Today In Payments: Coinbase Planning App Store; Amex Partners With Better, Rocket Mortgage

In today’s top news, Coinbase is planning to make a cryptocurrency app store on blockchain, and American Express now offers reward credits for cardholders who get mortgages through Better or Rocket Mortgage. Plus, three Nordic mobile payment apps are merging to make one European digital wallet.

Coinbase Planning Decentralized App Store Using Blockchain

Coinbase is planning to develop a cryptocurrency app store for decentralized apps (dApps) using the blockchain, with an end goal of listing all legal assets and putting decision-making into the hands of users. The move aims to make it easier for new assets to join the exchange and extend more products to the global market. Eventually, all apps developed on decentralized crypto rails will be available on the Coinbase app.

Amex Partners With Better, Rocket Mortgage On Home Loans

Those looking to get home loans will now be able to do so through American Express (Amex) and its new partnership with two FinTechs, Better and Rocket Mortgage by Quicken Loans. Those who are Amex customers and get mortgages from those companies will be able to access a statement of credit for $2,000 for conforming mortgages or $6,000 for jumbo mortgages.

Nordic Banks Strike Deal To Merge Three Mobile Payments Apps

Denmark-based Danske Bank, which operates MobilePay, has reached an agreement with OP Financial Group in Finland, which owns Pivo, and the Norwegian banks behind Vipps to merge their mobile payment services to become one of the biggest bank-owned mobile payment providers in Europe.

Instagram Preparing Subscriber-Only ‘Exclusive Stories’

Instagram is readying an “Exclusive Stories” function similar to Twitter’s recently announced “Super Follow” feature that will likely only be available for creators. When a user interacts with a story on Instagram that’s open only to subscribers, Instagram will relay a message that says as much.

Report: Crypto Exchanges Use Blockchain Tech To Boost Onboarding Security

It’s getting hard to keep fraudsters down as they are now turning to social engineering techniques to trick users and gain access to crypto accounts. In this month’s Digital Onboarding Tracker, Konstantin Anissimov, executive director of cryptocurrency exchange CEX.io, explains how exchanges are using blockchain tech to protect their platforms from bad actors.

PayPal Zettle US Launch Brings ‘Commerce In Box’ To SMBs

Small merchants want to play big but lack the resources to do it. PayPal Senior Vice President of Omni Payments Jim Magats told Karen Webster that the U.S. launch of PayPal Zettle delivers an “omnicommerce in a box solution” to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) on a single digital POS platform — including tens of millions of PayPal, Venmo users who want to shop local.

NYC Restaurant Has A Solution For Remote Work ‘Laptop Squatters’

With public life coming back, coffee shops and restaurants once again have to worry about remote workers hanging around, taking up valuable in-store seating, without making purchases. One New York City restaurant, taking a hint from coworking spaces, has found a creative solution to the problem.