Today In Payments Around The World: PayPal’s Xoom Connects With UPI For Remittances To India; IBM Buying Cloud Implantation Firm Nordcloud

In today’s top payments news around the world, PayPal’s Xoom has linked with NPIL’s/NPCI’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) to offer inter-bank transactions in India, while IBM is acquiring cloud implementation company Nordcloud. Plus, Italian shoppers are embracing a new cash-back initiative for credit card payments.

PayPal’s Xoom Adds Real-Time Payments For Remittances To India

PayPal’s Xoom, an international money transfer platform, has connected with NPIL’s/NPCI’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) to provide inter-bank transactions in India. Clients of Xoom have the choice of transmitting money to 66 financial institutions in India, with the inclusion of top banks such as Axis Bank, Punjab National Bank and State Bank of India.

IBM Acquiring Finland’s Nordcloud To Advance Cloud Computing

IBM is buying Finland’s Nordcloud, which is a cloud implementation company that focuses on managed services and application transformation. Financial details were not made known. The acquisition will result in Nordcloud becoming an IBM company in Q1 of next year. Nordcloud is certified for Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform and Amazon Web Services.

Italian Shoppers Embrace New Cash-Back Program For Credit Card Payments

Italian shoppers are embracing a new government initiative designed to strengthen retail sales while tamping down on tax evasion that enables purchasers to get a 10 percent reimbursement on card payments conducted in stores. Approximately one in ten of Italy’s adults have signed up for the experimental effort that entails enrolling through the web and getting an app.

Report: JCB Developing Blockchain B2B Payment Product

JCB is building out a business-to-business (B2B) payment service particularly for netting trades between two parties. JCB is collaborating with local company LayerX on the offering. The news comes as Paystand entered into an initial collaboration with JCB in December 2019 to offer an end-to-end payments infrastructure for customers of JCB and big Japanese companies.  JCB is a significant player in the payments industry in Japan, reporting $321.6 billion in transactions in 2019.