Friday June 12, 2020 –
Here are the new and noteworthy stories we have been following this week.
Aramco Backs New York Fintech Firm Offering Islamic Investments
Wahed, a New York-based online Islamic investment platform has raised $25 million from Aramco with participation from BECO Capital and Cue Ball Group; Wahed will be expanding into the Middle East and will make Riyadh its hub for the region.
Stanford students create online student loan marketplace
Two Stanford University students have launched a pilot of Sparrow Lending an online marketplace for student loans; Sparrow allows students to establish profiles with their GPA, extracurricular involvement, work experience, career goals and personal story which non-accredited lenders then browse, find matches and make loans.
https://www.stanforddaily.com/2020/06/08/stanford-students-create-online-student-loan-marketplace/
RBI gives $66 million shot in the arm to remote payments infrastructure
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is establishing a Payments Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) with a contribution of $33 million to expand the POS network in smaller cities; the RBI is looking to card issuing banks and payments companies to invest another $33 million into the PIDF.
Klarna launches rewards program
Klarna is launching a rewards program called Vibe that provides points based on spend; points can be redeemed for gift cards at Starbucks, Sephora, Foot Locker, and Uber.
https://techcrunch.com/2020/06/09/klarna-launches-rewards-program/
Amazon unveils small business credit line with Goldman in latest tie-up between tech and Wall Street
Amazon is working with Goldman Sachs to provide credit to merchants that sell on its e-commerce marketplace; according to reports, merchants will be offered credit lines from Goldman with a fixed annual interest rate of 6.99% to 20.99% that can be drawn and repaid, like a regular credit card.
BBVA Open Platform helps firms move money in real-time
BBVA’s API-powered open banking platform has launched a real-time payments service via Visa Direct, for US companies; among the first companies to use this service are Wise, a business banking provider and Tuvoli, a B2B marketplace for private aviation.
https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/35992/bbva-open-platform-helps-firms-move-money-in-real-time
Stripe takes on rivals with UK direct debit launch
Stripe is adding Bacs Direct Debit as a payment option for its clients in the UK; Direct Debit payments are available via Stripe Checkout, or can be integrated into custom checkouts by developers.
https://www.altfi.com/article/6698_exclusive-stripe-takes-on-gocardless-with-uk-direct-debit-launch
JPMorgan Chase plans to let mobile customers scan in their receipts
Chase is teaming up with Sensibill, a Canadian company to embed its receipt management technology in the Chase mobile banking app; users will be able to take photos of their paper receipts from purchases and have that converted into transaction activity view on their Chase app.
Payments platform Verrency introduces instalment lending solution
Payments company Verrency has added ‘Pay Later’ an installment lending feature on its payment innovation API platform for banks and card issuing processors; to use the service, customers can shop using their bank’s existing debit or credit card and then move the purchases to an installment plan.
Quicken Loans, the largest U.S. mortgage lender, is planning an IPO
According to various industry sources, Quicken Loans, is planning an IPO; Quicken Loans is apparently working with Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse and JPMorgan to manage the deal.
