Today in the Connected Economy: Facebook Previews Messenger Payment Shortcut

Today in the connected economy, Facebook says a quick payment feature is among the new shortcuts for Messenger, while Sony gets ready to debut its PlayStation subscription service. Plus, Citizens Bank allows companies to give employees early access to their paychecks, and Visa and i2C team up for FinTech processing in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

Facebook to Launch Payment Shortcut in Messenger

Facebook is debuting a series of shortcuts for its chat platform Messenger, including one designed to give users an easier time when sending and receiving money. The pay feature, due to arrive “soon” on Messenger for iOS and Android, comes just weeks after Facebook Messenger announced Split Payments service.

Sony Announces New PlayStation Subscription Service

Sony will launch a subscription-based version of its PlayStation Plus video game platform in June. While the new service won’t include new releases, users will still find some of the company’s most popular titles, including “Returnal,” “God of War” and “Spider-Man: Miles Morales.” The subscription service will combine PlayStation Plus, which has 48 million subscribers, online gaming and a handful of free games each month, with PlayStation Now, which has more than 3 million users and a library of games to download and stream.

Citizens Bank Launches Early Access to Wages

Citizens Financial Group has become the latest lender to launch a way for corporate clients to provide employees with early access to their paychecks. The bank also plans to launch Citizens Paid Early in the second quarter of 2022, allowing customers to receive their direct deposits up to two days early. “Acquiring and retaining strong talent is more important than ever, and this program enables our clients to offer their employees a valuable benefit,” said Michael Cummins, head of treasury solutions at Citizens.

i2c, Visa Team for FinTech Processing Across MENA

i2c, which provides digital payment and banking technology, has teamed with Visa to become a FinTech processor in MENA. The partnership will give MENA FinTechs access to Visa’s global network and i2c’s issuing and processing platform via their combined suite of digital solutions and payments technologies.

Mastercard Teams With Crypto Exchange BTC Markets

Mastercard has inked a partnership with Australia’s largest cryptocurrency exchange to let users make payments into the exchange. The collaboration will allow customers to make direct debit, prepaid and credit card payments in BTC Markets, which had until now only allowed users to make payments with a bank transfer.

Blue Yonder, Snowflake Team up on Supply Chain Data Management

Digital supply chain platform Blue Yonder and data cloud company Snowflake are working together to offer improved access to supply chain data. Blue Yonder’s Luminate Platform, powered by Snowflake, offers an end-to-end supply chain solution that lets retailers, manufacturers and third-party logistics providers predict, prevent and resolve business disruptions.