Today in the Connected Economy: Mastercard Looks to New Markets

Today in the connected economy, Mastercard tries to balance its withdrawal from Russia and a ban in India by targeting business in Latin America and Southeast Asia.

Also, smart car firm ECARX plans a $3.8 special purpose acquisition merger, Apple predicts flat production levels for the iPhone, and Visa expands its partnership with embedded working capital platform Fundbox.

Mastercard Targeting Southeast Asia, Latin America Expansion

After pulling its business from Russia in March and being banned from issuing new cards in India Mastercard has turned to Southeast Asia and Latin America as targets for growth.

“Southeast Asia is exciting (due to) the right demographics, the adoption of technology and digitization, and governments’ focus on financial inclusion,” said company Co-President for International Markets Ling Hai speaking at the Reuters Global Markets Forum.

Apple to Keep iPhone Production Flat for 2022

Apple plans to essentially l keep production of its iPhone flat this year as 2022 becomes a difficult time for smartphone makers.

The tech giant has asked its suppliers for an estimated 220 million iPhones, about the same number as in 2021, according to unnamed sources close to the matter told Bloomberg News.

That figure is 20 million units less than market estimates, which were based on an anticipated update to the iPhone later this year.

Smart Car Firm ECARX Plans $3.8B SPAC

ECARX is preparing to go public via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger that values the smart car tech startup at $3.8 billion.

The company says its deal with COVA Acquisition Corp also includes $45 million in investments from investment mobility tech company Geely Holding Group, sensor manufacturer Luminar Technologies Inc, and automotive company Lotus Technology.

Founded in 2017, ECARX operates in China and Europe with a focus on the technology used in smart vehicles, high-definition maps, and car chips.

New Visa, Fundbox Flex Debit Card Helps SMBs Manage Spend, Access Working Capital

Visa has launched a partnership with embedded working capital platform Fundbox to bring digital debit payments to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) with a new debit card.

The Fundbox Flex Visa Debit Card uses Fundbox’s FlexPay spend-management solution and lets users make purchases over Visa’s debit rails at merchants in the network, which helps SMBs manage their everyday spending more effectively with cash on hand.

Fundbox, for its part, has said that FlexPay has seen increased adoption among smaller companies, with payments volume jumping 80% quarter over quarter.

10x, Westpac Unveil Transaction Banking Platform

FinTech 10x Banking and Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform Westpac have expanded their partnership with the rollout of a transaction banking platform for the bank’s institutional clients.

“The banking industry is experiencing a radical change, and Westpac is taking a leading role in its transformation,” said Antony Jenkins, founder, chairman and CEO of 10x. “Using our technology to underpin the new platform is a logical next step in its move to cloud-native technology. At 10x, we’ve built the technology I always dreamed of when I was running businesses in banking.”

Paystand Adds Automatic Billing to Its Blockchain B2B Payments Suite

Blockchain-enabled B2B payments firm Paystand is launching automatic billing and payment features for NetSuite AR to speed time to cash, eliminate transaction fees, and simplify billing.

The new features allow customers to accept minimum deposits for quotes and provide an automatic conversion to sales orders upon receipt of payment. The features also offer instant cash sales for orders and auto-payment at shipment, receipt or fulfillment completion.