever before. Insurance agencies sent 20% of all payouts in 2022 via instant payment rails, marking the third consecutive year that the number of consumers receiving instant payouts increased.

These are tough times for small businesses. Enigma Technologies Chief Operating Officer and Chief Product Officer Scott Steinberg told PYMNTS that economic uncertainty is not only making capital harder to come by for small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs), but also more expensive. “Interest rates are rising across the board and...

It’s a renaissance for non-institutional market participation, and Robinhood wants to capitalize on that environment. The commission-free trading app told investors during its fourth quarter 2022 earnings call Wednesday (Feb. 8) that by targeting customers affected by macroeconomic headwinds with strategic value-add solutions, as well as through broader platform evolutions, it has been able to improve retail audience engagements.

Figure Technologies has reportedly cut its funding goal and may spin off some product lines. Bloomberg reported Monday (Feb. 6) that the startup building blockchain-based financial products aims to raise $100 million — one-third of the amount it had planned earlier and seemed to be near achieving— but that it may wait until the venture capital market picks up.

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,...

The U.K.’s payments regulator wants banks to reimburse victims of authorized push payment (APP) fraud. In light of a 40% increase in APP fraud in 2021, regulators in the country have been considering how to grant victims a right to compensation from their bank. Accordingly, in September, the U.K.’s...

India has reportedly banned 232 apps connected to China as relations between the neighbors worsen. The order by India’s tech ministry blocks 138 betting and gaming apps and 94 credit services, Bloomberg News reported Tuesday (Feb. 7), citing unnamed sources. Most of the apps were tied to China, the...

For Affirm, growth is still in the mix, and demand is still there for buy now, pay later. But the growth rates are decelerating, leading the company to slash staff and to shutter some operations — notably its crypto initiative. The company also noted in its earnings materials a...