BBVA soars past 15 million mobile customers
Spanish bank BBVA now has more than 15m mobile active customers across its global footprint, as its digital strategy continues to prove a success.
The number of customers using mobile as their favourite way to access the bank’s services has grown by more than 40% in the last 12-months alone. The levels of interaction with the bank via mobile are also accelerating as more and more services become available.
BBVA’s Global Head of Customer and Client Solutions, Derek White, said: “It’s a great, and expected, milestone to have passed. It’s been clear for a long time that as customers do more and more on their phones, from chat services to sourcing information to buying things, banks need to be where their customers are and offer a great experience”.
Starling Bank launches business accounts
Starling Bank is expanding into the business market.
The Starling for Business account will initially be designed for entrepreneurs, sole-traders, and small business owners. The aim is to offer a fast, secure, and flexible way of managing business finance from your mobile. The Starling for Business account will be free to set up and start using. Customers will also benefit from other features from the current account. This includes same day set up, 24/7 customer service and connectivity to the Marketplace so you can link to your essential invoicing and accounting services.
Anne Boden, CEO & Founder of Starling Bank said: “At the heart of Starling Bank is an understanding of our customers and their passions. For a large number of our customers, that passion is a side hustle or small business that they run alongside their nine-to-five. What’s, therefore, become apparent is that a hugely underserved group of people exist who need more than a personal current account but aren’t quite a small business. This is what we are hoping to solve here by developing Starling for Business.
Mastercard and PayPal expand global digital partnership
Mastercard and PayPal have expanded their partnership to include Canada, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean and the Middle East and Africa. The partnership will make Mastercard a clear payment option within PayPal across the globe. Furthermore, consumers will be able to choose Mastercard as their default payment method to allow for quick and easy check-out.
PayPal will gain access to tokenization services from Mastercard, allowing customers to make contactless in-store purchases by using their PayPal Wallet. Consumers can also withdraw money from their PayPal accounts to a Mastercard debit card.
Timex integrates bPay contactless feature into watches
Timex has announced it has incorporated the Barclaycard bPay chip into the leather watchstrap.
The Timex Fairfield watch comes with a £159 price tag and enables users to make tap-and-go purchases of £30 and under at over 490,000 locations across the UK. Wearers will also be able to track their spending, top up their balance, and take control of their contactless payments using the dedicated bPay app or website.
Square invests $25m into ticketing company Eventbrite
San Francisco-based Square has invested $25 million in Eventbrite, which lets event organizers sell tickets and promote and manage events.
Square will be Eventbrite’s payment processing partner for online and mobile transactions, covering paid events, tickets, registrations, merchandise sales and donations. In addition, Square will also cover in-person payments, using its hardware and software to enable event creators to accept card payments from attendees.
Whitepapers
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