The Monday Roundup: what we are watching this week | Sept 30th

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.

A bouquet of SME-related services

Axis Bank and Mastercard have announced their collaboration to launch MyBiz, a premium business credit card designed exclusively for sole proprietors and small business owners.

The new card, part of the World Mastercard® category, combines a wide range of business and travel benefits to meet the diverse needs of SME owners.

Along with premium benefits such as airport lounge access and comprehensive travel insurance, the MyBiz card will allow cardholders to avail themselves of a bouquet of business-related services covering productivity, marketing, online readiness, security, and compliance through Mastercard Easy Savings Specials.

Furthermore, cardholders will also be able to gain access to specially curated experiences around culinary, wellness, sports, and more via priceless.com for India-based experiences.

NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) has entered into a partnership with the Ministry of Digital Transformation (MDT) of Trinidad and Tobago to develop a real-time payments platform similar to India’s ‘Unified Payments Interface’ (UPI).

This collaboration marks a milestone, making Trinidad and Tobago the first Caribbean nation to adopt the globally renowned UPI. Through strategic collaborations with foreign central banks and governments, NIPL is advancing India’s digital public goods worldwide.

This strategic partnership aims to empower Trinidad and Tobago to establish a reliable and efficient real-time payment platform for both person-to-person (P2P) and person-to-merchant (P2M) transactions, expanding digital payments in the country and fostering financial inclusion.

A cashless society in MENA

allpay cards has signed a new partnership with Enfuce to support the launch of its innovative MyCard solution in the UK. This strategic collaboration allows allpay cards to deliver card manufacture and personalisation services for Enfuce’s UK clients.

The MyCard solution offers an all-encompassing platform which helps FinTechs and other financial institutions launch to market swiftly, securely, and with ease. Powered by Enfuce’s modular payments platform, MyCard simplifies the entire card creation and issuing process, handling everything from card manufacturing and stock management to compliance and distribution. This ensures clients can focus on growing their businesses while Enfuce and allpay cards manage card issuing and fulfilment.

This new partnership is an additional layer following the recent appointment of Enfuce as allpay’s processing partner.

Valu, MENA’s universal FinTech powerhouse, has partnered with ShipBlu and PayTabs Egypt to transform payment methods for eCommerce deliveries.

This collaboration allows Valu customers to use their Valu limit to pay for online orders delivered by ShipBlu directly through the myBlu app, even if the seller is not within the Valu merchant network. PayTabs Egypt is providing secure payment processing technology to facilitate this seamless payment integration via Payment-on-Delivery (PoD).

The partnership targets eCommerce merchants and consumers, emphasising the shift towards a cashless society. Through this collaboration, Valu customers who receive their shipments via ShipBlu can now utilise their Valu accounts for payments through the myBlu app.

What is the Buzz

PayPal has unveiled PayPal Complete Payments, a safe and efficient all-in-one platform that integrates a range of customised products and solutions to support Chinese merchants in selling globally.

This platform streamlines payment and receivables processes for businesses of all sizes in China, empowering them to thrive in cross-border trade and the digital economy.

Suzan Kereere, PayPal’s President of Global Markets, said, “We are excited to bring PayPal’s Complete Payments solution to China, empowering businesses with secure, seamless cross-border transactions and helping them tap into global markets. This launch marks a significant milestone in PayPal’s mission to revolutionize commerce globally, bridging Chinese businesses with consumers around the world more efficiently and transparently.”