Top News In Payments: Europe’s Version Of Libra Makes Headway; Amazon Faces Legal Backlash On Logistics

In today’s top payments news, a potential competitor to Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency is making progress, and one of the year’s biggest eCommerce events sets a new record.

EU’s Public Version Of Libra Could Soon Make Headway

With the caveat that the project faced challenges and is for the long term, senior officials have noted that progress on the feasibility of a European Central Bank (ECB)-backed cryptocurrency could be made in the months to come.

A public digital currency would provide an alternative to Facebook’s Libra as well as other private cryptocurrency endeavors, while cutting international transaction costs.

Antitrust Complaint Says Amazon Forces Merchants To Use Its Logistics Services

An online merchant has written a letter to Congress saying the company was forced to use Amazon’s logistics services, as it otherwise would have faced stiff penalties and possible suspension from the site. These moves made it necessary for the merchant to raise prices for its customers.

The 62-page-long letter talks about how Amazon is harming consumers, which is the general groundwork for an antitrust case.

Alibaba Beats $30B Sales Record On China’s Singles Day

China’s Alibaba broke sales records during the 24-hour shopping event known as Singles Day, CNBC reported on Monday (Nov. 11).

The gross merchandise value (GMV), which shows Alibaba’s sales across all its eCommerce platforms, blew past 2018’s record of nearly $30.5 billion. Within 90 minutes, Alibaba’s GMV soared past $12 billion and exceeded the total reached on Singles Day in 2016.

Lawsuit Targets WeWork For Lost Value After Pulled IPO

A lawsuit is being launched by minority shareholders against WeWork, Adam Neumann — its co-founder and former chief executive officer — and the prime investor, Japan’s SoftBank.

In a proposed class action filed in San Francisco Superior Court, the lawsuit seeks to recoup losses following WeWork’s failed initial public offering (IPO). The botched IPO caused WeWork’s value to drop over 87 percent.

Former WeWork employee Natalie Sojka of San Francisco alleges in the Nov. 4 lawsuit that WeWork’s board of directors disregarded its “fiduciary duties” to her as well as to other minority shareholders.

New Data: How Subscription Box Merchants Can Contend In The Amazon Age

Small business (SMB) tech startup Instamojo announced the launch of its Instamojo Credit Book, which aims to get rid of manual ledgers by digitizing records. Available through the company’s Android app, the ledger allows businesses to keep track of credit given to vendors, suppliers and customers; monitor cash receivables from customers, vendors and suppliers; send due payment reminders; and maintain a centralized record of cash flow.

Zillow: Tackling Real Estate’s $1.6T Money Laundering Epidemic

Governments are tightening know your customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) requirements on various industries out of increasing concern over fraud threats. Cryptocurrency companies that previously let customers remain anonymous will have to change their tunes in some countries, as will online gambling sites that provided fast onboarding at the expense of rigorous identity verification approaches.