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Category: Mobile News

March 8, 2019

Numerated, a real-time business lending platform for banks and credit unions, has said that Karen Mills, the former administrator of the Small Business Administration, has joined company as an investor and advisor.

Mills managed the SBA's $100 billion loan guarantee program from 2009 to 2013 under the Obama Administration.

"Technology has the business power to help business owners better understand their business cycle and transform how to access the capital they need, when they need it," she said in the announcement. "The innovation Numerated brings to its partnership with banks positions lenders to meet these needs and helps businesses maximize their opportunities in this fast-moving economy.”

Mills met Numerated CEO Dan O'Malley at a business conference several years ag how the company's technology helped Boston-based Eastern Bank, an $11 billion financial institution, according to Numerated spokesperson Cheryl Kardos.

Mills subsequently wrote a case study at Harvard Business School about Numerated, which led to her eventual investment and advisory role, according to Kardos. Mills has also been an investor in companies specializing in food production, manufacturing and service-oriented technologies, according to Numerated.

In November, Numerated announced that it had raised $8 million in funding and named Rajeev V. Date, founding deputy director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and managing director of Fenway Summer Ventures, as an investor.

Topics: Financial News, Money Transfer / P2P, Regulatory Issues

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The rise in mobile payments technology and the related pressure being placed on legacy banking systems is threatening the financial stability of millions of people in the U.K. and the U.S., experts say, bank branches and ATM’s begin to  pull back from unprofitable areas and retailers increasingly move away from cash.

A report in the U.K. issued a stark warning, saying that if current trends continued in that country, more than eight million people, or 17 percent of the population, would struggle to cope with the lack of cash availability.

The report, called the Access to Cash Review, indicates that working class and low income families as well as residents of more rural areas, are being underserved by a financial system that is moving fast to embrace digital payments, however local merchants are often not equipped to process these transactions and residents have access to fewer and fewer ATM machines.

"There is a perception that older people and those living in rural areas area more reliant on cash, however the biggest indicator to whether you are reliant on cash is income," said a spokesman for the Access to Cash Review. "Those in debt and on low incomes are more reliant on cash than any other group."

He added that the researchers found that people with disabilities, mental health issues, newcomers and vulnerable groups, for example victims of domestic violence are forced to rely on cash as an economic necessity.

The report comes at a time when fintechs are growing at rapid pace in Europe, creating pressure on incumbent banks to streamline their processes,embrace mobile payments technology and develop their own alternatives to the growing number of so-called challenger banks in that market.

"With the decline of cash, there is indeed concern that vulnerable groups get deprived of basis services such as cash dispensers," said Ron Van Wezel, a senior analyst at Aite Group told Mobile Payments Today via email. "The question is if there couldn’t be an alternative approach to the issue."

He noted that maintaining a bank account can cost up to 100 euros annually and people often use cash as a budgeting tool, because they therefore will not spend more than they have available.

U.S. debate

 

The U.S. is considered well behind the U.K. in terms of moving into digital payments, but recent developments have sparked a major debate over the impact of low income areas and communities of color, were access to credit is limited.

In Philadelphia a measure was signed within the past week to ban cashless retail, which would essentially force customers to only use credit cards, debit or mobile payment devices to buy goods in a store or use certain restaurants.

"With a 26 percent poverty rate in Philadelphia, the mayor believes in equal opportunity for all," said Mike Dunn, a spokesman for the city, via email. "That means we need to sure all residents have full access to banking services that are key to improving their financial health."

He said the city is working on ways to address the problem with iniatives like its Municipal ID program. He noted that the city has to remove obstacles for such vulnerable populations if they lack credit or debit cards, however they do have concerns about the potential to stifle innovation.

In addition, Mercedez Benz Stadium, the home of of the Atlanta Falcons just announced plans to go all cashless, starting with the home opener of their Atlanta United FC soccer franchise starting March 10th.

Original author: David Jones

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Category: Mobile News

March 7, 2019

Visa has launched a program with PayActiv to provide early access to earned wages through the Visa Direct push payments platform, according to a company press release.

The program allows participating companies to send earned wages directly to their workers through direct deposit to a Visa Debit or reloadable prepaid card, including the PayActiv Visa Prepaid Card.

Workers can use the PayActiv mobile app to see the hours they have worked and their earned wages, officials told Mobile Payments Today. They can then use Visa Direct to transfer the funds to their accounts.

"Currently more than 50 million Americans struggle to pay bills, and over 78 percent struggle paycheck to paycheck," a Visa spokesperson said. "This trend is leading to productivity loss at work as 1 in 3 U.S. employees say they are distracted by personal finance."

The PayActiv system provides several features, including access to wages, tips and commissions and free financial wellness information. There are no fees for loading earned wages more than once during a pay period or for using the card at retailers.

The PayActiv Visa card is issued by Central Bank of Kansas City, an FDIC-insured institution. Transactions are processed by Silicon Valley-based i2c Inc. 
 

Topics: Card Brands, Mobile Apps, Mobile Payments, Money Transfer / P2P

Companies: Visa

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March 7, 2019

Funding Circle, the small business lending platform, will enter the Canadian market during the second half of 2019, opening new offices there, according to a company release.

The U.K.-based platform named Tom Eilon, who has led U.K. commercial strategy, as managing director of the Canada unit. The company currently operates in the U.K., U.S., Netherlands and Germany.

"We have been evaluating options for expansion over the past year," Eilon said in the announcement. "Canada's stable, growing economy coupled with good access to credit data and progressive regulatory environment made it the obvious choice."

Since the platform launched in 2010, more than 85,000 investors, banks, asset management companies, insurance companies, government-based entities and funds have used it to lend more than 6 billion pounds ($7.9 billion) to more than 60,000 businesses. Funding Circle has more than $1 billion in loans outstanding in the U.S. alone.

Topics: Mobile Banking, Money Transfer / P2P, Region: Americas, Region: EMEA

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March 6, 2019

MoviePass and MoviePass Films have announced plans to reposition their subscription-based movie ticket platform to shift their business model away from film studios and toward more self-generated revenue, according to a company release.

Company officials said they will place more emphasis on three key channels of the business: MoviePass (theatrical subscription service); MoviePass Films (original content production company) and Moviefone (multimedia media information and advertising service). The company will no longer rely on revenues from movie studios and exhibitors. 

The company, which allows movie fans to watch three movies a month for $9.99 through an app-based subscription service, went through a period of severe financial losses under its original incarnation that allowed customers to watch unlimited first-run movies.

"By spending the last several months analyzing the many different aspects of our prior business model, in terms of what worked and what didn’t, we believe we’ve been able to illuminate the path forward," Ted Farnsworth, CEO of MoviePass parent company Helios and Matheson Analytics, said in a statement.

Besides its MoviePass business, the company has developed a small number of original films, including "Gotti," a biopic starring John Travolta as mob boss John Gotti.

Topics: In-App Payments, Mobile Apps, Mobile Marketing, Mobile Payments

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