Fintech-digest: in the store you can withdraw money from the card at the checkout; PayPal wants to buy more companies.
Today in digest:
- In the store you can withdraw money from your card;
- PayPal is going to spend about $ 3 billion a year on mergers and acquisitions;
- Alfa-Bank is testing an international blockchain platform;
- How will banks collect biometric data?
So, this year, individual banks are planning to launch a test program for the removal and replenishment of bank cards in stores of sparsely populated areas. This was told by the representative of the Central Bank, Mikhail Mamuta. The process is quite simple - cashiers in stores take the funds and credit them to the account. Or cashiers withdraw money from the card and hand them to the client. Right now, banks are preparing for the introduction of such projects, but they are starting from the outlets of large cities.
The program is partly based on foreign experience in implementing such a service. According to experts, it can be implemented with a risk control mechanism, which is still rather big. In addition, the Central Bank is discussing the possibility of replenishing bank deposits at the cash desks of outlets.
Some banks are going to realize the possibility of withdrawing cash from cards for customers in grocery supermarkets of the Fasol chain.
Paypal
PayPal, having absorbed iZettle, is already planning new acquisitions.
We have a healthy balance, and we are ready to work on buying more companies.- said PayPal President and CEO Dan Shulman in an interview with the German newspaper Handelsblatt.
The company plans to spend about $ 3 billion a year. Only services and products that allow it to get certain opportunities will buy PayPal. At the same time, the company is even ready to go for a bigger deal - if only the purchase would be beneficial.
As for iZettle, this Swedish startup will help PayPal to more successfully compete with Square Inc., which offers payment services for small businesses in the United States. A Swedish startup is sometimes even called the European version of Square. Now PayPal plans to provide a comprehensive offer for retailers who would like to conduct sales both in regular stores and online.
Blockchain
Alfa-Bank recently announced testing a blockchain service on the Corda platform. The goal is to exchange customer data between members of the R3 consortium. The blockchain solution allows financial institutions to access corporate data management within the framework of KYS policy.
In addition, this service removes the need for multiple duplication of the same documents in response to requests from banks. Approximately 40 international organizations participated in testing this technology, including BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, UBS, Societe Generale and ING, as well as the Central Banks of Peru and Colombia.
The pilot's experience with R3 is interesting for improving KYC procedures in the Russian legal field. The project is also an example of Russia's successful integration into international technological trends., - said Dmitry Ustinsky, Head of the International Compliance Department at Alfa-Bank.
Biometrics
And how are banks going to collect biometric data from individuals? As it turned out, everything is simple. Just voice and face images are enough. And you can do without a personal recording studio.
A biometric template that allows a citizen in the future to become a bank customer remotely — from a home computer or mobile device — can be created using a directional microphone and a webcam.
After the pattern is generated and transferred to the EMU, the client can be remotely authenticated and serviced remotely.
We wrote about the most remote service in March. Then it was said that citizens of the country can become clients of banks without visiting their offices from June 30 of this year. In order to register as a client, it is necessary to provide biometric data once - this is a face image and a voice sample.