Top 10 Online Payment platforms

Important news about Online Payment platforms

2024. Revolut receives long-awaited UK banking license



After what feels like several lifetimes (but was actually since 2021), Revolut, that plucky London-based fintech with a casual 45 million global customers (and a cheeky 9 million in its homeland), has finally gotten its hands on a U.K. banking license from the elusive and somewhat mysterious Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). This milestone means Revolut can now roll out its impressive arsenal of products and services across the U.K. like a triumphant explorer planting its flag, offering more here than in many of its other global outposts. Not to forget, it’s been waving a banking license around in the EU since 2018, courtesy of the Bank of Lithuania, hopping merrily from country to country, thanks to the wonder that is European passporting.


2024. Proton launched own cryptocurrency wallet



Proton, the Swiss wizards famous for making secure email, VPNs and storage services feel like they’re being guarded by an intergalactic bouncer, have now decided to dip a cautious toe into the wild and wacky world of cryptocurrency. Their latest brainchild is the Proton Wallet, which, much like a friendly space guide, aims to make the whole “getting started with bitcoin” thing as painless as possible. At present, it’s a bitcoin-only affair, but Proton promises to expand its currency repertoire in the future based on user whims. The Proton Wallet is a self-custody wonder, meaning users—like slightly bewildered starship captains—get to hold onto their private keys. When they want to send some crypto, they simply click a button and the wallet quietly handles the arcane sorcery of public and private key approval in the background. Unlike the big players—Coinbase, Binance and Kraken—who deal with all that cryptic key stuff for you, Proton's wallet lets users hang on to the controls, even if they’re not quite sure what those buttons do.

2024. PayPal to pilot new AI-powered updates including Smart Receipts



It turns out that PayPal has decided that mere payments weren’t quite enough for their cunning master plan and thus have introduced a dash of artificial intelligence to make things a little more, well, *personal*. Among these shiny new additions is the "CashPass" cash-back program, whimsically known as "Smart Receipts." This delightful little feature doesn’t just hand out recommendations—it *curates* them, using the mystical powers of AI to tailor your shopping experience to your every desire, or at least your shopping history. PayPal’s also been tinkering with Venmo to make small businesses feel a bit more loved, alongside a sparkly new merchant offers platform. The CashPass section within the app presents users with a galaxy of personalized cash-back offers, all crafted with AI wizardry. Shoppers can gleefully tap on their favorite offers, proceed to buy from the suggested brands and complete their transactions with PayPal, naturally. And just to keep things fresh, the app will keep tossing in new offers, coaxing users to check in, possibly more often than they should.


2023. PayPal launches PYUSD stablecoin for payments and transfers



In a maneuver that would make even the most skeptical Vogon accountant raise an eyebrow, PayPal has decided to waltz into the realm of digital currencies with its own stablecoin extravagantly christened as PayPal USD (PYUSD). Issued by the wizardry of Paxos Trust Company, this little coin of stability is backed by U.S. dollar deposits, short-term U.S. Treasuries, and the kind of respectable cash equivalents that financial regulators love to invite over for tea. The coin’s deployment across the U.S. marks a momentous, eyebrow-raising first for a venerable financial institution. Eligible U.S. PayPal aficionados can now gleefully send PYUSD hither and thither, between PayPal and external digital lairs, pay each other in what one can only hope is a civilized manner, use it to fund purchases at checkout, and transform their crypto holdings to and from PYUSD with a wave of digital magic. Of course, in a nod to transparency that would make an overzealous bureaucrat blush, PayPal insists on revealing exchange rates and fees with all the pomp and circumstance such occasions deserve, even during crypto-laden escapades at checkout.


2022. Facebook Pay rebrands to Meta Pay



Facebook Pay has officially been rebranded as Meta Pay. The existing product features and general user experience that people are accustomed to with Facebook Pay will stay consistent across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger. The change is being introduced in the United States first and will then be launched worldwide gradually. Zuckerberg notes that while the service will stay the same, the rebranding marks Meta’s initial step toward developing a digital wallet for the metaverse. He envisions a digital wallet in the metaverse that will allow users to securely manage their identities, possessions and payment methods.


2020. PayPal to let buying and selling cryptocurrencies



In a move that might leave most intergalactic hitchhikers scratching their heads—or at least checking their wallets twice—PayPal has secured something delightfully named a "conditional BitLicense" from the New York State Department of Financial Services, which sounds both bureaucratic and faintly like a sci-fi plot device. Teaming up with Paxos, a cryptocurrency outfit whose name could easily belong to a planet in a Douglas Adams novel, PayPal is rolling out a shiny new service for U.S. users: the ability to buy, hold, and sell cryptocurrencies. And not just any old currencies, mind you, but Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin—because why dabble when you can dive into the deep end? More countries are promised soon, because of course, even digital currencies need to stretch their legs. Simply connect to your PayPal account, and voilà, you'll be trading in futuristic money faster than you can say "don’t panic."


2020. Facebook unveiled e-wallet Novi for Calibra e-currency



When Facebook unveiled Libra, its grandiose attempt to reinvent money, it did so with all the pomp and circumstance of a galactic civilization unveiling a slightly shinier towel rack. Two distinct entities emerged from this curious venture: the Libra Association, a not-for-profit intergalactic council tasked with overseeing All Things Libra™, and Calibra, a plucky Facebook subsidiary diligently crafting a wallet to shuttle Libra through the vast reaches of WhatsApp and Messenger. But lo, today Facebook declared that Calibra would henceforth be known as Novi, presumably to convince the cosmos that Libra isn’t, in fact, a Facebook-dominated empire. Facebook, they insist, is merely one humble member of the Libra Association, alongside other esteemed entities like Andreessen Horowitz, Coinbase, Iliad, Lyft, Shopify, Spotify, Uber, and several others who presumably came for the free snacks.


2020. Facebook-backed association revamps Libra following regulatory concerns



The Libra Association, the group formed by Facebook to manage all aspects of Libra, has revised its white paper to implement some modifications. The association is abandoning its initial strategy of creating a global stablecoin directly linked to a mix of fiat currencies and securities. Instead, the Libra Association now intends to launch several stablecoins — each one will be supported by a fiat currency, such as USD, EUR, GBP, or SGD. There will be a multi-currency Libra “coin,” but it won't be a cryptocurrency per se — it will be a digital composite of those individual-currency stablecoins. When you transfer one Libra, you will actually send a portion of USD-backed, EUR-backed, GBP-backed (etc.) stablecoins.


2018. PayPal integrates with Gmail and other Google services



Google earlier this year rebranded all of its payment services under Google Pay to reinforce its efforts in making transactions across its platform more seamless (and more widely adopted). Now comes another advancement: PayPal and Google are initiating a comprehensive integration, where users who link their PayPal accounts to their Google Play profiles will be able to pay bills and purchase items using PayPal, without logging in and without leaving Google services. The integration, which will launch later this year, will encompass apps such as Gmail, YouTube, Google Store and any services utilizing Google Pay — and it will include not only payments but also peer-to-peer transfers.


2018. PayPal acquired Square of Europe - iZettle



PayPal is making its largest investment yet in point-of-sale transactions, small businesses and markets outside of the U.S. as it aims to enhance its position against Square, Stripe and other payment players. The company has confirmed that it is acquiring iZettle — the Stockholm-based payment provider often called the “Square of Europe” — for $2.2 billion in a cash-only deal. Similar to Square, iZettle has made significant progress in developing a point-of-sale business through a card-reading dongle that connects with a smartphone or tablet, catering to smaller businesses that may have previously avoided card services due to the high costs of accepting card payments. From this foundation, it has expanded into additional financial services for those businesses, including inventory management and loans.