Trevor Lawrence partners with Blockfolio, will have signing bonus placed in cryptocurrency account

Trevor Lawrence is going to be paid this week – in crypto. He has partnered with a global cryptocurrency investing app called Blockfolio and will place his NFL signing bonus into an account with the company. Lawrence’s wallet includes traditional cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana. According to Spotrac, the signing bonus for this year’s No.1 pick in the NFL is estimated at $ 22.6 million. [USA Today]

How mobile wallet usage exploded after a year of lockdown

The effect of the pandemic on the use of cash in North America for point-of-sale in-store transactions is clearly visible in the BIS data

FIS
Global Payments Report 2021. In 2019, cash accounted for almost 15% of total in-store point-of-sale volume, while mobile wallets could only muster a 6% share. In 2020, mobile wallets received a 60% increase in point-of-sale usage to 9.6%; and the cash volume fell by more than 20% to 11.4%. Going forward, FIS predicts mobile wallet point-of-sale volume to reach 15.5% in 2024, while cash usage will drop to less than 10%. [PaymentsSource]

Retailers sue Federal Reserve over debit card fee processing

Two lobbying associations representing North Dakota merchants have sued the Federal Reserve for a reduction in the fees they pay banks every time a consumer swipes a debit card. The two associations said the Fed should rescind its rule that caps these fees at 21 cents for cards from the largest US banks. The fees that merchants pay to process credit and debit cards have climbed in recent years to over $ 100 billion a year. Debit card fees were capped ten years ago by the so-called Durbin Amendment to the Dodd-Frank Review of Financial Regulation. [Bloomberg]

With Debit Cards and Investing for Kids, Fintech Greenlight Start-Up Doubles Valuation to $ 2.3 Billion

Greenlight, a startup that offers debit cards and investments for kids, has raised $ 260 million from Series D for a valuation of $ 2.3 billion, nearly doubling the valuation of the unicorn received in a fundraiser. funds of $ 215 million last September. CEO Tim Sheehan said the money will be used to speed up marketing to parents and hire 300 more employees to develop new features for the app, which tripled revenues and customers last year. [Forbes]

53% of those who embarked on a pandemic hobby incurred credit card debt as a result

59% of Americans have adopted a new hobby during the coronavirus pandemic. The most popular pastime among those who started one during the pandemic: reading (61%), followed by baking or cooking (36%), gardening (30%), meditation (29%) ) and writing (26%). Almost half (48%) of consumers who tried a new hobby during the pandemic – like coding or photography – made money by turning it into a side activity. But 53% took on credit card debt because of their new hobby. [Lending Tree]

Visa emerging from pandemic ‘storm’ as spending volumes recover

Visa is emerging from the pandemic as a surge in online shopping has helped the world’s largest payment processor beat Wall Street estimates for quarterly profits and counter sluggish travel spending. Payments companies are seeing increased volumes due to the coronavirus-induced crisis, as massive government stimulus and rapid vaccine rollout fuel an economic recovery, unleashing pent-up demand for goods and services. Visa’s total payment volumes increased 11% in constant dollars compared to the previous year. It has seen a return to positive growth for credit and credit card transactions, while debit and e-commerce have also increased. [Reuters]

Satisfaction with banks rises as customers go digital only, JD Power reports

Customer satisfaction with banks nationwide has increased as more consumers have turned to digital-only banking, according to a new study from JD Power. Even though 24% of customers say they are worse off financially, overall customer satisfaction has still increased. Retail banks’ efforts to increase communication with customers, introduce customer support and community support efforts, and provide strong digital banking services have helped them achieve high ratings for customer satisfaction in a very difficult year. [CUToday]

Visa partners with Airbnb for the Visa Direct platform

Airbnb and digital payments company Visa have announced that Airbnb hosts in certain markets will be able to access their revenue faster through a new partnership. Through Airbnb’s use of Visa Direct, Visa’s real-time push payment platform, hosts will be able to transfer money from Airbnb to a bank account associated with an eligible Visa debit card. [Short Term Rentalz]

9 best mobile banking apps: functionality and convenience to manage your money

Mobile banking apps allow you to easily perform many banking functions from your phone or tablet. Top nine mobile banking apps and services: Ally, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, BBVA, Wells Fargo, PNC, Discover, and TD Bank. [Yahoo Finance]

16% of mobile devices in developing markets are now infected with malware

Mobile users already disadvantaged by an economic and digital divide have suffered the most from digital fraud throughout the pandemic. In emerging markets such as Brazil, Indonesia, South Africa and Thailand, 16% of mobile devices that processed a transaction were found to be infected with malware. Globally, only 2.6% of devices are believed to host high-risk apps. [Help Net Security]

A second Bitcoin exchange collapses in Turkey amid cryptocurrency crackdown.

A second cryptocurrency exchange collapsed in Turkey amid an industry crackdown. The platform, Vebitcoin, said it had ceased all activities after facing financial strains. A few days earlier, Thodex had been disconnected, its CEO having left the country. According to local media reports, Thodex founder Faruk Fatih Ozer flew to Albania, taking $ 2 billion in investor funds with him. Turkey has issued an international arrest warrant for Ozer. [CNBC]