The Monday Roundup: what we are watching this week | April 8th

By Puja Sharma

The Monday Roundup sets the scene for the week’s biggest news stories, industry deals, and upcoming events. For Prime subscribers only.

Next phase of transformation journey

stc pay, a mobile wallet for digital financial transactions, has received formal approval from the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) to move to the next phase of its transformation journey into STC Bank.

This beta launch is limited to preselected customers and is a preparation for a full public launch later in the year. This step is supported by SAMA, affirming its commitment to playing a pivotal role in digital transformation and empowerment, contributing to the ambitious goals of Vision 2030 to transition towards a cashless society by increasing the share of digital financial transactions.

This beta launch will enable selected users to upgrade their accounts from an stc pay digital wallet into an STC Bank account. Customers will be provided with an STC Bank International Bank Account Number (IBAN) and get additional banking services.

Worldline and Tabesto have launched the first all-in-one ordering and payment kiosk, using SoftPOS ‘Worldline Tap on Mobile’ technology. This collaboration combines Worldline’s extensive payment expertise with Tabesto’s proficiency in kiosk development to deliver a unique customer experience.

With a payment application embedded into the Tabesto application environment, the ‘FOX’ ordering and payment kiosk integrates and becomes a payment terminal.

Equipped with an NFC sensor at the bottom of the screen, FOX enables payment acceptance via contactless bank cards or with a PIN code on the screen, meal vouchers, or NFC-enabled e-wallets.

Available in 36 countries, this solution reduces customer wait times and offers consumers a new ordering experience. By reducing traditional equipment such as ticket printers and payment terminals, Worldline and Tabesto support restaurant and retail operators in simplifying their operational management, reducing associated costs, and optimizing their carbon footprint.

Global environmental goals

Xoom, PayPal’s cross-border money transfer service, has announced that US users now have the option to fund money transfers to friends and family abroad using USD converted from PayPal USD (PYUSD), a US dollar-denominated stablecoin.

Rolling out to customers in the US, the new funding option will allow US Xoom users to easily convert the PYUSD in their linked PayPal Cryptocurrency Hub to USD and use that as a funding source to send money to recipients in approximately 160 countries globally with no transaction fees.

“When we decided to bring PayPal USD to market, we had two objectives we wanted to achieve: create something that had a stable value to maximize user confidence and ensure it had utility for commerce and payments,” said Jose Fernandez da Ponte, Senior Vice President of the Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, and Digital Currency Group, PayPal. “Enabling US users of Xoom the option to fund cross-border money transfers using PYUSD builds on our goal of driving mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies while also offering an easy way to securely send money to friends and family at a lower cost.”

With the $10 million Series A funding, Iceberg Data Lab (IDL) has raised over $15 million in total funding.

Investments were led by US venture capital firm Beringea, with participation from AXA Investment Managers, MAIF Avenir, and other investors. IDL says that the funding will be used to invest in the latest technologies to enhance its product offerings and advance the company’s “product pipeline”. It also plans to expand its global footprint, with a specific focus on the UK market.

IDL CEO and co-founder Matthieu Maurin said the start-up aims to help its clients “align with global environmental goals, and mitigate the negative impacts of climate change, protect natural habitats and curb biodiversity loss”.

What is the buzz

The crypto and blockchain solutions company, headquartered in San Francisco, Ripple is entering the stablecoin market, valued at $150 billion, driven by the evident demand for stablecoins that offer trust, stability, and functionality. Projections indicate the market could surpass $2.8 trillion by 2028.

Their stablecoin will be tied 1:1 to USD deposits, short-term US government treasuries, and similar cash equivalents. Third-party accounting firms will conduct regular audits of these reserves, with asset attestations to be published monthly.

Expected to launch later this year pending regulatory approvals, the offering will initially debut on the XRP Ledger (XRPL) and Ethereum blockchains using ERC20 token standards. Subsequent launches are planned on other blockchains and decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols and applications in the future.