Today in the Connected Economy: Ulta Expands Tie-up With The Honest Company

Today in the connected economy, The Honest Company continues its foray into the world of physical retail with an expanded Ulta collaboration. Plus, food delivery and payments tech company Waitr rebrands as ASAP as it launches a partnership with the New Orleans Saints, and Drexel University and MAPay team to democratize healthcare data with non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

Honest Co, Ulta, Expand Partnership

Honest Beauty, the skincare and makeup brand launched by actress and businesswoman Jessica Alba, is expanding its partnership with retailer Ulta Beauty by launching at more than 635 stores. Meanwhile the company is also working with Ulta to debut a skincare line, the Honest Beauty Clearing Collection. The launch comes as The Honest Company — a digital-first brand — has begun expanding its collaborations with retailers to bring its products to store shelves.

Waitr to Provide in-Stadium Food Ordering for New Orleans Saints

Food delivery and payments tech company Waitr has joined forces with the New Orleans Saints to add in-stadium ordering options for the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. The service lets fans in some sections order food from their phones, using the new ASAP app — Waitr plans to change its name to ASAP — at any Saints home game. The partnership is another in a series with NFL teams for Waitr, which launched similar efforts with the New York Jets and New York Giants.

Drexel University Teams With MAPay to Use NFTs for Democratized Healthcare Data

Drexel University’s College of Medicine has partnered with global healthcare technology firm MAPay on a project that uses NFTs to democratize healthcare data. The payments and data innovation program “will develop the technical foundation and market to solve for one of the most debated and contentious healthcare topics: patient data access,” the company said.

Fraugster and Worldline Deliver Chargeback Protection for Travel Merchants

German payment intelligence company Fraugster is working with French PayTech Worldline to offer a chargeback protection solution to travel merchants. The offering eliminates chargeback losses for merchants by taking full liability for fraudulent transactions. It also leverages artificial intelligence (AI) trained on global payment data to generate more accurate decisions and boost approval rates. The pandemic fueled a change in fraud patterns and consumer payment behavior that impacted the travel sector, and data inconsistencies have made it more difficult to spot certain types of fraud.

GrubMarket Enters Financial Services With IOT Pay Acquisition

GrubMarket has acquired Vancouver-based FinTech IOT Pay. The deal will let GrubMarket use IOT Pay’s technology and payments infrastructure to streamline the food supply chain industry and push for more flexible digital payment and financial opportunities. IOT Pay powers thousands of North American merchants, including BMW, Mercedes Benz, Arby’s, HMart, Sungiven Foods and Rolex.