#Mastercard Provider in Berlin

[ewalletappdevelopment1]

Money Transfer Software Provider in United Kingdom

[bowsetter]

Crypto Banking Expands With Positive Interest Rates and New Services

Banking, in the traditional sense of the term, has become a financial burden for account holders in regions where the era of subzero interest rates has already set in. European nations like Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, and Eurozone countries have been in negative territory for some time, and banks there have started passing the burden to corporate and private clients. However, businesses and savers don’t have to put up with losing money as the expanding banking services in the crypto space come with much better conditions, including positive interest rates.

Also read: Major Swedish Bank Orders Negative Interest Rate on Euro Deposits

Bank Accounts With Bitcoin Wallets in 31 EEA Countries

With the number of cryptocurrency users growing constantly, the need for dedicated digital asset banking naturally increases too. Currently, companies specializing in this niche are actually offering better terms to their customers than traditional financial institutions are able to provide within the fiat system. Of course, it remains to be seen if they will maintain the competitive edge once demand for their services expands significantly.

Germany, the leading EU economy, is now witnessing a backlash against low and negative interest rates. Politicians from different factions have expressed support for an initiative to outlaw punitive interest on deposits of up to €100,000. With negative rates imposed on them by the European Central Bank, ordinary German savers feel like they are once again paying the bill for the rescue of the common currency, the euro. And the ECB is preparing for a new rate cut to an all-time low of -0.50% this month.

Cryptocurrencies are an alternative to fiat money in many respects and they are likely to attract more attention as clouds continue to gather over the world economy a decade after the global financial crisis and the birth of Bitcoin. And while some have warned crypto companies probably shouldn’t try to become the banks of a new financial era, there are also reasonable arguments that in many cases they can actually provide better services based on the strengths of decentralized digital currencies.

Berlin-headquartered Bitwala has established itself as a crypto banking and payment provider in Europe. Towards the end of last year, the company announced it’s offering customers bank accounts with Ibans through a partnership with Solarisbank, a licensed financial institution operating under the oversight of Bafin, the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority of Germany. Deposits up to €100,000 will be protected by the German deposit guarantee scheme. The bank accounts come with a bitcoin wallet and a free debit Mastercard for payments and withdrawals, as news.Bitcoin.com reported.

Bitwala recently launched a bitcoin banking app for iOS and Android. The company explained that residents of the European Economic Area, all EU countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, can open a German bank account that comes with an integrated BTC wallet and start trading on their smartphones. The onboarding process is now fully integrated into the mobile application and opening a new account takes only a few minutes. The platform uses video identification and EEA residents are required to provide a valid national ID as well as a proof of address. In a statement issued in August, Bitwala Chief Technical Officer Benjamin Jones noted:

Once you have an account, you can seamlessly integrate your daily banking activities – whether in bitcoin or euro – into your everyday life.

Bitwala users can buy and sell cryptocurrency directly from their bank account with a low 1% fee charged per trade. The multi-signature wallet also allows them to transfer bitcoin on a peer-to-peer basis with friends and family. Transactions can be authorized by using biometrics. The company assures customers that in order to protect their coins in the Bitwala wallet, the private keys will remain in their hands.

BCH Users Can Now Spend Crypto via Apple Pay and Samsung Pay

Zeux is another fintech company that provides banking solutions for both digital and traditional currencies. It recently launched its new Zeux app for Android and iOS devices and introduced bitcoin cash into its ecosystem. The cryptocurrency is now listed on its mobile app which allows crypto users to pay with BCH via Apple Pay and Samsung Pay. The listing will help bring cryptocurrency into everyday life, Zeux explained in an announcement published on Medium.

The banking platform noted that Bitcoin Cash provides peer-to-peer electronic cash transfer at low fees and high security, thereby fulfilling the original promise of Bitcoin. Bitcoin.com Executive Chairman Roger Ver welcomed Zeux’s effort in adding more utility to BCH holders and the whole community, describing it as a step in the right direction. “We’re glad that yet another crypto player sees the value in Zeux and not only what we can offer them, but what we can offer their customers. We look forward to what’s in store,” Zeux CEO Frank Zhou commented and stated:

BCH is one of the most prominent coins in the crypto space and working alongside their team brings us all closer to the mass adoption of cryptocurrency.

Earn up to 10% Interest on Your Bitcoin Savings

With the spread of decentralized digital assets and the problems fiat currencies are facing right now, often due to failed central bank policies, demand for traditional-style banking services in the crypto space will continue to grow. There’s a void to be filled and platforms such as Cred are doing exactly that. A partnership with Bitcoin.com aims to expand global lending and earning on cryptocurrency investments.

The cooperation allows Bitcoin.com customers to earn interest on their crypto holdings, up to 6% on bitcoin cash (BCH) and 10% on bitcoin core (BTC) invested with the Credearn product. The interest can be paid in either bitcoin cash, bitcoin core or Cred’s own LBA token. That provides clients with multiple interest options in a departure from earning interest only in fiat dollars. Over 4.6 million users of Bitcoin.com’s wallet can now take advantage of the crypto saving feature.

Similar to a bank, Cred uses the pledged assets to lend to various borrowers including retail investors and money managers. That’s on a fully collateralized and guaranteed basis as the platform works with trusted collateral agents and leading custody partners including Bitgo, Bittrex Enterprise and Ledger. The aim is to ensure the safety and security of the digital assets deposited by its customers.

Norwegian Bank Invests in Crypto Exchange

Traditional financial institutions have been tempted to get involved in the crypto space and provide services related to digital assets. Such is the case with Sparebanken Øst, a Norwegian savings bank, which recently announced it had bought a 16.3% stake in the Norwegian Block Exchange (NBX) for 15 million Norwegian krone (approx. $1.67 million). The new trading platform is expected to start operations this month.

Admitting the high risk of the investment, Sparebanken Øst nevertheless noted in a press release its belief that “the ownership position in NBX is sound, based on the bank’s solidity and risk profile, and is responsible in relation to the bank’s needs and desire to take a leading role in technological developments in the industry.” The crypto exchange itself plans to also provide payment services to its customers. NBX will be fully compliant with Norwegian regulations applicable to its financial activities.

If you don’t want to miss an opportunity to get into the crypto space, you can safely and securely purchase bitcoin cash and other major cryptocurrencies at buy.Bitcoin.com. To freely trade your crypto assets, visit our noncustodial, peer-to-peer marketplace local.Bitcoin.com, which already has thousands of users around the world. Also, check out our newly launched premier trading platform exchange.Bitcoin.com. Registered users can access it right now and over 10,000 have already signed up.

Do you expect the crypto banking sector to grow rapidly on the backdrop of low and negative interest rates offered by traditional financial institutions? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Zeux.

Do you need a reliable bitcoin mobile wallet to send, receive, and store your coins? Download one for free from us and then head to our Purchase Bitcoin page where you can quickly buy bitcoin with a credit card.

The post Crypto Banking Expands With Positive Interest Rates and New Services appeared first on Bitcoin News.

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[pussymagicuniverse]

Catamenial Mania: Looking Towards the Prevalence of Period Porn

it’s easy to blame porn. it’s easy to give porn credit.

throughout history, the depictions of porn and our interactions with it have offered reflections and refractions of humanity’s most truthful and most unaware designs. manifestations of the most extreme and the most banal flights into fantasy prejudices and biases for all to hear and see and come to.

it’s a safe bet to say that periods predate porn.

the scarcity of period porn has not gone unnoticed and was the topic of a talk at the first world pornography conference in 1998. it had crossed my mind on a number of occasions why period porn had never popped up as often as i thought it would, considering that it had never popped up at all. once i debated with someone that such a thing as yeast infection porn couldn’t possibly exist, least of all because having sex with a yeast infection is a horribly uncomfortable experience. and despite it all it only took a single search on PornHub to find a video.

it’s understandable that some people prefer to keep porn as a fantasy. but how can fantasies incorporate every conceivable thing but still want to keep themselves untainted by a little blood. how could period blood not be a part of someone’s fantasy, anyone’s fantasy, especially when it’s a fact that most people with cunts get especially horny on their period.  

while there are a number of factors that play into what kind of porn is made, how it is made, who it is made by, and where it is accessible, in the hierarchy of censorship it turns out that one of the main hindrances to period porn are the payment processors rather than the porn industry itself. billing companies and payment processing companies such as Visa, Mastercard, and PayPal for example, impose content restrictions and strict regulations around the words used and content provided and reserve the right to refuse to process payments for companies and websites if they allow content on their platform that violates these regulations, due to their designation of such websites as ‘high risk.’ i was exposed to this thanks to a terrific thread by writer Lux Alptraum.

“the cunt cannot help the blood it puts forth. it cannot help but flounder in life and death and creation. ambiguity and instability are implicit in its folds and people with cunts are all too aware.” (click to tweet)

looking at one example of a list of forbidden words, at first glance it doesn’t seem entirely outrageous. it’s understandable that one wouldn’t want to be promoting or legitimizing abusive, violent, or non-consensual content. it’s understandable that one wouldn’t want to be associated with snuff films. some words come in a variety so it’s clear that someone wants to cover all their bases. one can rationalize how blood might come to be on that list in regards to violence or abuse or death. however, with the inclusion of ‘menstrual, menstruate, menstruation’ it becomes clear that blood isn’t innocently forbidden. 

to highlight multiple versions of menstruation (not to mention ‘period’ is also on that list, right in-between ‘pedophilia’ and ‘popper’) and put them on the same level as abuse or bigotry or slurs is a blatant demonization of people with cunts. to instate a policy that underlines natural and healthy bleeding as something that should be restricted or forbidden is nothing more than a dehumanization. to say that the blood that comes out of someone’s legs is so shameful is so dangerous that even the mere mention of the word to describe such an act is impermissible does nothing but reflect the face of patriarchy.

even unrelated connotations suffer under this. according to an interview in a Vice article that investigates this censorship a BDSM site remarks that they can no longer use red candles in their wax play because “wasteland's payment processors seem to think melted red wax is a dead ringer for blood.”

there are no good reasons to look down on menstruation. there is absolutely no excuse and there is absolutely no justification that is not based in misogyny. it is the only blood that belongs outside and yet in our daily content we find ourselves exposed to every kind but. 

“anything that denies a person with a bleeding cunt is demonstrative of patriarchy.” (click to tweet)

this is how power dynamics manifest now in the neoliberal world we have generated; through the withholding of not just money and profit but the ability of exchange in itself. these payment processors and billing agents have nothing to do with the money that is being exchanged but through the mere threat of withholding the act of exchange content disappears from sight. not to say that it’s impossible to find but how many people look further than PornHub or XVideos or whatever one’s main site happens to be. this lack of visibility is entirely intentional not towards creating a fantasy but towards upholding a system of oppression and erasure. porn companies and independent porn producers can keep making all the self-conscious and feminist porn they want, but billing companies will ensure that their content never becomes mainstream.

even the act of trying to find information directly from Visa or Mastercard proves difficult. Google searches don’t seem to register the term menstruation and instead change it to ‘period’ in their algorithms. whether or not this is a prerogative of Google’s or an SEO pairing function from the billing companies is unclear.

the act of withholding payment processing when others don’t abide by your values is neither new nor limited to the world of porn. as of the writing of this post the United States is still considering imposing financial sanctions on Venezuela that may lead to Visa and Mastercard being unable to process payments in the country. another effort against Maduro and his supporters, the United States expresses its dissatisfaction at dissent not by withholding money but by withholding the ability to use money.

it’s easy to think that through the withholding of money or the ability to exchange money, values may be influenced. it’s easy to think that that’s the only way to influence people’s behavior. but besides the fact that it’s fairly agreed upon that economic sanctions don’t really work, it’s absurd to think that the act of exchanging money is being withheld in order to keep people from being exposed to the blood that comes from cunts.

“to instate a policy that underlines natural and healthy bleeding as something that should be restricted or forbidden is nothing more than a dehumanization.” (click to tweet)

around the world one of the common denominators of patriarchy is the damnation of menstruation. the effects of patriarchal thinking vary around the globe but the misogyny of stigmatizing what comes out of a person’s cunt seems to be a constant. whether through refusing to call it by its name offering odd euphemisms in its stead taxing products designed to aid the process making products hard to find making people with cunts seclude themselves following them to watch them change causing pain misattributing pain ignoring pain silencing them deeming them impure deciding everything touched is impure or some other sort of nonsense. 

not everyone enjoys period sex. not everyone enjoys watching period porn. this isn’t about preferences or comfort levels. this is about the erasure and mistreatment of something that happens to people with cunts at least 450 times in their lives. what other constant is so widely ignored. what other biological constant is used as blackmail against profit.

anything that denies a person with a bleeding cunt is demonstrative of patriarchy.

this denial is not new but nor is it timeless. in both roman and etruscan mythologies there existed a goddess of the dead of spirits of chaos called mania (or manea). in Greek mythology, Mania is the goddess of insanity and madness. her name ties her to another roman goddess called Mana Genita, whose name Plurarch derives the latin verb manare, meaning to flow to shed to pour forth. in itself this bleeding is the standard for normativity. its madness is essential towards existence. it is only through our own interactions with it whether we decide to respect it or vilify it.

there is nothing wrong with chaos. there is nothing insane about insanity. it is all a part of being alive being human being whatever this concoction of cells happens to be. but the more we deny what is basic in us the harder it will be to figure out what is extraordinary.  

the cunt cannot help the blood it puts forth. it cannot help but flounder in life and death and creation. ambiguity and instability are implicit in its folds and people with cunts are all too aware. to watch those around you participate in its erasure is infuriating. but people with cunts never forget.

further play:

Erotic Red

Why is ‘Period’-Porn So Rare? An Explanatory Mess

Vampire Porn Challenges Period Sex Stigma

How My Periods Made Me More Aware Of Patriarchy In The North East

Period poverty: Scotland poll shows women go to desperate lengths

Citing Gender Bias, State Lawmakers Move To Eliminate 'Tampon Tax'

Period-Shaming Isn’t Rooted In Indian Culture, But In Patriarchy

Do Vampires Menstruate? The Power Of Jenny Hval’s New Album Blood Bitch

How did menstruation become taboo?

Rubyfloetics: A Period Poem Mixtape

marina manoukian is a reader and writer and collage artist. she currently resides in berlin while she studies and works. she likes honey and she loves bees. you can find more of her words and images at marinamanoukian.com or twitter/instagram at @crimeiscommon.

[paynxt360]

Brands and organizations are integrating with Railsbanks’ platform to enrich customers’ experiences

With the rising adoption of digital payments, non-financial entities from retailers to sports clubs have started integrating embedded finance in their business models to enhance the customer experience. Through current accounts, credit cards, or loans, brands are providing financial products to elevate customer experiences. In order to provide these products, previously, the bank was the only source of this extensive and costly infrastructure. However, now embedded finance has forayed into maximum sectors in order to drive growth. Now, Railsbank, through its embedded finance platform now, enables non-financial brands to affordably enter this market to witness significant growth in their businesses. For instance,

In March 2022, Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) integrator, Berlin-based AAZZUR partnered with Railsbank to introduce compliance-ready core banking products in the market. Through its payment infrastructure for accounts and card management, Railsbank will provide regulatory and technical expertise to AAZZUR to achieve the desired service. Moreover, AAZZUR allows the companies to develop a new mobile banking app from scratch through its smart modular platform. Its embeddable Smart Finance Blocks enable the clients to include budgeting tools as well as insurance products in its business model.

Therefore, this partnership will help AAZZUR’s offering to expand and enable its DACH (Deutschland (Germany), A — Austria, CH — Confœderatio Helvetica (Switzerland) clients to access the services of Railsbank.

In March 2022, Parpera, a money management platform, introduced an embedded finance product in the form of a debit card in the Australian market. This product is the result of the partnership of the company with Railspay, the Australian arm of global embedded experience platform Railsbank and neobank Volt.

Specifically, the Parpera Business Debit Mastercard card, which will be linked to the deposit account, can be accessed by sole Australian traders to better manage their business payments, make fee-free international transactions, and control their spending. The card users will also be able to use the Parpera App together with the debit card to manage the business. Also, the debit card can be added to Google Pay for transactions. Therefore, Railsbank helped this platform to deliver this financial product that simply adds greater value to customers’ experiences.

Similarly, in March 2022, Railsbank, became the BIN sponsor for the Sodexo Engage Spree Card program. Through this partnership with Railsbank, Sodexo Engage will be able to provide a smooth and secure end-to-end payment process to its cardholders. Notably, Sodexo Engage is a United Kingdom-based employee engagement company that provides the employer to offer the employees with bonuses, referrals, and incentive rewards through its Spree card.

Therefore, the above instances clearly state the brands were increasingly focusing on finding new and differentiated ways to engage their digitally native customers, which had surged the embedded finance market.

The movement from physical cash to digital money was because of e-commerce. Nowadays, both young and old consumers are highly experienced with digital retail experiences. Thus, as the pandemic becomes less of a factor for many consumers who had already permanently transitioned to the digital payments space, the opportunities for embedded finance are clear. Therefore, embedded finance platforms are expected to observe significant growth over the next four to eight quarters globally.

To know more and gain a deeper understanding of the embedded finance market in the United Kingdom, click here.

[bharathshan]

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Data Scientist Course

[perfectirishgifts]

Fed Can Be NASA Of Money, Diem Can Be Space-X

New Post has been published on https://perfectirishgifts.com/fed-can-be-nasa-of-money-diem-can-be-space-x/

Fed Can Be NASA Of Money, Diem Can Be Space-X

Locking the stablecoin door after the source has bolted

You’ll remember Libra, the global currency proposed by Facebook a while ago? It met with some pretty negative reactions from central banks, regulators and many other stakeholders. Visa Inc. V , MasterCard MA and PayPal PYPL dropped out of the initial group of Libra Network members and things went a bit quiet. Then the Libra Association produced a revised version of their Libra White Paper, adding “stablecoins” in national currencies to the original plan for a single Libra currency based on a basket of currencies.

That white paper contains an interesting offer from the consortium to the world’s central banks. It says that the consortium hopes that “as central banks develop central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), these CBDCs could be directly integrated with the Libra network, removing the need for Libra Networks to manage the associated Reserves”. Well, the Libra Association has rebranded as the Diem Association and plans to launch its first USD dollar “stablecoin” early in 2021 so it’s time to consider that offer.

There’s no need to waste resources of your own on CBDC, Libra was telling them. If a couple of billion people around the world are going to store their digital currency in Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp wallets, then why build an alternative? Use us. You set the policies on inclusion and so on, we’ll do the heavy lifting. You can be the NASA of money and we’ll be the Space-X.

A member of the European Central Bank (ECB) board, Fabio Panetta, referred to the issue of such stablecoins at a recent Bundesbank-convened event about the future of payments noting that if the risks of such coins were to be minimised by insisting on a reserve in central bank money, that something like a Facebook would be “tantamount to outsourcing the provision of central bank money”. But why is that such a bad idea? As my good friend Simon Lelieveldt (an expert on electronic money) pointed out to, we tend to assume that the EBC would be the issuer of a CBDC but nowhere is that written into their mandate: it is a political decision, a point we will return to below.

Stablecoins are coming. Whether provided by Diem or others, the cat is out of the bag, the genie is out of the bottle, the horse has bolted. Now the question for the world’s central banks is not whether there should be digital currencies or not but what is the best way to deliver them. In which context, outsourcing is a viable option. Recall the Mondex experiment of the 1990s: it was the Bank of England that controlled the issuing of the digital currency, but the Mondex system itself and the Mondex cards issued to consumers were provided by commercial banks.

It looks as if the outsourcing is about to begin again, but not with banks. With the Diem Association’s plans to launch a USD “stablecoin” (I will insist on calling it the Facebuck) shortly – contingent on obtaining a variety of licences and permissions – it is time to speculate about what the impact of such a stablecoin might be.

Personally, I can see the attraction of using such a stablecoin. The ability for me to send money to a cousin in Australia by sending a few Facebucks directly from my Facebook Novi wallet to her Instagram Novi wallet would be useful and convenient. The ability for me to buy shareware from a Swedish software developer and pay instantly by transferring Facebucks by WhatsApp would stimulate trade and the economy. Joking aside, with a good user interface, a good customer experience and a good API to satisfy regulators, Novi and Diem together could indeed provide a viable global alternative to SWIFT.

Dollars and Dominance

Perhaps more importantly, though, US dollar stablecoins — whether provided by central banks themselves as in China, by banks or mobile operators, or by other organisations such as the Diem Assocation — would also reinforce the global dominance of the US dollar ahead of digital competitors (including everyone’s favourite unstablecoin, Bitcoin) in the post-pandemic world where online transactions are the new normal.

The German Minister of Finance calls Diem “a wolf in sheep’s clothing”. If you look at it though, what Diem propose to do is basically that same as is already allowed under European electronic money regulation. Provided that Diem segregate the customer deposits and hold them in the form of bank deposits and other appropriate asset classes, then issuing a digital dollar (or euro or or pound) is no big deal. What the Minister and others are presumably concerned about is the loss of monetary sovereignty if European citizens opt to shift their cash holdings from euros to dollars whether intermediated by Diem, Circle or anyone else.

If you want to understand some of the bigger picture around currencies, competition and what the eminent historian and Hoover Institution senior fellow Niall Ferguson refers to as “Cold War 2”, then you should take the time to listen to this conversation between Ferguson and CoinDesk’s Michael Casey. As the author of one of the best books on the history of finance, The Ascent of Money, Ferguson has a very wide and well-informed perspective on the issues and I have quoted him more than once in my book on the topic.

In this conversation, Ferguson observes that one of the lessons of history is that with globalisation comes a tendency for a particular currency to become the dominant currency, the Prime Currency, for transactions for trade. In the 19th century it was the British Pound, in the 20th century it became the US Dollar, and in the 21st century it will be… well, who knows but as globalisation moves into a period of obvious crisis it is being talked about as it wasn’t before. Ruchir Sharma, Morgan Stanley Investment Management’s chief global strategist, recently wrote that only five currencies had been top dog in post-medieval times: those of Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, France and our United Kingdom. Those reigns lasted 94 years on average, by which measure the dollar is overdue for overthrow.

Public or Private? Local or Global?

Many people think that the only thing keeping it in place is the lack of a successor. Ferguson points toward China as the place where the new world may be forged, saying that “if I’m right and that trend continues and they become more dominant in not just domestic consumer payments in China but increasingly in payments around the world” then we may start to see a shift in the “tectonic plates of the international monetary system” and I couldn’t agree more.

Ferguson also refers to former Bank of England governor Mark Carney’s call for a synthetic hegemonic currency (SHC), which he rates as more plausible than Diem as the future of the international financial system. It would be a victory for John Maynard Keynes from beyond the grave. Keynes, as you will recall, was in favour of an SHC (the “bancor”) from the very beginning of the current international monetary regime and (correctly) reasoned at the time of Bretton Woods that the lack of such an international reserve currency would deliver control to the United States (at the expense of the United Kingdom).

In Ed Conway’s excellent book on Bretton Woods “The Summit” (New York Times review) he talks about how the dollar becoming top dog gave America what the recently-deceased former French President Valery Giscard d’Estaing called the “exorbitant privilege” of borrowing in its own currency. But finance is not the only reason why the coming currency Cold War is of vital importance to the US (and to the West as whole) and control over currency is important.

Former French President Valery Giscard d’Estaing attends a so-called “German-French Young Leaders … [] Conference” in Berlin on May 11, 2017. (Photo by TOBIAS SCHWARZ / AFP) (Photo by TOBIAS SCHWARZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Currency competition is about politics, because the use of the dollar to settle global transactions gives the US unparalleled lever of “soft power”. As Ferguson puts it, “I think we probably mostly underestimate how extraordinarily effective this lever has been, it’s actually been a much more effective weapon of US foreign policy than the boots on the ground of the U.S. Army and Marine Corps”. Hence an e$ (whether a NASA Digital Dollar or a Space-X Facebuck) should be an important policy discussion in the United States right now and a priority for the incoming administration just as an e€ should be for Europe and an e£ should be in post-Brexit Britain.

Ferguson finishes the conversation with Casey by quoting the ending of Hillaire Belloc’s famous poem “Jim” to ask listeners this: you may not like a financial system in which the US is the dominant player, but imagine an international monetary and financial system in which China is the dominant player. What happens when transactions around the globe are potentially under the control of the Communist Party of China?

Whatever your politics, it is worth thinking about. Will a future US administration with a global perspective accept the compromise of an SHC as a means to retain some control or can they launch a digital dollar into global orbit first?

From Social Media in Perfectirishgifts

[payment-providers]

New Post has been published on Payment-Providers.com

New Post has been published on https://payment-providers.com/the-paypers-launches-the-cross-border-payments-and-ecommerce-report-2020-2021/

The Paypers launches the Cross-Border Payments and Ecommerce Report 2020–2021

The Paypers has launched the Cross-Border Payments and Ecommerce Report 2020–2021, the ultimate source of information for players interested in selling across borders.

Nowadays, people spend more time than before looking for products online, and many merchants see a world of opportunity beyond borders, as the cross-border ecommerce market continues to grow at a fast pace and gain in popularity. Estimates suggest that, by 2027, the global cross-border B2C ecommerce market will reach no less than EUR 3.9 trillion. 

Structured in five comprehensive chapters, the new edition of the report offers unique insights and analyses from thought leaders in the field on key industry topics such as regional particularities of cross-border online and mobile commerce, cross-border payments, global trade, the importance of payments orchestration and transaction routing, key challenges for marketplaces in different regions, multi acquirer setups, the best strategies to deal with local payments as a cross-border retailer, and much more. 

It is dedicated to international retailers, global shipping companies, payments, commerce, and marketplaces solution providers, as well as other players in this space interested in scaling their business across borders. Therefore, to help them gain a comprehensive view of the opportunities that arise, throughout the Cross-Border Payments and Ecommerce Report 2020–2021 we provide up-to-date perspectives on this environment, tacking key trends and developments revolving around:

the COVID-19 impact on the global payments and ecommerce space: Banking Circle; Limonetik; PPRO; Ecommerce Foundation; Edgar, Dunn & Company; Euromonitor; Kapronasia;

the particularities of the cross-border ecommerce market: Data Insight; Euromonitor; IMRG; Lazada;

how to succeed in selling across borders: Cybersource; Ixopay; Nexway; Payvision; Rapyd; MRC;

key considerations on cross-border payments: ACI Worldwide; Discover Global Network; Mastercard; Radar Payments; Thunes; Trustly; WL Payments; Insparx; National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI); Payments Europe;

the thriving marketplaces ecosystem: Bexs Bank; Alibaba; Jumia; Be | Shaping the Future; Vanessa Culver (Zillow); Zalando.

Marketplaces – overview per target audiences and regions

Subsequently, the spotlight is on online shopping platforms. Considering the diversity of this ecosystem, it can be difficult to gain insights regarding the whole space. Therefore, we decided to publish a comprehensive overview of marketplaces, so that our readers get a better understanding of the diverse players from all over the globe. We have conducted an in-depth analysis of the main regional and global marketplaces and we grouped them based on three criteria: geographical spread (per regions); the field in which they operate; the target market that they address (B2C, B2B, C2C). 

The Cross-Border Payments and Ecommerce Report 2020–2021 is endorsed by four leading industry associations: Merchant Risk Council, Ecommerce Foundation, IMRG, and Marketplace Risk. Our key media partners who will help us with the promotion of the report are Merchant Payments Ecosystem and Ecommerce Berlin Expo. 

Download your complimentary copy of the report HERE to stay one step ahead in these peculiar times!

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Applications of Artificial Intelligence

Applications of Artificial Intelligence

Featured Image Courtesy: https://www.freepik.com

Artificial Intelligence or AI entails upon the concept wherein machines are used for doing jobs that were previously done by humans. The machines have a pre-programmed simulation that can immaculate the know-how needed to perform a particular job. The growth of AI has been phenomenal while the industry continues expanding itself at an exponential pace. AI is slowly getting introduced to the banking industry, finance, marketing and a lot many places. Helping you understand some of the major Applications of Artificial Intelligence:

AI in Marketing

What do you typically do in the marketing field? You create a fascinating niche for the fleet of products or services you intend selling. In other words, you sugar coat your products or services so as to make them appealing to your target audiences. Marketing executives do a fascinating job at convincing customers to buy any type of product or service. Now, imagine a pre-programmed chat bot or an algorithm simulation doing it for you. Wouldn’t that feel awesome? Here is where AI tangentially fits into the field of marketing.

Take an example: Way back in the 2000’s, when the e-commerce industry was introduced to us, finding the right type of products versus their sellers was a real time nightmare. This was exactly true when you didn’t know the exact name of the product. Today, when you type the first word of the product, you get several search results belonging to the item you were looking for. It looks as if the search engines were reading your minds. Within seconds, you get the product you were exactly looking for.

One more example is that of Netflix. Why do you find Netflix so amazing and chill? That is because it examines millions of records with respect to customer’s preferences on movies or TV shows. Hence, if you had seen the movie of a film belonging to a particular actor, it displays several movies or game shows done by the actor. The technology therefore is getting smarter day by day. In the growing years, you can find your product on the web just by snapping a photo of it. Competitors like CamFind are already into experimenting the trend.

Banking

AI in the banking industry is growing at an astounding pace indeed. Banking systems use AI powered virtual assistants to cater to customer service, detect frauds and facilitate loan lending processes. AI is mainly used in the banking industry to keep a tab on fraudulent transactions.

Now, how does this happen? The AI chatbots detect card usage versus their end-point access. This way, security specialists are able to detect scenarios concerning frauds. Companies like Mastercard and RBS WorldPay are relying on AI for finance, banking and retail sectors. This has saved the economy millions of dollars.

Agriculture

The global population is expected to touch a whopping 10 billion humans by 2050 alone. This means we would be needing more food crops by almost 50%. How do you think you can quadruple agricultural yield if the population is growing exponentially? Food companies are coming up with more innovative methods of agricultural farming. Deploying AI and robotics to agriculture help farmers get more from the land while utilizing the existing natural resources more sustainably.

Issues like growing population, climate change and food security concerns are pushing the industry to adopt better approaches to doing farming or agriculture. There is a firm named Blue River Technologies. It has introduced a novel concept namely ‘See and Spray’. The technology makes use of computer vision to detect the crops carefully and spray weedicides accordingly. The tech is used for applying weedicide to cotton plants. Similarly you have one more firm that actively uses robotics and automation in agriculture.

There is a Berlin based agro firm namely PEAT. The computers monitor potential defects and nutritional deficiencies in the soil among growing crops. This is done via images. Farmers then get soil restoration tips, techniques and other useful solutions to protect crops. The estimated accuracy of deploying automation or robotics to agriculture is around 95%.

Health-care industry

Quite a lot of medical companies are relying on AI. Using AI in health-care in fact has saved millions of lives. There is a healthcare company named Cambio. It has devised an equipment that can forewarn surgeons of patients who stand at the risk of getting a heart-related stroke. Coala Life uses AI that can detect patients suffering with a host of cardiac ailments. Aifloo is another automated device that detects the health of people staying at nursing homes, home care centers, etc. You can use AI to detect the impending disorders so that you are able to save lives with the existing medication. As earlier detection prevents the diseases from getting more severe.

Space Exploration

Space expeditions require analysis of a huge amount of data figures to arrive at compelling discoveries. AI coupled with ML helps tabulate data and analyze figures over years. This way, AI transitions a smoother flow to handle and process data on this higher a scale. The Kepler telescope had taken a huge amount of pictures. By using AI, astronomers were able to identify the movements of an eight-planet system. AI technologies are used by NASA extensively to facilitate its next Rover Mission to Mars, i.e. the Mars 2020 Rover.

You already have AEGIS, which is an AI powered Mars Rover that has confirmed its presence on the Red Planet. The Rover helps target autonomous cameras take precise pictures concerning detailed investigation on Mars.

Gaming

You have the combined forces of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality bringing the games to life. Shooting games, car racing games and biking are able to keep us hooked to the gaming consoles as such. Alpha Go Zero, FEAR and Pokemon Go capitalize on AI to get a real-time feel while playing games. Using AI in the gaming industry is the in-thing for today’s generation.

Self-driven vehicles

Self driving cars have always been a buzzword in AI. You have a firm named Waymo. It conducted several test drives in Phoenix before coming out with its fleet of self-driven cars. How do you think this happens? The AI system collects data vehicle’s radar, GPS and cameras. You connect the input values via cloud computing services. Therefore, you get the right kind of sensors that signal or help operate the vehicle, as such.

Advanced Deep learning algorithms give the self-driving car with the kind of objects that are within the vicinity of the driving car. Hence, you get a direct overview of other vehicles that are driving down the roads. This way, self-driving cars are estimated to be more effective and safer too. Tesla’s self-driving cars with the auto-pilot mode are also highly spoken about.

Chat bots

Virtual assistants are increasingly used at hotels, restaurants and at households too. You have talking devices like Alexa, Siri, Cortana and Google Assistant who provide verbal services to us humans. They can take commands from you and answer you back. How does this technology work?

The AI translates human language into desirable commands. This is done via speech recognition and NLP in order to perform a wide range of tasks on your command. You can use AI devices to switch on TVs, table-lamps and music systems. These devices can tell you message notifications on your mobile phone. You can book movie tickets, book cab services, order food from online restaurants and a lot more.

Similarly chat bots and robots are used at fast food chains and hotels to take orders from customers. Their orders are then processed and food plates come across via conveyor belts to be handed over to the customers’ tables.

Conclusion

These are the top 8 applications of Artificial Intelligence. You have many more fields where the true potential of AI is yet to be tapped. So be on the lookout for more innovations happening via AI.

About Us

For your daily dose of technological updates get connected to Mango Digital via https://mangodigital.solutions/ For every tech hangover, there is a Mangoer. Mango Consulting is one of the leading web design & development companies in the UK. We specialize in the field of mobile app development, content writing, IT support, digital marketing at very much affordable prices.

Applications of Artificial Intelligence

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[crypto4all]

Cash or Plastic? Countries Where Crypto Debit Cards Are Fair Game

As a sector, plastic cryptocurrency cards have had a bumpy ride. While for some they are the perfect way to spend those hard-stacked sats, it has evidently been a struggle for crypto companies to provide such a service. Wracked by regulation, supplier issues and the volatility of digital assets, crypto debit cards have had a rough start.Nonetheless, crypto debit card use is growing and is considered an important development for the growth in the adoption of crypto around the world. So, in which countries are most of the crypto cards available?

Wirex

Wirex is a London-based crypto debit card provider and is often seen in the wallets of many people involved in the industry. The firm offers over 13 traditional and cryptocurrency accounts and has crypto-to-crypto, fiat-to-crypto and crypto-to-fiat capabilities. The firm is also backed by Visa, meaning that anywhere Visa is accepted, crypto can be spent. Wirex launched its Russian service on May 19, offering customers fiat credit and debit cards. According to a press release from the company, it plans to offer customers the opportunity to buy crypto such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), XRP, Dai and its native Wirex Token (WXT) via Visa and Mastercard.

Revolut 

Revolut is perhaps the best-known card provider to make forays into the crypto world. Based in London and headed by CEO Nikolay Storonsky, Revolut has 10 million customers, a third of which have traded crypto on its app, according to data released by the company. The company recently reported a 58% dip in the average size of crypto purchases from its United Kingdom customers, citing the effects of the lockdown measures imposed in March. Two months later, the average sum is climbing back up to previous levels, having increased by 57%.

Monolith

Monolith is based in Manchester, England. It is a company that seeks to bring self-sovereignty to finance through decentralization. Monolith’s CEO, Mel Gelderman, explained to Cointelegraph the philosophy behind the decentralized finance factor in its crypto debit card offering: “We have complete faith in DeFi and its role in ushering in the next economy. Monolith’s purpose is to make DeFi a viable choice to manage your everyday finances with ease, just as you might do now on your banking app. The diverse nature of DeFi will allow users to maximise their wealth in ways they haven’t been able to before. We take this a step further by ensuring we have no access to your money as each user wallet is non-custodial.”The coronavirus pandemic has had an unprecedented effect on businesses, decentralized or not. Despite this, Gelderman told Cointelegraph that the flexibility offered by DeFi and crypto is particularly appealing for customers that want to be in control of their finances during the COVID-19 crisis: “The Crypto industry is evolving into an integrated piece of daily life in terms of financial management, and debit card services are part of that. The crypto-debit card is the next step in this evolution, giving the end user a non-custodial financial platform that interfaces in a way that is no different from the current account they use daily. This mix of timing, usability, and control of funds makes this new economy more viable than ever.”

Coinbase

Coinbase is a United States-based platform that provides a variety of functions, including exchange, wallet and trading services. The company’s crypto debit card, imaginatively dubbed Coinbase Card, was launched in 2019. At first, the card was only active in six European countries, but it has since been launched in a further 10 countries with a greater variety of crypto assets. The firm announced on Feb. 19 that it had become a principal member of Visa, meaning that it is now able to issue debit cards without the involvement of third parties, and it can now also issue cards to other crypto companies.

Bitwala

Bitwala, a blockchain-based banking firm headquartered in Berlin, offers a service where customers can convert their crypto and pay with a Mastercard debit card. The card is linked to a Bitwala bank account and is available only to EU and Swiss citizens.Bitwala recently partnered with DeFi platform Celsius to offer an annual interest of up to 4% on Bitcoin holdings. The funds from customers using Bitcoin Interest Accounts are loaned to institutional borrowers via Celsius, earning weekly interest in BTC. Bitwala has said that DeFi is “a new way to generate wealth” and cited passive income generated from crypto holdings as an example.

Socios

Celebrity tokenization is one of the most innovative sectors in crypto finance. Socios runs a crypto sports-fan token ecosystem, offering tokenized voting platforms and a blockchain-based mobile app. The firm announced in late February that it would launch a crypto-to-fiat prepaid debit card. Alexandre Dreyfus, the CEO of Socios, explained to Cointelegraph how the project works:“Socios Debit Card, a Fiat Debit Card that will allow Socios.com users to get a card (VISA or MASTERCARD) that will trigger rewards every time they spend money. The idea is that if you are Juventus Fan and you spend FIAT into an Adidas shop, you'll get cashback and more Juventus Fan Tokens for example.”Dreyfus also told Cointelegraph that tokens and payments could have an impact both for service users and sponsors in sports: “Sponsors will be able to track and generate campaigns with the teams they are sponsoring, and who have issued Fan Tokens with us.”

Binance 

Crypto industry titan Binance announced in March that it would release its own debit card, with the initial testing being carried out in Malaysia. Issued by Visa, the card will be available in Southeast Asia and will later be rolled out to other regions. The internal balance of the Binance Card will be in crypto, with Binance Coin (BNB) and Bitcoin. The card costs $15 but has no monthly or yearly maintenance fees. 

Paycent 

Paycent is a Singapore-based crypto debit card provider. A Paycent Card costs $49 and comes in three tiers. Ruby is powered by UnionPay and has a daily spending and withdrawal limit of $5,000. Sapphire is powered by Unified Payments Interface and has a daily spending limit of $5,600 and a withdrawal limit of $1,650. Solitaire is Paycent’s option for big spenders. Powered by Mastercard, it has a daily spending limit of $13,000 and a withdrawal limit of $10,000. Its supported currencies are Paycent’s native PYN token, Bitcoin, Verge (XVG), Dragon (DRGN), Ontology Coin (ONT), DigiByte (DBG), Groestlcoin (GRS), Binance Coin, Ether, Litecoin, XRP, Dash and Steem.

Becoming Visa principal partners

Coinbase is leading the charge in terms of becoming a bona fide principal partner of Visa. As reported by Cointelegraph, only three further firms have publicly considered putting themselves through the grueling vetting process of becoming a partner. If Cryptopay, Crypto.com and Crypterium are successful in their applications, the firms stand to set themselves apart from all other competitors in the sector.George Basiladze, the co-founder of Cryptopay, gave Cointelegraph an insight into the application process, saying that becoming a principal member is a long journey that requires obtaining an Electronic Money Institution license, having a Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard certification — and a lot of funding. Here’s what the firms are offering so far:

Crypto.com 

Crypto.com is a payments and crypto platform that offers five different cards. The most basic is free and offers spending rewards of 1% on all transactions, while the most expensive requires a Monaco (MCO) stake of 50,000 and offers spending rewards of 5% on transactions, airport lounge access, and Spotify, Netflix and Amazon Prime access. The company recently announced the launch of its MCO Visa card. Formerly known as Monaco Card, it will be available in 31 countries throughout the region. Crypto.com claims that this makes its card offering the most accessible worldwide. 

Cryptopay

Cryptopay’s C.Pay card is available to be ordered in the U.K. and Russia and can be used anywhere that Visa is supported. This means that customers can use it with the same support and security that they would normally expect from a Visa card. C.Pay customers can use cryptocurrencies to spend up to 30,000 euros in one transaction. Virtual cards are free and prices start at 5 euros for a physical card that offers a daily load of 8,000 euros and a daily ATM withdrawal limit of 400 euros. C.Pay cards incur a monthly 1 euro management fee, a 2.50 euro domestic ATM fee, a 3.50 euro international ATM fee and a 3% foreign exchange fee, as well as a loading and unloading fee of 1%. C.Pay customers can spend Bitcoin, Litecoin, XRP and Ether. 

Crypterium

Estonia-based firm Crypterium also purports to offer the most global card. Crypterium’s card gives access to over 50 million online and offline retailers, 2.5 million ATMs worldwide and is supported in 178 countries. Cards come with a spending limit of up to $13,000 per day or $60,000 per month, as well as a dedicated app.The cards cost $25 each but don’t incur monthly costs. Crypterium’s debit cards are processed by the Chinese financial services company UnionPay. Crypterium’s Chief Operating Officer, Austin Kimm, recently told Cointelegraph that UnionPay gives Crypterium greater global reach: “Both Visa and Mastercard allow you to develop cards for particular regions like the United States, South America, Europe, etc. UnionPay, on the contrary, divides the world in two regions.” Read the full article

[bigyack-com]

Air Malta and Qatar Airways to Codeshare

Qatar Airways has signed a comprehensive codeshare agreement with Air Malta. Tickets are already on sale, with the first codeshare flights to operate from 9 March. The codeshare agreement increases Malta’s connectivity with the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Australia, by enabling Air Malta’s passengers to travel on Qatar Airways’ flights to Doha and onwards to more than 170 destinations. Qatar Airways’ passengers will also benefit from greater access to Malta and to Air Malta’s extensive Mediterranean network. Codeshare destinations include Cagliari, Palermo and Catania.

Air Malta Chief Executive Officer, Captain Cliff Chetcuti, said, “This agreement is yet another milestone for Air Malta in its growth strategy and widening of its codesharing network. It was a natural step for us after Qatar Airways launched direct scheduled services to our Islands and the successful cooperation on pilot training. Both Air Malta and Qatar Airways share the same quality service commitment towards their customers and through this codeshare agreement we are enhancing our cooperation to the benefit of our mutual customers.” Qatar Airways began flying to Malta on 4 June 2019 with daily flights in the summer and a four-times weekly service during winter. Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said, “When we launched services to Malta in June 2019, I stated this was just the beginning of our long term commitment to boosting trade and tourism between our two countries. This agreement with Air Malta will provide significant benefits to both airlines and thousands of passengers, expanding both of our networks and setting the foundation to further enhance cooperation in other fields in the future.” See latest Travel News, Interviews, Podcasts and other news regarding: Qatar Airways, Air Malta, Codeshare. Headlines: Pictures from Elephant Boat Race and Bangkok River Festival 2020  Accor Opens Second ibis Styles Hotel in Vietnam  AirAsia Thailand Receives IOSA Certification  Travelport Achieves Level 4 NDC Aggregator Certification  Qatar Airways Opens Premium Lounge at Changi Airport  British Airways Expands NDC Offering  Steven Phillips Appointed GM of LUX* Grand Baie Resort in Mauritius  Russian Helicopters Delivers First Mi-38  Asia Pacific Airlines Carried 33.8m Int. Pax in January  Delta Reduces Seoul Flights; Delays Manila Launch  Finnair to Increase Flights to Delhi and Los Angeles  Thai Smile Becomes Second Connecting Partner of Star Alliance  ANA to Add 15 More Boeing 787 Dreamliners to Fleet  Airbus Helicopters Appoints Thomas Hundt as EVP - Finance  First Pratt & Whitney GTF Engine Produced in Japan Joins Flight Tests  Air Malta and Qatar Airways to Codeshare  Susan Doniz to Join Boeing as CIO / SVP IT and Data Analytics  AirAsia to Resume Manila - Saigon Flights; Launch Clark - Tagbilaran  COVID19: Qantas and Jetstar Make Major Changes to Network  Air Astana Changes Ticket Rules for Travellers from HK, JP, MO, SG, KR and TH  Hong Kong Int. Airport Introduces New Round of Relief Measures  Russian Helicopters to Commence Production of Ansat Aurus  Hong Kong Win Bronze at Inaugural World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger Series  Bangkok Airways Partners AXAThailand to Offer 'Protective Wing'  ANA to Test Autonomous Mobility Assistance at Narita Airport  Green Light for MotoGP in Buri Ram, Thailand  Aviation: COVID19 Cuts Demand and Revenues  Martin Dell Returns Home as GM of Four Seasons Hotel Prague  SWISS Takes Delivery of First A320neo  Sabre's Sean Menke to Participate in Keynote Interview at ITB Berlin  Executive Appointments at Outrigger Hospitality  CWT Appoints Linda Creighton as Vice President - Business Finance  Hilton to Open Garden Inn Hotel at Adventure Parc Snowdonia, North Wales  AirAsia Philippines to Launch Flights to Zamboanga from Cebu and Clark  Swiss-Belhotel Opens First Hotel in Malaysia  Joanne Taylor Joins FCM as Director of Account Management Asia  Thai Airways Waives Fees on Japan, Korea, Singapore and Taiwan Flights  SalamAir Partners Tune Protect for Travel Insurance  American Airlines to Expand Preordered Meal Service  Etihad Airways to Launch TravelPass  AirAsia to Launch Flights from Clark and Cebu to General Santos, Philippines  MICE in North Wales - Interview with Richard Jones of venue cymru, Llandudno  Air New Zealand Extends Reduction in Flights to Hong Kong and Shanghai  Patrick de Castelbajac to Join Nordic Aviation Capital as CEO  Thai Airways Opens New Lounge at Phuket Airport  Bulgaria Air and Qatar Airways to Codeshare  Tarom Takes Delivery of First of Nine ATR 72-600s  Whitbread Signs Sixth Premier Inn Hotel in Ireland  Mandarin Oriental Jumeira Dubai Opens Royal Penthouse  COVID19: Zero Risk and Travel Advisories - Where Do We Stop?  Campbell Wilson to Rejoin Scoot as CEO  MIAT to Implement Sabre's Global Demand Data Solution  Cathay Pacific Carried 3M Pax in Jan; Reduces Flight Capacity by 40%  Roger Brantsma Joins 825-Room Hilton Tokyo as General Manger  Thai Airways Increases Passenger Screening on Flights from Cambodia  Mandarin Oriental Boston to Complete US$ 15 Million Renovation in April  Erica Antony Joins CWT as Chief Product Officer  Bjoern van den Oever Joins Alila Villas Koh Russey as Executive Chef  Unicorn Hospitality Opens 47-Room Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand  Hong Kong Airport Handled 5.7 Million Passengers in January  Vietnam Airlines Adds Wide-Body Aircraft to Hanoi - Saigon Route  Pratt & Whitney GTF Engines to Power Korean Air's New A321neos  AsBAA Appoints Jeff Chiang as Chief Operating Officer  Psychometrics at Naruna Retreats in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand  Airbus A330-800 Receives Type Certification from EASA and FAA  Hamza Sehili Joins Four Seasons Tunis as Hotel Manager  British Airways and Royal Air Maroc to Codeshare  Green Africa Airways Signs MOU for 50 Airbus A220-300s  Hong Kong Visitor Arrivals Plummet to Below 3,000 Per Day  What Does Tourism Mean to Conwy, North Wales? Interview with Mayor  Thai Airways Launches Promotion for Royal Orchid Plus Members  Dusit Thani Abu Dhabi Upgrades Rooms and MICE Facilities  FlyArystan to Launch New Routes, Expand Capacity from Almaty, Kazakhstan  Finnair Extends Suspension of Flights to China; Reduces HK Service  SAS Extends Suspension of Flights to China  Air Astana to Launch Flights to Mumbai, India  HK7s and Singapore Sevens Rescheduled  Quay Hotel & Spa in Deganwy, North Wales - Interview with Brid Collins  Royal Thai Air Force Orders Six Airbus H135 Helicopters  CWT Appoints Laura Watterson as SVP - Global Talent & Rewards  Yee Pin Tan Joins Six Senses as Head of Design  Boeing Forecasts Southeast Asia to Need 4,500 New Airplanes Over Next 20 Years  Bombardier Completes Strategic Exit from Commercial Aviation  British Airways to Launch Flights Between London Heathrow and Newquay  Six Senses Appoints Bryan Gabriel as CCO  Piotr Madej Joins The Andaman Langkawi as GM  Sustainable Inspiration from Farmer Gareth Wyn Jones in North Wales  PNG Air Orders Three ATR 42-600S Aircraft  Japan Airlines Joins Amadeus NDC Program  BBAM to Convert Three Boeing 737-800s into Freighters  John Woolley Joins The Ritz-Carlton Bali as GM  French Navy to Operate Four Airbus H160 Helicopters  British Airways Extends Suspension of Flights to Beijing and Shanghai  Air France Extends Suspension of Flights to Beijing and Shanghai  Welsh Wine from the Gwinllan Conwy Vineyard - Interview with Colin Bennett  Vietjet to Launch Three New Routes to India  WTTC's 20th Global Summit to Take Place 22-23 April in Cancun, Mexico  Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo to Open Renovated Rooms on 29 March  2019-nCoV - Arbitrary Restrictions and Blanket Travel Bans Cause Confusion  China and Mandarin Airlines Make Further Changes to Cross-Strait Services  Premier Inn to Add 735 Beds to Scotland Portfolio in 2020  Valentino Longo Wins North America's Most Imaginative Bartender Competition  Aviation: Slower But Steady Growth in 2019  Three Countries to Participate in Singapore Airshow 2020 Flying Displays  2019 Worst Year for Air Cargo Since End of Global Financial Crisis in 2009  Korean Air to Sell Land and Assets  ibis Styles Hotel Opens in Bekasi, Indonesia  Air France Takes Delivery of Airbus' 350th A350  United Airlines to Buy a Flight Training Academy  Bombardier to Double Size of Service Centre at London Biggin Hill  LA7s to Take Place at Dignity Health Sports Park in Los Angeles 29 Feb - 1 Mar  Singapore Airshow 2020 Still On; SAALS Cancelled  IHG Signs 61-Key InterContinental Resort in Khao Yai, Thailand  Fusion Suites Opens in Vung Tau, Vietnam  Aeroviation Expands Flight Training in Singapore with DA-20 Simulator  CWT Appoints Nick Vournakis as MD - Global Customer Group  SEHT Aviation Donates Six SH40-10 Headsets to Aerobility  China Airlines Adds 2019-nCoV Service Information Centre to Website  Four Seasons Resort Lanai Appoints Bradley Russell as Resort Manager  Leading Yachts of the World Appoints Anthony Brisacq as CEO  Second Four Seasons Hotel in Tokyo Starts Accepting Reservations  Korean Air to Launch Passenger and Cargo Flights to Budapest, Hungary  Aviation: Alliance Established to Investigate Use of Blockchain in MRO Chain  SAS Closes Sale of Beijing and Shanghai Flights Until 15 March  North Face 100 Thailand Attracts Over 4,000 Runners from 20+ Countries  Hong Kong Air Cargo Renews IOSA Registration  Swiss-Belhotel to Open Over 2,000 Rooms in 12 Hotels in Indonesia  Elena Nazarovici Joins The Sanchaya Bintan as Director of Sales  Amadeus Joins Mastercard's City Possible Network  Asia Pacific Airlines Carried 375.5m Int. Pax in 2019  Thai Airways Reduces Flights to Mainland China  Cebu Pacific Cancels All Flights to Hong Kong and Macau  Batik Air Takes Delivery of First Airbus A320neo  Fiji Beat South Africa to Win First HSBC Sydney Sevens  Maldives Rejoins Commonwealth  Korean Air Making a Difference to Orphans in Tondano, Sulawesi  Qatar Airways Becomes Official Airline of Paris Saint-Germain  Polish Air Ambulance Service Orders Two Learjet 75 Liberty Aircraft  Vietnam Airlines Makes Changes to Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan Flights  Football: Pictures from Ascot United FC vs Egham Town FC  Aerobility - The British Flying Charity, Interview with Mike Miller-Smith MBE  ANA and SIA Sign Joint Venture Framework Agreement  Dusit Signs First Hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam  SkyWest Orders 20 Embraer E175 Jets  SAS Suspends All Shanghai and Beijing Flights  Kuala Lumpur Int. Airport Trials Single Token Journey Technology  Air Canada Suspends All Flights to Beijing and Shanghai  Korean Air Sets Up Emergency Response Team; Suspends Select China Flights  Mark Radford Joins Trenchard Aviation as VP Business Development  CWT Appoints R. Thompson as VP Global Internal Communications & Culture  Vietjet Launches Daily Flights Between Hanoi and Bali, Indonesia  WTTC Moves April's Global Summit from Puerto Rico to Mexico  Andy Flaig Joins Wyndham as Head of Development South East Asia / Pacific Rim  Air Astana Reports 2019 Net Profit Increase of 461%  NASA Orders Three Airbus H135 Helicopters  Hahn Air Simplifies Distribution of Corporate Shuttle Flights  Sydney 7s to Take Place at Bankwest Stadium on 1-2 February  Russia's Sirena Travel Signs Multi-Year Retailing Deal with ATPCO  Shell to Use Airbus H160 for Offshore Transportation  ANA to Operate International Flights Out of Haneda T2 and T3 from 29 March  CAL Group Makes Changes to Inflight Services on Taiwan-HK / Macau Routes  Philippines Suspends Visa Upon Arrival Service for Chinese Nationals  UK Visitor Arrivals Spending Up 19% in October 2019  Todd Probert Joins CAE as Group President, Defence & Security  Six Senses Appoints Mark Sands as Vice President of Wellness  Air France and Sata Azores Airlines Start Codesharing  Norwegian Implements New Hand Baggage Policy  AirAsia X Launches KL - Taipei - Okinawa Flights  First Boeing 777-9 Begins Flight Tests  Accor Commits to Global Elimination of Single-Use Plastics by 2022  Etihad Receives EASA Approval to Train Boeing 777, 787 Pilots  Jeane Lim Appointed GM of Grand Park City Hall Hotel in Singapore  Whitbread Opens First hub by Premier Inn Hotel Outside of London's Zone 1  Delta Enhances Travel Experience for Pets  All Blacks Sevens Make History in Hamilton  Air Canada Becomes Official Airline of Cirque du Soleil  Phuket to Host Thailand Travel Mart (TTM+) 2020 in June  Thailand: Did Strength of Thai Baht Affect Number of Arrivals from UK in 2019?  Seaplanes in Thailand? Interview with Dennis Keller, CBO of Siam Seaplane  Future of Airline Distribution and NDC - Interview with Yanik Hoyles, IATA  Cambodia Airways Interview with Lucian Hsing, Commercial Director  HD Videos and Interviews  Podcasts from HD Video Interviews  Travel Trade Shows in 2019, 2020 and 2021  High-Res Picture Galleries  Travel News Asia - Latest Travel Industry News  Read the full article

[preciousmetals0]

Crypto Goes Plastic — Coinbase’s Visa-Approved Solution Suggests Growth

Crypto Goes Plastic — Coinbase’s Visa-Approved Solution Suggests Growth:

On Feb. 19, Coinbase announced that it has become a principal member of Visa. In an apparent first for the cryptocurrency industry, the firm is now able to issue debit cards without having to involve third parties. Prior to that, Coinbase had been releasing its physical cards in collaboration with authorized intermediaries, similarly to dozens of other crypto companies that offer such options to their clients.

While Coinbase didn’t share its strategy, technically, the new status grants it the possibility to issue cards to fellow cryptocurrency firms. In any case, this development marks an important milestone for the crypto payments sector.

Seamless and instant: A brief introduction to crypto cards

Cryptocurrency cards are in many ways similar to conventional bank cards used by millions of people around the globe for day-to-day purchases. The main difference is that the former allows users to deposit and convert cryptocurrencies instead of fiat money.

So, what makes them comparable? Crypto cards also leverage the existing Visa/Mastercard infrastructure widely used across the world, thereby enabling its holders to pay in crypto for any product or service that can be purchased via a cashless payment, either in-store or online. To achieve that, crypto card-issuing companies either convert digital assets seamlessly for each payment (debit cards) or enable the user to transfer them into a dedicated fiat account, which can, in turn, be used for day-to-day purchases (prepaid cards).

That breaks one of the largest barriers to widespread cryptocurrency adoption. Most merchants are still reluctant to accept crypto due to a variety of reasons including the general stigma that is still attached to digital assets, while many cryptocurrencies continue to face scalability issues that drastically hinder their performance capabilities.

Moreover, many exchanges offer only crypto-to-crypto trading possibilities, and converting tokens to fiat is still a complicated and often lengthy process. Crypto debit cards, meanwhile, present a convenient middle ground for both merchants and holders: The former are not required to update their payment infrastructure while the latter don’t have to manually convert their crypto savings each time they buy a cup of coffee.

Although crypto cards convert digital assets in real time, crypto’s infamous volatility is not a concern, Juan Villaverde, Weiss Ratings’ lead cryptocurrency specialist, argued in an email to Cointelegraph:

“I definitely would not consider volatility to be a concern — not when the industry is being flooded with stablecoins, which users can seamlessly park their money on with just a few clicks. We’re quickly entering a stage in the crypto industry where, if a user wants to eliminate all volatility from their portfolio, there is a wide array of options to pick from, including fiat money and gold-backed assets.”

As for the actual drawbacks of crypto debit cards, Villaverde says: “There are usually higher fees involved with their use,” however, “that’s likely just a consequence of how difficult it is for a user to get their hands on one.”

One of the first crypto debit cards in the industry was introduced back in April 2014 by cryptocurrency wallet provider Xapo. At the time, the firm announced “a major improvement to cards already on the market,” arguing that they were essentially “prepaid” cards that required the customer to manually convert their crypto assets into their local currency before making a purchase. Xapo’s card, on the other hand, was allegedly the first to allow users to automatically convert cryptocurrencies for each purchase in real time.

Related: 2019: A Berlin Odyssey — 7 Days of Crypto-Living on ETH Debit Card

In the following years, the sector continued to grow, as companies like Bitstamp, Coinbase and CoinCard rolled out their crypto cards solutions. Notably, Coinbase’s card, developed in collaboration with payments platform Shift, was the first physical crypto card to be released on the United States market and is available in 25 states. The card itself was issued by the Metropolitan Commercial Bank and supported both Visa and Mastercard payment networks.

Prior to the latest Coinbase announcement, all crypto cards had been overseen by the so-called BIN sponsors — companies that effectively act as middlemen, charging crypto firms for providing them access to the Visa or Mastercard networks. Unlike most crypto firms, they are licensed as principal partners of the payment giants and are thereby authorized to issue debit cards on their behalf. So far, it has arguably been the most problematic area in the sector.

Real problems: Dependence on BIN sponsors

While the crypto cards market has continued to expand since its inception in 2014, in early 2018, it entered a turbulent period. In January of that year, Visa abruptly ended its relationship with a major BIN sponsor, a Gibraltar-registered company called WaveCrest, citing “continued non-compliance with our operating rules.” As a result, a number of widely marketed European-based crypto cards — including those developed by companies like TenX, Wirex, Xapo, Bitpay (only the non-U.S. cards), Bitwala and Cryptopay — stopped working overnight.

The spokesperson added, however, that Visa has other approved card programs that use fiat funds converted from cryptocurrency in a number of jurisdictions. “The termination of WaveCrest’s Visa membership does not affect these other products,” the company’s representative clarified. In a statement shared with CNBC, the financial services giant stated:

“Our actions were not specific to cryptocurrency but rather reflect the issuer’s failure to comply with Visa’s policies that ensure the safety and integrity of our payment system.”

The incident dealt a lot of damage to the industry. For instance, Dmitry Lazarichev, a co-founder of Wirex, told CNBC that his company had shipped as many as 500,000 cryptocurrency debit cards to people across the world (excluding the U.S.), all of whom were instantly blocked as a result of the incident.

Wirex was one of the first companies to recover from the unforeseen event, as the startup soon partnered with Contis — a United Kingdom-authorized payments solutions company and principal member of Visa Europe — to relaunch their debit card offering. As Pavel Matveev, another Wirex co-founder, told Russian business media outlet Kommersant, Visa had tightened its compliance requirements in the wake of the WaveCrest incident, namely its Know Your Customer and Anti-Money Laundering procedures.

Consequently, many remaining crypto firms that previously issued their cards via WaveCrest had to narrow their scope of operation, crossing out Europe from the list of supported regions or stopping the release of cards altogether. An October 2018 media report suggesting that Mastercard and Visa were going to move cryptocurrency to a new “high risk” category reinforced the fears that crypto cards might cease to exist altogether, although the payment giants have not confirmed any of this information.

Meanwhile, the U.S. crypto card market has also taken a hit. In April 2018, Coinbase’s Shift Bitcoin debit card shut down without giving any reason. A number of social media commentators suggested that the Swift card was discontinued due to low demand, although this information has not been verified.

On the other hand, BitPay continues to operate in the U.S., although the company offers only prepaid cards. The company’s spokesperson told Cointelegraph: “BitPay works closely with Visa and the Metropolitan Commercial Bank to ensure we are meeting applicable regulatory requirements,” adding that the company’s product is subject to standard U.S. financial regulations and identity verification requirements.

When asked why BitPay chose Visa and not Mastercard, the representative said that “at the time, we launched the BitPay card in 2016, Visa was more receptive and more interested in partnering with a leading crypto company like BitPay.”

Meanwhile, some crypto companies picked the third option. Estonia-based startup Crypterium offers crypto debit cards processed by UnionPay, a Chinese financial services corporation. Crypterium’s chief operating officer, Austin Kimm, told Cointelegraph that UnionPay allows for a wider geographical presence:

“Both Visa and Mastercard allow you to develop cards for particular regions like the United States, South America, Europe, etc. UnionPay, on the contrary, divides the world in two regions: China and the rest of the world. This model is aligned with our commitment to serve clients from every corner of the world.”

“It’s been difficult so far for crypto companies in general to issue crypto debit cards,” as Juan Villaverde of Weiss Ratings summarized in an email to Cointelegraph, referring to the fact that the industry has to largely rely on middlemen.

Hugh Kingdon, an advisor at BCB Group, who has previously worked at both Visa and Mastercard, confirmed to Cointelegraph that “most crypto organisations have experienced being let down by their banking partners at some point in time,” clarifying that the process is complex for all parties involved:

“Many of the bin sponsors have a difficult life, needing to keep good relations with a wide range of regulators and, therefore, being a touch conservative.”

Coinbase card’s European comeback

Having abandoned the U.S. crypto card market, a year later, Coinbase debuted a U.K. crypto card, which was released in collaboration with a U.K.-regulated electronic money institution Paysafe Financial Services Limited, a principal Visa partner. In the following months, the firm extended the list of supported countries, making the card available to users in Spain, Germany, France, Italy, Ireland and the Netherlands.

In February 2020, Coinbase revealed that it has itself become a principal member of Visa, meaning that the crypto firm is now its own BIN sponsor and does not need a third-party financial company to issue its Visa cards. According to Forbes, the payments giant partnered with Coinbase back in December, but the development has only recently been made public.

As Villaverde observes, the fact that Coinbase — an entirely crypto-focused company — is now able to issue Visa cards directly and could “transform it into a middleman of sorts”:

“Other crypto companies could potentially go to Coinbase to issue their own cards, rather than having to rely on more traditional financial companies. Typically, the latter are much more reluctant to deal with crypto companies. This would create new opportunities for many other assets.”

While Coinbase has not returned Cointelegraph’s requests for comment, the firm reportedly told Forbes that it is not considering issuing cards to other companies “anytime soon.” Nonetheless, as the Forbes reporter argued, the principal membership status “marks a potentially important new revenue stream for the company,” which, according to the publication’s estimations, experienced a sharp 40% decline in earnings in 2019.

Related: Crypto Hold’Em 2019 – What are cryptocurrency debit cards?

The card-issuing industry is a widely burgeoning sector due to the declining popularity of cash. It generated $107 billion in revenue last year in the U.S. alone, according to an IBISWorld report.

The new Coinbase card, which will be released later this year, will reportedly be available in 29 countries including Denmark, Estonia, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, in addition to the aforementioned European jurisdictions whose residents are already using Coinbase debit cards that were issued last year. Notably, the new Visa card will not be available to U.S. users — which may be due to tax issues — as Andrew Mount, a litigation associate at Bressler, Amery & Ross, P.C., explained to Cointelegraph:

“The tax implications of transacting in Bitcoin in the United States could make using the Coinbase card impractical. The IRS treats Bitcoin as property that is subject to capital gains tax.  Therefore, in the United States, each transaction with a card like this could be a taxable event.”

The event is still likely to cause a chain of positive events within the industry, experts suggest. “Not only is Coinbase the first company to issue a crypto card directly, it’s also the first major exchange to do so,” Villaverde told Cointelegraph. He went on to explain why the news is crucial for the crypto card sector, speculating that Binance — another crypto juggernaut — could soon follow suit:

“The fact that they are a Visa Partner is a big deal because it may pave the way for other companies to do the same. Binance is probably next in line, as they tend to not want to ‘fall behind’ on any new development taking place in the crypto industry.”

Indeed, on Feb. 21, Cuy Sheffield, head of crypto at Visa, called on any digital wallets interested in issuing Visa cards to apply to the company’s Fintech Fast Track program. Although the program avoids mentioning cryptocurrencies directly, it states that Visa-enabled digital wallets are suitable for a “startup in an emerging market seeking to leapfrog a physical card program” — meaning that many cryptocurrency companies might start providing Visa-powered digital cards for their customers in the near future.

Notably, just three crypto firms that work with cards — Crypto.com, Cryptopay and Crypterium — told Cointelegraph that they are considering becoming principal partners of payment giants, while other firms have either avoided the question or replied negatively.

“Becoming a principal member is a long journey, which requires obtaining an EMI license, having PCI-DSS certification and a lot of funding,” George Basiladze, co-founder of Cryptopay, told Cointelegraph, adding that his firm has only just started the process.

As for now, only one crypto company has been licensed as a full participant of Visa’s network, meaning that there is still a long way to go — and the fact that both Visa and Mastercard have ignored numerous emails sent by Cointelegraph requesting additional comment for this story seems to confirm that the industry is still on the sidelines.

[goldira01]

On Feb. 19, Coinbase announced that it has become a principal member of Visa. In an apparent first for the cryptocurrency industry, the firm is now able to issue debit cards without having to involve third parties. Prior to that, Coinbase had been releasing its physical cards in collaboration with authorized intermediaries, similarly to dozens of other crypto companies that offer such options to their clients.

While Coinbase didn’t share its strategy, technically, the new status grants it the possibility to issue cards to fellow cryptocurrency firms. In any case, this development marks an important milestone for the crypto payments sector.

Seamless and instant: A brief introduction to crypto cards

Cryptocurrency cards are in many ways similar to conventional bank cards used by millions of people around the globe for day-to-day purchases. The main difference is that the former allows users to deposit and convert cryptocurrencies instead of fiat money.

So, what makes them comparable? Crypto cards also leverage the existing Visa/Mastercard infrastructure widely used across the world, thereby enabling its holders to pay in crypto for any product or service that can be purchased via a cashless payment, either in-store or online. To achieve that, crypto card-issuing companies either convert digital assets seamlessly for each payment (debit cards) or enable the user to transfer them into a dedicated fiat account, which can, in turn, be used for day-to-day purchases (prepaid cards).

That breaks one of the largest barriers to widespread cryptocurrency adoption. Most merchants are still reluctant to accept crypto due to a variety of reasons including the general stigma that is still attached to digital assets, while many cryptocurrencies continue to face scalability issues that drastically hinder their performance capabilities.

Moreover, many exchanges offer only crypto-to-crypto trading possibilities, and converting tokens to fiat is still a complicated and often lengthy process. Crypto debit cards, meanwhile, present a convenient middle ground for both merchants and holders: The former are not required to update their payment infrastructure while the latter don’t have to manually convert their crypto savings each time they buy a cup of coffee.

Although crypto cards convert digital assets in real time, crypto’s infamous volatility is not a concern, Juan Villaverde, Weiss Ratings’ lead cryptocurrency specialist, argued in an email to Cointelegraph:

“I definitely would not consider volatility to be a concern — not when the industry is being flooded with stablecoins, which users can seamlessly park their money on with just a few clicks. We’re quickly entering a stage in the crypto industry where, if a user wants to eliminate all volatility from their portfolio, there is a wide array of options to pick from, including fiat money and gold-backed assets.”

As for the actual drawbacks of crypto debit cards, Villaverde says: “There are usually higher fees involved with their use,” however, “that’s likely just a consequence of how difficult it is for a user to get their hands on one.”

One of the first crypto debit cards in the industry was introduced back in April 2014 by cryptocurrency wallet provider Xapo. At the time, the firm announced “a major improvement to cards already on the market,” arguing that they were essentially “prepaid” cards that required the customer to manually convert their crypto assets into their local currency before making a purchase. Xapo’s card, on the other hand, was allegedly the first to allow users to automatically convert cryptocurrencies for each purchase in real time.

Related: 2019: A Berlin Odyssey — 7 Days of Crypto-Living on ETH Debit Card

In the following years, the sector continued to grow, as companies like Bitstamp, Coinbase and CoinCard rolled out their crypto cards solutions. Notably, Coinbase’s card, developed in collaboration with payments platform Shift, was the first physical crypto card to be released on the United States market and is available in 25 states. The card itself was issued by the Metropolitan Commercial Bank and supported both Visa and Mastercard payment networks.

Prior to the latest Coinbase announcement, all crypto cards had been overseen by the so-called BIN sponsors — companies that effectively act as middlemen, charging crypto firms for providing them access to the Visa or Mastercard networks. Unlike most crypto firms, they are licensed as principal partners of the payment giants and are thereby authorized to issue debit cards on their behalf. So far, it has arguably been the most problematic area in the sector.

Real problems: Dependence on BIN sponsors

While the crypto cards market has continued to expand since its inception in 2014, in early 2018, it entered a turbulent period. In January of that year, Visa abruptly ended its relationship with a major BIN sponsor, a Gibraltar-registered company called WaveCrest, citing “continued non-compliance with our operating rules.” As a result, a number of widely marketed European-based crypto cards — including those developed by companies like TenX, Wirex, Xapo, Bitpay (only the non-U.S. cards), Bitwala and Cryptopay — stopped working overnight.

The spokesperson added, however, that Visa has other approved card programs that use fiat funds converted from cryptocurrency in a number of jurisdictions. “The termination of WaveCrest’s Visa membership does not affect these other products,” the company’s representative clarified. In a statement shared with CNBC, the financial services giant stated:

“Our actions were not specific to cryptocurrency but rather reflect the issuer’s failure to comply with Visa’s policies that ensure the safety and integrity of our payment system.”

The incident dealt a lot of damage to the industry. For instance, Dmitry Lazarichev, a co-founder of Wirex, told CNBC that his company had shipped as many as 500,000 cryptocurrency debit cards to people across the world (excluding the U.S.), all of whom were instantly blocked as a result of the incident.

Wirex was one of the first companies to recover from the unforeseen event, as the startup soon partnered with Contis — a United Kingdom-authorized payments solutions company and principal member of Visa Europe — to relaunch their debit card offering. As Pavel Matveev, another Wirex co-founder, told Russian business media outlet Kommersant, Visa had tightened its compliance requirements in the wake of the WaveCrest incident, namely its Know Your Customer and Anti-Money Laundering procedures.

Consequently, many remaining crypto firms that previously issued their cards via WaveCrest had to narrow their scope of operation, crossing out Europe from the list of supported regions or stopping the release of cards altogether. An October 2018 media report suggesting that Mastercard and Visa were going to move cryptocurrency to a new “high risk” category reinforced the fears that crypto cards might cease to exist altogether, although the payment giants have not confirmed any of this information.

Meanwhile, the U.S. crypto card market has also taken a hit. In April 2018, Coinbase’s Shift Bitcoin debit card shut down without giving any reason. A number of social media commentators suggested that the Swift card was discontinued due to low demand, although this information has not been verified.

On the other hand, BitPay continues to operate in the U.S., although the company offers only prepaid cards. The company’s spokesperson told Cointelegraph: “BitPay works closely with Visa and the Metropolitan Commercial Bank to ensure we are meeting applicable regulatory requirements,” adding that the company’s product is subject to standard U.S. financial regulations and identity verification requirements.

When asked why BitPay chose Visa and not Mastercard, the representative said that “at the time, we launched the BitPay card in 2016, Visa was more receptive and more interested in partnering with a leading crypto company like BitPay.”

Meanwhile, some crypto companies picked the third option. Estonia-based startup Crypterium offers crypto debit cards processed by UnionPay, a Chinese financial services corporation. Crypterium’s chief operating officer, Austin Kimm, told Cointelegraph that UnionPay allows for a wider geographical presence:

“Both Visa and Mastercard allow you to develop cards for particular regions like the United States, South America, Europe, etc. UnionPay, on the contrary, divides the world in two regions: China and the rest of the world. This model is aligned with our commitment to serve clients from every corner of the world.”

“It’s been difficult so far for crypto companies in general to issue crypto debit cards,” as Juan Villaverde of Weiss Ratings summarized in an email to Cointelegraph, referring to the fact that the industry has to largely rely on middlemen.

Hugh Kingdon, an advisor at BCB Group, who has previously worked at both Visa and Mastercard, confirmed to Cointelegraph that “most crypto organisations have experienced being let down by their banking partners at some point in time,” clarifying that the process is complex for all parties involved:

“Many of the bin sponsors have a difficult life, needing to keep good relations with a wide range of regulators and, therefore, being a touch conservative.”

Coinbase card’s European comeback

Having abandoned the U.S. crypto card market, a year later, Coinbase debuted a U.K. crypto card, which was released in collaboration with a U.K.-regulated electronic money institution Paysafe Financial Services Limited, a principal Visa partner. In the following months, the firm extended the list of supported countries, making the card available to users in Spain, Germany, France, Italy, Ireland and the Netherlands.

In February 2020, Coinbase revealed that it has itself become a principal member of Visa, meaning that the crypto firm is now its own BIN sponsor and does not need a third-party financial company to issue its Visa cards. According to Forbes, the payments giant partnered with Coinbase back in December, but the development has only recently been made public.

As Villaverde observes, the fact that Coinbase — an entirely crypto-focused company — is now able to issue Visa cards directly and could “transform it into a middleman of sorts”:

“Other crypto companies could potentially go to Coinbase to issue their own cards, rather than having to rely on more traditional financial companies. Typically, the latter are much more reluctant to deal with crypto companies. This would create new opportunities for many other assets.”

While Coinbase has not returned Cointelegraph’s requests for comment, the firm reportedly told Forbes that it is not considering issuing cards to other companies “anytime soon.” Nonetheless, as the Forbes reporter argued, the principal membership status “marks a potentially important new revenue stream for the company,” which, according to the publication’s estimations, experienced a sharp 40% decline in earnings in 2019.

Related: Crypto Hold’Em 2019 – What are cryptocurrency debit cards?

The card-issuing industry is a widely burgeoning sector due to the declining popularity of cash. It generated $107 billion in revenue last year in the U.S. alone, according to an IBISWorld report.

The new Coinbase card, which will be released later this year, will reportedly be available in 29 countries including Denmark, Estonia, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, in addition to the aforementioned European jurisdictions whose residents are already using Coinbase debit cards that were issued last year. Notably, the new Visa card will not be available to U.S. users — which may be due to tax issues — as Andrew Mount, a litigation associate at Bressler, Amery & Ross, P.C., explained to Cointelegraph:

“The tax implications of transacting in Bitcoin in the United States could make using the Coinbase card impractical. The IRS treats Bitcoin as property that is subject to capital gains tax.  Therefore, in the United States, each transaction with a card like this could be a taxable event.”

The event is still likely to cause a chain of positive events within the industry, experts suggest. “Not only is Coinbase the first company to issue a crypto card directly, it’s also the first major exchange to do so,” Villaverde told Cointelegraph. He went on to explain why the news is crucial for the crypto card sector, speculating that Binance — another crypto juggernaut — could soon follow suit:

“The fact that they are a Visa Partner is a big deal because it may pave the way for other companies to do the same. Binance is probably next in line, as they tend to not want to ‘fall behind’ on any new development taking place in the crypto industry.”

Indeed, on Feb. 21, Cuy Sheffield, head of crypto at Visa, called on any digital wallets interested in issuing Visa cards to apply to the company’s Fintech Fast Track program. Although the program avoids mentioning cryptocurrencies directly, it states that Visa-enabled digital wallets are suitable for a “startup in an emerging market seeking to leapfrog a physical card program” — meaning that many cryptocurrency companies might start providing Visa-powered digital cards for their customers in the near future.

Notably, just three crypto firms that work with cards — Crypto.com, Cryptopay and Crypterium — told Cointelegraph that they are considering becoming principal partners of payment giants, while other firms have either avoided the question or replied negatively.

“Becoming a principal member is a long journey, which requires obtaining an EMI license, having PCI-DSS certification and a lot of funding,” George Basiladze, co-founder of Cryptopay, told Cointelegraph, adding that his firm has only just started the process.

As for now, only one crypto company has been licensed as a full participant of Visa’s network, meaning that there is still a long way to go — and the fact that both Visa and Mastercard have ignored numerous emails sent by Cointelegraph requesting additional comment for this story seems to confirm that the industry is still on the sidelines.

[un-enfant-immature]

Get student, nonprofit & govt discounts to Disrupt Berlin 2019

Calling all tech-minded students, nonprofit and government employees — this is your moment. Come and join us at Disrupt Berlin 2019 on 11-12 December at a price you can afford — because great ideas and innovation come from every sector.

Apply for our discounted Innovator passes for students and nonprofit or government employees and enjoy all the early-stage startup goodness of Disrupt Berlin.

Here’s what comes with your Innovator pass: access to the full conference agenda and all stages — including the Startup Battlefield competition. Interactive workshops, more than 400 startups and sponsors in Startup Alley, networking events, access to the full attendee list (via TechCrunch Events Mobile App) and CrunchMatch, the attendee networking platform. You’ll also have access to exclusive video content after the conference ends.

Here’s how the discounts work and what you need to know to qualify.

Discounts for students: You must be enrolled in a grade school, high school, college or university program or have graduated within the last six months. Coding schools don’t qualify for a discount, sorry.

Bring a valid student ID, proof of current enrollment or transcripts at registration, otherwise you’ll pay the full on-site price. Note: if you’re less than 21 years old, you may not have access to some venues. Your reduced Innovator pass costs €135 plus VAT. Tickets are non-refundable.

Discounts for nonprofit and government employees: You must be full-time employees of nonprofit organizations, federal, state or local government agencies, international government agencies or active military employees.

Nonprofit employees — you must provide your email address from your organization during the online registration process. Government and military employees — you must provide your valid .gov email address during the registration process.

At the Disrupt Berlin on-site registration check-in, you must show proof of current employment at your nonprofit (copy of 501c3 documentation) or government organization. Government contractors, including contractors working on government “Cost Reimbursable Contracts,” are not eligible for the government discount.

We accept the following forms of valid government ID:

Government-issued Visa, Mastercard or American Express

Government picture ID

Military picture ID

Federally Funded Research Development Corp (FFRDC) ID

If you don’t present valid nonprofit documentation or government ID at registration, you’ll have to pay the full on-site price. The discounted Innovator pass costs €295 + VAT, and tickets are non-refundable.

Students, nonprofits and government employees — Disrupt Berlin 2019 takes place on 11-12 December. Take advantage of these deep discounts and join us to learn, share and experience early-stage startup culture at its best. Apply for a discounted Innovator pass today.

Is your company interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at Disrupt Berlin 2019? Contact our sponsorship sales team by filling out this form.

[upshotre]

African Fintech Extends Services to UAE Market

By Tony Ademiluyi An African payment gateway, Innovate 1 Pay has announced its entry into Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), bringing easy and seamless money transfer and payment services to African expatriates in the region. Innovate 1 Pay is licenced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to provide services including international money transfers and wholesale foreign exchange management, as well as being the exclusive distributor of foreign currency to Bureau de Change (BDC) operators in Northern Nigeria. Africa is set to surpass China and India as a job market by 2040, and with the recent visa reforms in the UAE, Dubai has emerged as an attractive destination for Africans to pursue career advancement and professional fulfilment. Innovate 1 Pay’s secure and convenient payment gateway and financial services platform, which integrates seamlessly between Dubai and several African nations, looks set to emerge as the solution to address this expanding market segment and its unmet needs. Speaking during the inauguration of its office in Dubai, Chairman, Innovate 1 Pay, Mahmood Ahmadu said: “With the maturing of financial markets in Africa, we have expanded our presence to a total of 56 countries currently, and with the promise that the new UAE visa regime holds for African professionals, we believe the prospects for growth in addressing this demographic is very promising indeed. “The next generation of financial services needs to reflect customer expectations around secure and quick transfer of funds. “Our relationship with government bodies and comprehensive presence in the African market positions Innovate 1 uniquely in being able to leverage these strengths, and amplify them with the use of appropriate and user friendly technologies. “The impressive performance of Innovate 1 Pay represents the tremendous room for growth and expansion that exists at the intersection of increasing demand, market growth and the outreach potential of tech-enabled services.” He said the company was universally lauded for its efforts to empower financial inclusion at the recent Central Bank Payment Conference in Berlin, which included representatives from the European Commission, the Federal Reserve, Deutsche Bundesbank, Visa, and the Assistant Governor of Australia’s Reserve Bank, among others. At a forum featuring nearly 200 thought leaders representing a hundred financial organisations and more than 50 central banks from around the world, Innovate 1 Pay created huge interest and stood out among a field of exhibitors that included a stellar lineup of stalwarts, such as Visa and Vocalink Mastercard. Also felicitated as a recipient of the Euro-Knowledge ‘Most Innovative IT company of the year award’ at the British House of Lords, in April this year, Innovate 1 Pay, he said was gaining global acclaim as a company that reconciles sterling business performance with outstanding social impact. According to Chief Executive, Innovate 1 Pay Anthony Nwachukwu:”Africa is currently the second fastest growing continent, after Asia, and we are looking at an average GDP growth of 5 per cent across the continent that has lasted a decade now. Africa is home to 40 per cent of the people in the world who lack access to banking services and we at Innovate 1 Pay see our business mission within the context of this larger social goal.” According to him, the company provides complete, simple, and secure online application and payment processing services to consumers who wish to obtain a visa or passport as well as enables access to secure e-payment solutions that enables applicants to process real-time online payments and transactions.

Read the full article

[jacobhinkley]

Germany’s solarisBank To Manage Crypto Corporate Accounts In The European Union

Cryptocurrency firms from across the globe are fighting a long-time battle with traditional banking institutions to let their customers link their accounts with the firm’s services. Several banking institutions in the European Union have shunned and seized their partnership with crypto and blockchain firms making it difficult for them to provide their services to their customers.

In what comes as a major relief for crypto businesses in EU, a Berlin-based Banking-as-a-Platform (BaaP) institution solarisBank has recently received a license to provide business banking accounts to crypto and blockchain firms. This new banking service called ‘Blockchain Factory’ will provide financial management services to all the companies which are directly or indirectly associated with crypto or blockchain-related activities.

We're truly excited to launch our own @solarisBank Blockchain Factory today to become the #banking partner for the #cryptocurrency and #blockchain industry. Read more about this strategic step in our official press release:https://t.co/EG2qiqopZG

— solarisBank (@solarisBank) June 28, 2018

In the official press release, solarisBank explains:

“The Blockchain Factory will be used by solarisBank to offer banking services to companies whose business is directly or indirectly based on cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology — One example of these services is the ‘Blockchain Company Account’ for the banking business of blockchain companies.”

It further adds that

“Furthermore, services for global cryptocurrency marketplaces will be made available to make it easier to buy and sell fiat currencies; such as the Solarisbank ‘Automated Trust Account’, an automated escrow account for cryptocurrency marketplaces. “

In order to allow trading at the institutional level, solariBank has also partnered with vPE Bank with more services in the pipeline like providing digital banking and debit-card service to blockchain firms. Peter Grosskopf, the chief technological officer of the solarisBank that this move will help in improving the security and convenience while linking the bank services with wallets and marketplaces. In an official blog post, Grosskopf writes:

“The next logical step is to connect our digital banking and debit cards solution with exchanges and wallets, so partners can create their own crypto retail banking experience. These accounts significantly reduce the risk to their end-customers and make the trading and possession of cryptocurrencies not only more convenient but also more secure.”

He further talks of the blend between the fiat and crypto world saying:

“The fiat world is not about to dissolve. We are moving towards a hybrid future, in which the blockchain world still has to prove itself. However, we see the disruptive power of these business models and we want to help shape the future of this industry.”

Ever since its inception two years back in March 2016, solarisBank has been constantly climbing up the ladder. The company is also said to have formed a partnership with Mastercard for building new banking modules. While commenting on this latest development, Roland Folz, the CEO of the solarisBank said:

“There is high demand from the blockchain world for a licensed partner that forms the technological and regulatory bridge to traditional banking — as a technology company with a banking license, we are the natural partner.”

We wish more banking institutions across the globe follow this model adopted by solarisBank to see a healthy growth of the fiat and crypto economies simultaneously, going further.

The post Germany’s solarisBank To Manage Crypto Corporate Accounts In The European Union appeared first on CoinSpeaker.

Germany’s solarisBank To Manage Crypto Corporate Accounts In The European Union published first on https://medium.com/@smartoptions

[bowsetter]

German Bank Offers Special Accounts to Cryptocurrency Firms

The Berlin-based Banking-as-a-Platform (BaaP) institution Solarisbank has recently announced the launch of their new banking service plan that’s focused on clients from the blockchain and digital currency industry. The newly featured resource called the ‘Blockchain Factory,’ will offer financial management services to companies whose business operations deal directly and indirectly with cryptocurrency solutions and blockchain technology.  

Also read: A Look at the Long and Annoying Process of Claiming Bitcoin Forks

This German Bank Plans to Provide Special Bank Accounts for Cryptocurrency and Blockchain Companies

Over the past few years as cryptocurrencies have gained in popularity a few companies like exchanges and brokerage services that deal with digital currencies have had issues with their banking providers. Banks and other financial management services have ceased their partnerships with cryptocurrency firms and have closed business accounts making it very difficult for blockchain companies to establish reliable banking partners. Now the German financial tech company, Solarisbank, plans to offer a service called the ‘Blockchain Factory.’ Companies who deal with cryptocurrencies will now have a solid banking colleague who understands the technology.

“The Blockchain Factory will be used by Solarisbank to offer banking services to companies whose business is directly or indirectly based on cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology — One example of these services is the ‘Blockchain Company Account’ for the banking business of blockchain companies,” Solarisbank explains.   

Furthermore, services for global cryptocurrency marketplaces will be made available to make it easier to buy and sell fiat currencies; such as the Solarisbank ‘Automated Trust Account’, an automated escrow account for cryptocurrency marketplaces.   

High Demand from the Blockchain World for a Licensed Banking Partner

Solarisbank has done well since the bank’s inception in March of 2016, and entered a strategic partnership with Mastercard the following October with plans to build new banking modules. Last March, Solarisbank raised $70Mn USD in a Series B funding round from firms such as ABN Amro, SBI Group, Visa, BBVA, and Lakestar.  

“There is high demand from the blockchain world for a licensed partner that forms the technological and regulatory bridge to traditional banking — as a technology company with a banking license, we are the natural partner,” Roland Folz, the CEO of Solarisbank details.

A Hybrid Future

The financial tech company has started its first partnership with another firm called VPE Bank and the two have plans to provide cryptocurrencies to institutional traders. Moreover, the firm will establish partnerships with cryptocurrency companies that deal with banking and debit cards within their business model.

“The fiat world is not about to dissolve. We are moving towards a hybrid future, in which the blockchain world still has to prove itself,” the CTO of Solarisbank, Peter Grosskopf explains.

However, we see the disruptive power of these business models and we want to help shape the future of this industry. 

What do you think about Solarisbank’s new Blockchain Factory banking services? Do you think companies who deal with cryptocurrencies need better banking providers? Let us know your thoughts on this subject in the comment section below.

Images via Shutterstock, and Solarisbank. 

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