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- Google Enables Kids To Nudge Parents About App Purchases
- McDonald’s Drive Thru Launches Automated Payments Using Hi-Pass Technology
- Bolsonaro Signs Brazil Crypto Bill Into Law
- Wells Fargo Pays $3.7bn For Wrong Loan Payments And Fees
- UAE To Launch Instant Payment Platform In Early 2023
- UPDATE: Italy Scraps Plans To Allow Merchants To Refuse Card Payments
- Rakuten France Launches New Integrated Payment And Cashback Solution
- New Statement Hints At Funding Switch-Up For UK Open Banking
- Official Donald Trump NFT Collection Sells Out In Less Than 12 Hours
- EU Announces Ninth Sanctions Package Against Russia
Google Enables Kids To Nudge Parents About App Purchases
Google has announced a new feature for families that allows kids to send a request to their parents for an app or in-app purchase.
The tool, called "purchase requests", is a new addition to Google’s existing family feature that allows users to set up a family payment method and share it with their family members.
The parent, or the so-called “family manager”, can then approve or decline purchases made by other members of the family.
The new purchase requests now enable children to send a request to the family manager in real time. The request shows the details of the app or in-app purchase and the parent can decide on the request right away or at a later date.
McDonald’s Drive Thru Launches Automated Payments Using Hi-Pass Technology
McDonald’s South Korea has launched a new payment method that will allow Drive Thru customers to pay for orders using the country’s Hi-Pass system.
Hi-Pass is a system that allows drivers to pay toll road fees without having to pull over and stop at a toll booth.
To use a HiPass automated payment lane, drivers must have both an On-Board Unit (OBU) installed at the front of their vehicle and a Hi-Pass card that is inserted into the OBU.
The Hi-Pass system uses dedicated short-range communication (DSRC) to connect with other vehicles and payments infrastructure.
According to the Korea Times, the Hi-Pass system will be introduced at McDonald's Drive Thrus in Seoul this week, before being expanded to 30 stores in the first half of 2023.
Bolsonaro Signs Brazil Crypto Bill Into Law
Outgoing Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has signed into law a bill that regulates crypto-assets in the country, local news agencies have reported.
The bill defines virtual assets, requires crypto exchanges and other service providers to register before starting to operate in the country, and lays out general guidelines for the provision of crypto-related activities.
Lawmakers passed the bill at the end of November after months of negotiations. Bolsonaro had until December 21 to sign the bill or veto it.
As reported by VIXIO, the crypto framework could “set the ball rolling” in terms of crypto legislation in the region with other countries following the lead.
Crypto adoption has been soaring in Latin American countries that are facing skyrocketing inflation.
Wells Fargo Pays $3.7bn For Wrong Loan Payments And Fees
The US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has ordered Wells Fargo to pay more than $2bn in redress to consumers and a $1.7bn civil penalty.
According to the agency, the bank illegally assessed fees and interest charges on auto and mortgage loans, which led to consumers losing their cars, while in other cases the bank misapplied payments to auto and mortgage loans.
The bank’s systematic failures in servicing automobile loans resulted in $1.3bn in harm across more than 11m accounts.
In addition, Wells Fargo unfairly charged overdraft fees even though consumers had enough money in their accounts to cover the transaction at the time the bank authorised it.
“The bank’s illegal conduct led to billions of dollars in financial harm to its customers and, for thousands of customers, the loss of their vehicles and homes,” the CFPB said.
UAE To Launch Instant Payment Platform In Early 2023
The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) has announced that it is planning to launch its Instant Payment Platform in the first quarter of next year.
The platform, which enables real-time payments, will be released in a phased approach, initially operating with a pilot group of licensed financial institutions.
The new platform will enable “the provision of the next generation of payment services to UAE financial institutions and consumers”, according to the central bank.
Participation in the Instant Payment Platform will be mandatory for all financial institutions in the country.
UPDATE: Italy Scraps Plans To Allow Merchants To Refuse Card Payments
Italy has scrapped a proposal to promote the use of cash by allowing merchants to refuse card payments below €60 ($63), citing tax concerns aired by the European Commission.
At present, Italian merchants are subject to fines if they refuse to accept card payments, but in a draft budget for 2023 the new government of Georgia Meloni had proposed that payments below €60 should be exempt.
The move drew criticism from the European Commission, which argued that it conflicted with previous EU recommendations to Italy to boost tax compliance.
Speaking at a hearing on the budget, economy minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said the government intends to eliminate the measure, but may replace it with another intervention that would help compensate merchants for card fees.
Rakuten France Launches New Integrated Payment And Cashback Solution
Japanese ecommerce company Rakuten has launched a new payments and cashback solution in France through a partnership with Mastercard and virtual card issuer Marqeta.
Known as Club R Pay, the new scheme aims to streamline the online purchasing process for consumers and merchants, allowing a Marqeta virtual card to be used at checkout without inputting any card details.
Club R Pay, which Rakuten claims is the first solution of its kind to be offered by an ecommerce company, is available to the 12m members of the Club R loyalty programme, and can be used at more than 2,000 partner sites, including Hotels.com, Nike and others.
“The card collects Rakuten reward points that can be redeemed in cash or spent on Rakuten sites,” said Jeff Parker, senior vice president and international managing director at Marqeta.
“Our partnership with Rakuten will not only result in less cart abandonment, it also will increase revenue as shoppers are more likely to shop with partner brands as they can collect and pool the rewards and receive real discounts.”
New Statement Hints At Funding Switch-Up For UK Open Banking
In the long term, open banking’s funding should be “broad-based”, said a new statement released by HM Treasury, the Competition and Markets Authority, the Financial Conduct Authority and the Payment Systems Regulator.
This suggests that banks may no longer be the ones with the burden of paying for open banking in the UK, as is the case under the Open Banking Implementation Entity.
However, the statement does add that any new funding model must not be a disincentive to innovation.
The Joint Regulatory Oversight Committee will publicly set out its recommendations in relation to the design of the future entity in Q1 2023, according to the statement.
This will account for both during the interim regulatory state and once a long-term regulatory framework is in place, and the vision for open banking.
“We expect it to include a roadmap to deliver that vision and will continue to work with industry as we develop this,” the regulators said.
Official Donald Trump NFT Collection Sells Out In Less Than 12 Hours
Former US president Donald Trump has made a foray into the world of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), releasing his first official collection last week and selling out in less than 12 hours.
CollectTrumpCards.com began offering the 45,000 NFTs for $99 dollars each on Thursday evening (December 15), and by Friday morning the entire collection was sold out.
According to NFT marketplace OpenSea, resales are now selling for anywhere between 0.15 ETH ($180) and 6.12 ETH ($7,400) at the time of writing, depending on the rarity of the design.
Currently, the most expensive design depicts the former president in front of Trump Tower ripping open his suit to reveal a Superman-like outfit underneath, which is embellished with a "T" rather than an "S". This design is one of 1,000 from the collection of which there is only one unit.
Trump does not own any commercial rights to the collection, but the use of his name and likeness have been licensed to the designer, NFT INT, through an agreement with CIC Digital.
EU Announces Ninth Sanctions Package Against Russia
The European Council has announced a new set of sanctions against Russia, including asset freezes against two additional Russian banks.
The Russian Regional Development Bank has also been added to the list of entities that are subject to a full transaction ban.
“After food and hunger, Putin is now weaponising the winter, by deliberately depriving millions of Ukrainians of water, electricity and heating,” said Josep Borrell, high representative for foreign affairs and security policy.
“The EU is responding to this latest escalation and war crime with our 9th package of hard-hitting sanctions.”
The package also includes further controls and restrictions on export, consulting services and energy and mining sectors, among others.
At the same time, the US Treasury has banned carrying out any transactions involving Rosbank from next March, and designated 17 subsidiaries of the already sanctioned VTB Bank.
Meanwhile, the UK has also proposed a new round of sanctions, including trade sanctions and prohibitions on providing certain services to persons connected to Russia, such as auditing, engineering and marketing services.
