Walmart, Capital One End Credit-Card Deal in Wake of Lawsuit

?? NEWS HIGHLIGHT

• Mastercard Crypto Credential goes live with first peer-to-peer pilot transactions, adds new partners to the ecosystem.

For the first time, crypto exchange users will be able to send and receive crypto using their Mastercard Crypto Credential aliases, instead of the typically long and complex blockchain addresses.??

The live transaction capabilities are enabled on the Bit2Me, Lirium and Mercado Bitcoin exchanges, allowing them to enable blockchain transactions simply and securely between Latin American and European corridors.?

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?? ARTICLE

• This week’s overview of FinTech deals by Royal park partners, with the United States ???? and the United Kingdom ???? representing 7 out of our top 10 deals.

NOW, ON TO THE SUMMARY OF LAST WEEK'S?NEWS

???? NATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

?? 25% of consumers recently used a buy now, pay later loan, report finds. What to know as they become popular.

?? Relay raises $32.2 million to help smaller businesses manage their cashflow.

?? PayPal hires Uber’s former Head of Advertising to run new ad division based in user data.

?? Google Wallet adds 25 new US banks to its support list.

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FINTECH

Klarna, the buy now pay later (BNPL) FinTech giant, has removed the right of large shareholders to block smaller investors' share trades ahead of a prospective $20bn (￡15.7bn) US float.

Klarna's Q1 2024 Results are in, announcing a profitable start to 2024. In the US, Klarna’s biggest market by revenue, Q124 revenues increased by 38% YoY, while gross profit saw an impressive rise of 97% over the same period.

Walmart, Capital One End Credit-Card Deal in Wake of Lawsuit. Capital One Financial Group?will no longer be the exclusive issuer of?Walmart Inc.?credit cards after retailer’s lawsuit.

Ascenda, a global premium rewards network, announced it has partnered with Ramp, the finance automation platform and corporate card designed to save businesses time and money, to provide Ramp customers more ways to redeem points earned on U.S. spend.

PAYMENTS

Sabre and Uplift Partner to Enable Hotels to Offer BNPL. This collaboration underscores Sabre’s commitment to revolutionizing the guest experience by harnessing innovative solutions that enhance payment options and drive customer satisfaction.

One of the most compelling features Google Pay is rolling out is the ability to see each of the cards’ benefits and rewards before making a selection at the checkout.

PPRO offers overseas merchants access to Afertpay BNPL in the US. This will enable US, Europe, China and Hong Kong-based e-commerce merchants and payment service providers (PSPs) to sell directly to US consumers using Afterpay.

Klarna labels CFPB BNPL rule 'baffling'. This means that providers must give consumers some key legal protections and rights that apply to conventional credit cards.

Affirm CEO Max Levchin on why he thinks CFPB regulation on BNPL is a 'good thing'.

Opus Technologies Launches Payment Integration Framework for Financial Institutions. These use cases include real-time payments, retail payments and cross-border transactions, the release said.

OPEN BANKING

Open banking in the US in 2024. How did we get here? US open banking had a watershed moment in 2023: CFPB released its long-awaited proposed rule based on the personal financial data right enshrined into law by the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (Dodd-Frank).

DIGITAL BANKING

Synctera launches Bring-you-own-Bank. Synctera was built on the foundation that facilitating strong relationships between our customers and their sponsor bank is the key to everyone’s long-term success.

Big banks face intensifying political pressure over Zelle fraud. Executives from JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo are expected to testify this summer before a U.S. Senate panel that has spent much of the last year examining fraud on the Zelle payments network.

Chime Partners With Fairplay To Embed Fairness Into Its Algorithmic Decisions. This will enable Chime to address more members' core needs: namely accessing short-term liquidity and building credit.

A dispute between a fintech startup and its banking partners has ensnared potentially millions of Americans, leaving them without access to their money for nearly two weeks, according to recent court documents.

Cash App aims to add more features. Block is seeking to make the app the primary bank for Cash App’s users, many of whom are younger and lower-income.

CRYPTO

SEC approves rule change to allow creation of ether ETFs. Those funds have proven to be a big success for the industry, with net inflows already surpassing $12 billion, according to FactSet.

FTX paid $25m to whistleblowers before bankruptcy. That’s according to an independent examiner appointed by the court overseeing FTX’s bankruptcy.

FTX's Ryan Salame, One of Sam Bankman-Fried's Associates, Is Sentenced to 7? Years. A federal judge sentenced former FTX executive Ryan Salame to 7? years in prison, saying his crimes and efforts to undermine transparency in the 2022 election merited a substantial penalty to deter others.?

DONEDEAL

CBi Group, a rising U.S.-based commercial bank, has secured $15 million in Series A funding, led by Alpol Capital Family Office, known for its investments in new technologies.

Félix Pago raises $15.5 million to help Latino workers send money home via WhatsApp. With such a huge opportunity, banks, money transfer companies, retailers and fintechs are all trying to make transfers more convenient on both sides of the transaction.