In today’s top payments news, Ant Financial has acquired a minority stake in FinTech Klarna, the coronavirus has crippled the $1.7 trillion global tourism industry, and Facebook is reportedly considering revising the structure of its proposed Libra currency.
Ant Financial Acquires Minority Stake In Klarna
China’s Ant Financial has acquired a minority stake — less than 1 percent — in the Swedish split-payments FinTech Klarna for an undisclosed sum. Klarna’s buy now, pay later app is already part of AliExpress, the international shopping platform run by eCommerce giant Alibaba Group, an affiliate of Ant Financial.
Coronavirus Crippling $1.7T Tourism Sector
The $1.7 trillion tourism industry is facing its biggest setback in almost 20 years, due to the coronavirus outbreak. Fifty percent of reservations were canceled in three days last week, according to hotels in Italy, which has the biggest outbreak of the coronavirus outside of Asia.
Facebook Revamps Libra Under Pressure
Facebook is reportedly considering changing the structure of its proposed Libra cryptocurrency, transitioning it from being a single worldwide digital currency for the unbanked into a payments network that can include a variety of coins issued by other currencies and countries.
Wells Fargo To Offer Bank Accounts With Capped Overdraft Fees
Wells Fargo debuted two new bank accounts that set limits on the amount of fees that can be charged to customers. This comes a week before Wells Fargo’s scheduled congressional hearings in the wake of several consumer scandals that have tainted the public’s trust in the bank.
HSBC On The Next Phase Of Treasury APIs
In this month’s B2B API Tracker, Diane Reyes, HSBC global head of liquidity and cash management, explains how the next wave of banking APIs could fight payments fraud and proactively alert middle-market treasurers to investment opportunities.
Visa Partnerships Level The Female Founder Funding Field
In advance of international Women’s Day, Visa has announced two new partnerships to help female founders close the gap between access to capital and shared economic prosperity. Global Head of Merchant Sales and Acquiring Suzan Kereere spoke with Karen Webster about the firm’s mission to make sure that female entrepreneurs everywhere get access to the funds they need to start and scale their businesses.
Libra Stumbles, Coronavirus Gains Show Pitfalls Of A ‘Global’ Currency
Libra is stumbling. The digital yuan is on hold (for now). The idea of a global currency may be appealing in times of crisis, but nations would be robbed of the mechanisms they currently hold to stem off recessions and worse. Here’s why when it comes to currencies, one size does not fit all.
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