Today in FinTech: AstroPay Furthers Latam Expansion; Romania Clears Elrond’s Twispay Buy; Paxos Granted Digital Payments License

In today’s FinTech news, AstroPay is launching Payment Links in Peru, Chile, Mexico and Colombia, and the Romanian central bank gave the green light to Elrond to purchase licensed eMoney firm Twispay.

Meanwhile, the Hyundai Card American Express Portfolio is launching with Ascenda rewards and Lendable is using $250 million in fresh funds to come up with new products.

AstroPay Payment Links Introduced in More Latam Countries

Following its initial rollout in January in Brazil, online payments firm AstroPay is launching its Payment Links solution in Peru, Chile, Mexico and Colombia.

The solution helps small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) collect digital payments by sharing a payment link with their customers. It also enables businesses without the required volume threshold to accept credit card payments.

Romanian Central Bank Approves Elrond’s Acquisition of Twispay

Layer 1 blockchain Elrond Network has been cleared to acquire Romanian licensed eMoney payments firm Twispay for undisclosed terms.

With Twispay, which is licensed as a financial institution in Romania, Elrond can provide payments services across the entire European Economic Area (EEA) — European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway — and issue stablecoins that can be offered in the EU or traded on an exchange.

Ascenda Teams with Hyundai Card to Intro AmEx Cards in South Korean

The Hyundai American Express Card portfolio is being launched in South Korea with six products for consumers and corporations that include a rewards program powered by Ascenda. With a broad points exchange, Ascenda has more than 20 transfer partners and also offers real-time travel redemption.

Lendable Valued at $4.5B Following $275M Fundraise

Consumer finance platform Lendable is planning to use its fresh infusion of $275 million in capital to create new products and build-out plans for the company’s global expansion.

Lendable taps artificial intelligence (AI) and automation to deliver customers improved rates, service and transparency.

Axle Debuts New Freight Carrier Payments Program

Axle, a payments automation and financing platform for the freight and logistics industry, introduced its Axle Wallet to schedule and disburse funds to carriers. Wallet users can also access Axle’s automation tools, including its multiple transportation management systems and accounting integrations.

Singapore Approves Paxos’ Digital Payments License

Blockchain infrastructure platform Paxos has received the green light to operate a digital payments token service from the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

Paxos can now provide digital asset and blockchain products and services to customers in Singapore. The firm also received the first limited purpose Trust charter for digital assets from the New York Department of Financial Services in 2015.