Today In Payments: SWIFT Launches Low-Value X-Border Payments; UK Cracks Down On Late Payments To Suppliers

In today’s top news, SWIFT launched a service for low-value cross-border payments, and the U.K. is considering fining companies that don’t pay suppliers on time. Plus, Amazon is expanding its Singapore operations.

SWIFT Launches Service For Low-Value Cross-Border Payments

SWIFT, a global provider of secure financial messaging, announced a new service Thursday (Oct. 1) that will enable customers to make faster, easier, predictable and competitively-priced payments worldwide.

UK Cracks Down On Late Payments To Suppliers

As part of a revision on the powers of the small business commissioner, U.K. officials are looking into whether the commissioner should have the power to issue fines and fees or compel a company to make payments to suppliers.

Amazon Expands Into Singapore

Amazon is expanding its operations in Singapore, leasing 90,000 additional square feet of office space at the Asia Square Tower 1 in the middle of Singapore’s financial district. The online retail giant is grappling with growing competition in a city that is fast becoming a hub for Chinese tech giants and others looking to expand across Asia.

S. Korean FinTech Kakao Pay Preps For IPO

Kakao Pay is set to be the first South Korean FinTech working with mobile payments to undertake an initial public offering (IPO). The company is likely to be valued at $8.5 billion and plans to use the IPO to enter into new business areas, such as adding a digital insurance unit to its portfolio alongside its existing insurance and securities work

Banking-As-A-Service Helps Corporates Monetize New Payments Flows

Banking is moving beyond the confines of traditional financial institutions (FIs), especially as corporates want more flexibility about using payments to monetize new flows. Easier said than done, says Morten Sønderskov, chief operating officer of Danish neobank Lunar. In the Banking As A Service Playbook, Sønderskov explains how banking-as-a-service solutions help them bridge the gap, without the regulatory and compliance headaches.

Why One Says Middle-Class Americans Need A New Bank

Middle-class customers may trust their banks, but can’t always get the bundle of banking services they need to manage their household’s cash flow from the bank that gets their paycheck. Brian Hamilton, co-founder and CEO of One, tells Karen Webster that most neobanks don’t cut it either — so it’s time to build a bank for the middle class. Here’s what he says that looks like.

Banks Push Back On Possible Banking Charters For Big Techs Like Amazon And Facebook

A House committee began reviewing the idea of allowing the likes of Amazon or Facebook to receive bank charters — an idea that’s gotten plenty of pushback.