Apple Pay takes on PayPal and Venmo with integration of payments
Apple is introducing peer-to-peer payments to Apple Pay and integrating the payments technology into its iMessages, the company announced this week at it’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in San Jose, California.
Apple Pay will be integrated directly into iMessage so users can send payments directly to a friend. The feature will be secured with Touch ID so make sure all transfers are verified, and once the transfer has been made, the money will go into an Apple Pay cash card, and users will be able to send that card directly to friends or family or transfer it to their bank.
PayU and Zooz forge partnership
This week PayU, the global online payment service provider, announced a partnership with payment technology provider Zooz.
Through the agreement, PayU will provide Zooz’s unique technology to its customers, helping to solve the cross-border commerce challenges currently faced by merchants looking to grow and scale in high growth markets.
Zooz CEO Oren Levy stated, “With its impressive track record in high growth markets, PayU is clearly aware of the opportunities and barriers faced by international merchants. The combination of PayU’s expertise and customer base with Zooz’s advanced technology platform is a natural fit, and we look forward to helping merchants gain access to new global markets and opportunities.”
HSBC launches global ‘Social Network’ for business customers
HSBC Commercial Banking announced the launch of the HSBC Connections Hub; a digital platform designed to enable business customers to leverage HSBC’s global network to connect with trusted buyers and sellers around the world.
Richard Davies, Global Head of Propositions for HSBC Commercial Banking, said: “Researching and connecting with new business partners can be a daunting task, and one that gets harder with distance. We have designed the HSBC Connections Hub to help break down barriers for companies of all sizes that aspire to forge new business relationships at home and overseas. Every business interacting through the Hub is an HSBC customer, giving users confidence that they already have one practical connection in common.”
Bitcoin soars past another all time high of $2,900
Last week we reported that Bitcoin hit an all time high of $2,000. On Tuesday, the digital currency hit a new record of $2,967, proving an 8% increase from last week.
Whether bitcoin will continue to rise has been questioned by several traders and analysts, however, the cryptocurrency has had a tremendous year, rising nearly 200% in 2017.
Dublin-based start-up Plynk raises €25 million
Money messaging app Plynk has announced yesterday that it has raised 25 million from a Swiss investment fund. The funding was announced yesterday at the MoneyConf conference in Madrid, stating that the backing is the biggest ever Series A investment for an Irish start-up.
Headquarted in Dublin, the app was co-founded by ex Facebook manager Charles Dowd and Clive Foley.
Charles Dowd, CEO and co-founder of Plynk, said the company’s growth plan is simple – “become a verb, in every European language”.
Read last week’s news round-up here.
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