India taps private sector to set up new payments body

India’s central bank is taking applications from companies for efforts to set up a new umbrella entity for retail payments. The new organization could be a for-profit entity, and will operate alongside the bank-backed nonprofit National Payments Council of India (NPCI), which currently oversees retail payments in the country.

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JPMorgan Chase spoke with USPS about banking services at post offices

Amid recent scrutiny of changes to USPS operations, The Capitol Forum reports JPMorgan Chase (JPMC) spoke with the postal provider about offering banking services at post offices.

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UK regulator gives nod to digital securities exchange Archax

The U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has granted a license to upcoming digital securities exchange and custodian Archax.

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Samsung Pay taps Curve for UK debit card launch

Samsung Pay has launched Samsung Pay Card, a new Mastercard digital debit card for U.K. customers. Samsung Pay Card uses startup Curve’s card consolidation tools to allow consumers to use Samsung Pay Card for all purchases, supported by an underlying payment card of their choice.

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Goldman’s Marcus rolls out ‘buy now, pay later’ tool for JetBlue flights

Goldman Sachs’ digital consumer bank Marcus is expanding its partnership with JetBlue by allowing customers to pay for airfares over time. Marcus previously offered point-of-sale financing for JetBlue vacation packages only.

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Betterment leads inclusion-focused industry coalition

A group of large fintech startups, spearheaded by robo-adviser Betterment, have formed the Fintech Equality Coalition. The group’s mandate is to enhance access to services and grow career advancement opportunities for the Black community.

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Facebook creates new internal group to oversee payments across apps

Facebook launched a new internal group called Facebook Financial to oversee payments and commerce initiatives, including Facebook Pay, a universal payments capability that it plans to include in all of its apps.

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Square tests small-dollar loans through Cash App

Payments company Square is testing a new small-dollar loan product through its peer-to-peer Cash App. A thousand users will test the product. Users can borrow $20 to $200, and have four weeks to pay the loan back

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N26 workers organize to address grievances

Germany-based digital bank N26, which has raised $770M to date and operates in 25 markets globally, is facing staff unrest over working conditions. Employees this week are meeting to elect a board for a body that would represent them in discussions with management.

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R3’s Rutter to Launch New Trading Platform LedgerEdge

Financial services heavyweight David Rutter, founder of enterprise blockchain firm R3 and U.S. treasuries trading marketplace LiquidityEdge, has assembled a team to build a new trading platform called LedgerEdge.

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Fifth Third Bank Launches Digital Wills

Fifth Third Bank Launches Digital Wills

Fifth Third Bank is partnering with San Diego-based digital estate planning fintech Trust & Will to offer online estate planning services to its customers.

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American Express in talks to acquire business lender Kabbage

American Express is in “advanced talks” to acquire small-business lender Kabbage for as much as $850 million in an all-cash deal, Bloomberg reported.

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UK challenger bank Starling reports strong revenue growth during pandemic

In a business update, U.K.-based digital banking startup Starling reported an annualized revenue run rate increase of more than 370% in wake of the pandemic, to £80M ($104.6M).

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