Fintech heated up a bit in February meaning you could have missed out on some of the biggest stories. Here are some of the top stories we saw in January 2024.
Google Pay winds down in US in favour of Google Wallet
Google announced it will be killing off Google Pay in the US, with the app no longer being available from the 4th June.
Americans will still be able to use the tap to pay feature through Google Wallet moving forward.
This came after Google Wallet was rolled out worldwide in 2022, but in the US they had kept both apps until now.
EU adopts instant payments rules
The European Council adopted instant payment rules which will allow for 10-second payments in euros for consumers and businesses in the EU and in EEA countries.
The rules were agreed last year by the Council and European Parliament.
There will be two stages to the rules coming into force, with a shorter period for euro zone and longer for the EEA countries.
Capital One to acquire Discover
In a potential shape-up to the card world, Capital One made a $35 billion bid to acquire Discover Financial Services.
The combined power of these two platforms could enable them to compete with payments giants Mastercard and Visa.
The deal received some pushback from lawmakers like Elizabeth Warren over its potential to “threaten financial stability”.
American Express adds ‘Plan It’ BNPL offering to credit cards
American Expressed launched its new ‘Plan It’ function to the UK market. This allows credit card holders to pay off purchases on their statement, or a portion of their monthly bill, in instalments, in a buy now pay later (BNPL) fashion.
Under the arrangement, customers with a credit card can select any transaction above £100, or an amount from their most recent statement, to put into an instalment plan for 3, 6 or 12 months.
Users will be charged a fixed monthly fee for using this function, but will not be charged interest on any balance in their instalment plan.
TCS could take over the running of Faster Payments
According to reporting from Sky News, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has emerged as a leading contender to take over the running of the UK's Faster Payments Service.
Pay.UK is running the process as part of the UK's New Payments Architecture, which will replace the current Faster Payments and Bacs retail interbank payment system, with clearing and settlement taking place over a single purpose-built central infrastructure.
Faster Payments is currently operated by Vocalink, owned by Mastercard.