Fintech, Finance, Technology, Banking Highlights – 12 November 2018

PayPal Expands Business Financing Program into Germany with PayPal Businesskredit

PayPal is expanding its PayPal Working Capital program into Germany with PayPal Businesskredit. PayPal Businesskredit will offer PayPal merchants a financing solution that will help them further grow their business.

PayPal Working Capital is a unique business financing product that has provided more than $6 billion in funding to more than 170,000 businesses in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia. This program, which recently celebrated its five year anniversary in the U.S., allows merchants to apply for a loan online, and receive a decision quickly. As soon as the merchant decides on the amount and the repayment percentage, the funds are deposited into their PayPal account. The loan does not incur interest, but rather, PayPal charges a one-time fixed fee that is displayed transparently to the applicant. Because PayPal is the payment processor for the business, the agreed upon repayment percentage is automatically deducted from the merchant’s PayPal account.

“Since our start in Germany almost 15 years ago, we have supported companies of all sizes in successfully running their online business,” says Michael Luhnen, Managing Director PayPal Germany, Austria and Switzerland. “With PayPal Businesskredit, we can now offer our large base of small and medium-sized businesses in Germany a quick and easy funding solution and means to grow their businesses.”

NiYO launches Digital Gold in partnership with SafeGold

NiYO, a new-age digital banking solutions provider for blue-collar employees has announced the launch of ‘Digital Gold’ on its NiYO Bharat app in partnership with SafeGold.

With this launch, for the first time ever, users can buy and sell 99.5% pure, 24-carat gold using an innovative regional language app supported by Hindi Audio, starting from as low as Re 1. The launch is in line with the brand’s commitment to offer the entire gamut of digital financial services to the overlooked category of blue-collar workers.

NiYO has tied up with SafeGold, a digital platform that allows customers to buy, sell and receive vaulted gold. The new feature on Bharat app will provide better access to high-quality gold at small ticket sizes for blue-collar workers who are neglected by traditional financial service providers.

The partnership between NiYO and SafeGold creates the perfect synergy, capitalizing on the digital infrastructure provided by SafeGold,and NiYO’s platform and consumer base, to reach out to the segment of working-class individuals who do not have adequate access to gold. This will not only encourage financial inclusion but also support the nation’s successful march towards Digital India.

“Gold has always been a prized possession in India, and we are very delighted to have partnered with SafeGold to offer our customers a convenient and secure way to buy and save in the best quality gold. Our objective for launching gold on our platform was to inculcate a long-term saving habit amongst our blue-collar users, and thereby encourage financial inclusions. With the festive season around the corner, this is an opportune time for us to launch ‘Digital Gold’ for our app users.” said Vinay Bagri, Co-founder and CEO, NiYO.

Aussie Fintech INAMO Announces Contactless Wearable Pilot in the U.S.

Inamo, a FinTech startup, makers of wearable devices announced that it has begun the pilot of the first non-embedded EMV contactless wearable payment device in the US.

INAMO’s first wearable uses a passive micro-card that is inserted into the CURL that is made from a durable silicone, is waterproof and slips onto most watches. Users can load and reload their INAMO debit account from any US bank that they have an account with and make purchases anywhere ApplePay or GooglePay are accepted in the US plus overseas.

INAMO was founded by avid surfer & software engineer Peter Colbert who after a surf, caught up with a few friends for coffee and when it was time to pay he realised that he forgot his wallet. That was the light bulb moment. “Wouldn’t it be cool if I didn’t have to carry my wallet around or wear a smart watch but still pay for things”.

INAMO has been instrumental in conducting innovative wearable pilots. In 2017, INAMO collaborated with VISA to pilot WaveShades, the first “pay-by-sunglasses” at the St Jerome Lane Way Festival. Visa demonstrated WaveShades at the prestigious South by Southwest Tech Conference in Austin, Texas in 2017.

Peter says “the timing is perfect as it comes at a time when contactless payments in the US has seen significant growth in merchant acceptance.”