In today's top EMEA news, the South African auction house will present Strauss & Co. Non-fungible luxury tokens for wine to top bidders, and Apple faces another antitrust fee in the European Union after a complaint about Spotify.
In addition, banking-as-a-service provider Countess is collaborating with open banking technology company Ecospend; Neurons, the consumer behavior prediction platform, has acquired rivals VisualEyes and Loceye; And British supermarket chain Asda has launched a personalized shopping experience with Buymie, the delivery platform.
Strauss & Co. in South Africa to host the NFT Fine Wine Auction
Strauss & Co. has entered into , South Africa's auction house, has partnered with five of the country's wineries to offer non-fungible premium wine tokens (NFTs) to the highest bidders.
The sale, which takes place from April 18-25, will feature archetypes from the past, present and future. Each NFT holds up to 50 wines, with collections from 66 to 288 bottles.
Apple faces more EU antitrust fees on music streaming practices
Apple faces another antitrust fee in the European Union after a complaint about its practices through the music subscription service Spotify.
Last year, the European Commission accused the tech giant of hindering competition in the streaming music sector by imposing rules in its App Store that force developers to use Apple's internal payment system and prevent them from telling customers about other payment options.
Contis teams with Ecospend to deliver faster payments to MrQ Games
Banking-as-a-service provider Contis is partnering with open banking technology company Ecospend to deliver an instant account-to-account payment and withdrawal solution to online gaming site MrQ.com.
The aim of the partnerships is to allow MrQ.com to offer an alternative deposit method and instant withdrawal to its customers.
Neurons delve deeper into AI with VisualEyes, and Loceye acquisitions
Consumer behavior prediction platform Neurons has taken over competitors VisualEyes and Loceye in a move that will expand Neurons' AI product to better predict human emotions and feelings. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The acquisitions give Neurons a competitive advantage that will increase the accuracy of its customer prediction platform, according to the release.
OneDegree partners with Munich Re in securing OneInfinity digital assets
OneDegree Hong Kong Limited on Monday (April 11) partnered with Munich Re in a three-year collaboration to launch digital asset insurance platform OneInfinity.
Under the terms of the partnership, Munich Re will provide reinsurance capacity and support the technical underwriting of OneDegree.
Central Bank of Nigeria Gives Approval for DLM Capital to Purchase Microfinance Bank Links
DLM Capital, a leading development investment bank, has secured final approval from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to buy Links Microfinance Bank, according to a report, which will make it more firmly in position to launch a digital banking program.
CEO Sonny Ayeri said the bank thanked the Securities and Exchange Commission and CBN for the approval. Meanwhile, Links CEO Funsho Idowu said this would help the bank gain more market positions.
Britain's Asda Supermarket Tests Personal Shopper with Boyemi Delivery for Delivery
Asda has launched a new personal shopping experience for the first time in some stores, which will partner with Buymie, the delivery platform. During the trial period, customers will communicate with in-store shoppers as they select the products to buy, with deliveries made within an hour or so.
Shoppers have access to groceries and can connect with collectors while shopping. For this reason, they will also have the option to submit preferences and talk about their requests, including various alternatives they may accept if the original option is not present.
Russia turns to BRICS countries to ease sanctions in payment systems
Since Russia is still subject to Western sanctions, the BRICS group of emerging economies (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) called for the expansion of the use of national currencies and the integration of payment systems.
The sanctions isolated Russia from the global system, as well as isolated nearly half of its gold, along with foreign exchange reserves estimated at $606 billion in early April.
Fintech companies think big to help small and medium businesses in Africa find working capital
There has been a 10% year-over-year increase in business-to-business (B2B) payments in the wake of the pandemic, according to data from McKinsey.
B2B payments remain a challenge for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in emerging markets, due to the high cost of invoice processing, $16 each. As a result, many companies still use the manual process to reconcile incoming payments with invoice data.
African payments company Cellulant expands its business platform in Ghana
Cellulant has launched a new digital payment platform, Tingg, which will help businesses and customers make seamless payments.
This comes at a time when digital payments have seen significant growth in the past few years; 38.9% of the population above 15 years own a mobile cash account in Ghana.
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New PYMNTS data: The Future of Creditor Business Innovation Study - April 2022
on: While more than half of SMEs believe that an all-in-one payment system can save time and improve visibility into cash flow, 56% think the solution may be difficult to integrate with existing AP and AR systems. The Payable Business Future Innovations Report, a collaboration between PYMNTS and Plastiq, surveyed 500 small and medium businesses with revenues between $500,000 and $100 million to explore how integrated solutions can exceed SME expectations and help future-proof their business.
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