EUROC, a euro coin, debuts in Latin America through Bitso and Circle alliance

Bitso, a Latin American provider of financial services powered by cryptocurrency, has introduced Euro Coin (EUROC), a stablecoin backed by the euro, to its portfolio in efforts to offer its users borderless access to funds. Over six million Bitso customers can reportedly purchase EUROC, which is issued through an alliance with Circle. Users will have the ability to convert, buy, sell, deposit, save, invest, and initiate domestic and international transfers in euros, said reports.

Global transfers are reportedly one of the most commonly supported use cases for cryptocurrency technology. The trade balance between Europe and Latin American nations is near 200 billion euros since 2020 to date, with 4.6 million Latin Americans currently residing in Europe, according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity. The launch of euro-pegged stablecoins in Latin America is expected to benefit individuals and organizations in North America and Europe.

The collaboration between Bitso and Circle, a global fintech organization, was reportedly needed to support the listing, as stablecoins pegged to the euro currently experience high demands. Euro Coin, which debuted on the Ethereum network at the end of June 2022, reportedly has a market capitalization of 26 million euros, creating new opportunities for multi-currency digital finance and almost immediate currency exchange. CoinGecko further states that the typical daily volume can exceed US $6.6 billion globally in traditional markets.

Fintech Salmon introduces a loan product offering for the Philippines' unbanked

Salmon, a fintech venture, has introduced a POS loan product in the Philippines, with strong emphasis on assisting the region's underbanked and unbanked. The firm intends to enable Filipinos to defer their payments for purchases over several months. The product's launch will reportedly facilitate purchases by citizens despite their inability to obtain traditional banking products.

With more than thirty major retail outlet merchant partners, Salmon’s partners can still expect to receive their revenues from their sales upfront. Through the alliance, merchants can reportedly also access Salmon's unique portal, which helps them track and manage their sales.

Furthermore, the firm’s US $16 million Series A funding round was reportedly successful in October 2022. The funding round was intended to advance the fintech’s operational expansion, support the purchase of a Philippine bank and ensure the launch of this current product offering.

With The Hub acquisition, CUBE broadens its reach in the regulatory intelligence marketing sector

CUBE, a regulatory technology (“regtech”) company that specializes in automated regulatory intelligence (ARI), has acquired The Hub, a provider of AI-driven monitoring solutions. The Hub reportedly offers AI capabilities to the regtech industry, including the capture and analysis of complex data across the regulatory worldwide web. CUBE plans to offer its services to regulated businesses globally through the acquisition of The Hub.

In order to expand the capabilities of customers in automating their regulatory compliance processes, CUBE plans to incorporate The Hub technology into its platform. This is expected to lower compliance operating costs and risks for businesses.

Additionally, the ARI regulatory platforms aim to collect new or changing regulations while using AI to automatically plot them onto customers' policies, procedures and controls. Furthermore, the service will reportedly ensure that businesses are up-to-date and cognizant of new laws that may potentially impact them.

Ben Richmond, Founder and CEO, CUBE, commented that it is crucial that customers have confidence in their partner selection supporting their long-term regulatory compliance strategy, as the current economic condition and the fragmented regtech market make it difficult for the emerging, less experienced market entrants.

Windsor First and Currencycloud join forces to enhance cross-border payments

Windsor First, a Hong Kong-based fintech that reportedly offers e-commerce businesses dedicated digital payment and remittance solutions, has joined forces with Currencycloud, a payment and transfer technology provider that reportedly collaborates with financial organizations and fintechs.

Reports indicate that Windsor First has introduced a new multi-currency account solution to assist its clients in optimizing their B2B and e-commerce global payment processes while also gaining access to a broader range of currencies.

Windsor First anticipates that its partnership with Currencycloud will enable them to offer its clients a more streamlined onboarding procedure and the ability to easily accept and process multi-currency payments from numerous jurisdictions, in addition to locally in the US, Canada, UK and Europe, said reports.

Additionally, Windsor First claimed that by providing its customers with named accounts through Currencycloud's multi-currency IBAN solution, it aims to enhance its global expertise in terms of collection and payment solutions. Furthermore, the fintech will reportedly have access to real-time rates, enabling them to offer their clients the most competitive FX rates.

Oracle expands into the retail payments market, becoming a one-stop P2P platform

Oracle has announced that it will now provide retailers with in-store payment acceptance services, including tap-to-pay capabilities, as a portion of the various hardware and cloud-based software services the company offers. Reports indicate that Oracle used to send the transaction's processing portion to another company.

The new Oracle payment acceptance solution aims to support debit and credit cards as well as payment options from Apple, Google and Samsung digital wallets. Additionally, the new service will be provided for by a fixed price, with no commitment to a lengthy contract or minimal monthly payment requirements, said reports.

Mike Webster, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Oracle Retail, commented that merchants have long been subjected to an unstable and costly payment ecosystem. Webster added that by offering an expansive retail cloud platform, the company can reportedly offer a more reliable payment-to-processing solution on the market for a lower price, giving merchants a single provider to handle all of their in-store operations, including staffing, inventory control, customer engagement and transaction processing, as well as anticipating their processing costs regardless of the payment method used, said reports.

Furthermore, the tech giant is reportedly promoting the new function as a one-stop platform where retailers could manage staff, track inventory, and process payments. The company also claims that the services will reportedly become a less expensive alternative in the marketplace, as there will be no additional fees for using different payment methods or other services.

Oracle has a long history in the transaction processing technology industry and reportedly dominates the market for businesses that process transactions for the restaurant industry. In July 2022, the company added the ability to accept payments for its restaurant solution service.

End-to-end encryption and security that meet industry standards are reportedly included in the Oracle software and point-of-sale hardware.

Indian SaaS platform Innoviti Technologies now supports offline credit card transactions via UPI

Innoviti Technologies, formerly known as Innoviti Payment Solutions, is considered the largest collaborative commerce platform in India. It has now reportedly enabled credit card transactions on Unified Payments Interface (UPI), resulting in the country's first SaaS omnichannel platform to operate credit transactions for both offline and online UPI payments. Additionally, this capability is reportedly in alignment with RBI's initiatives to promote credit growth on UPI.

The platform’s new feature is intended to benefit all end users, including customers and merchants, as a market-first move in the nation. Since credit cards are now accepted on UPI, customers can expect to easily pay later to satisfy all of their purchases while achieving the additional benefits of reward points, enhancing their shopping experience.

With the platform’s ability to accept the widely known and secure UPI payment options, merchants can reportedly benefit from increased consumer consumption and retention by providing various credit options. Innoviti claims to bridge all of these gaps by ensuring that merchants, brands and customers can all benefit from the platform.

Credit card spending has increased by 30% over the last three years. However, India reportedly shows approximately six to seven million merchants currently accepting credit cards, which represents only a 6% adoption rate. The decision by India's central bank to allow credit cards via UPI is expected to benefit over 20 million merchants.

Reports indicate that UPI has become the new digital payment norm in India, with the number of UPI transactions reaching a record of 782 crores worth 12.8 lakh crores in December 2022. Enabling credit transactions via UPI is expected to boost the growth of these transactions and enhance India's public digital platform.