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IndustryUpdate

IOV Labs suggests defi can combat hyperinflation reliance on physical cash. Senator David Paul of the RMI
expressed excitement about the partnership's potential
IOV Labs released a report titled Taming Inflation: How positive impact on the nation.
DeFi is Reshaping Finance in Hyperinflationary Countries,
which explores how decentralized finance (defi) solu- Blackhawk, Extole join forces for referrals, rewards
tions can alleviate inflationary pressures in regions fac-
ing hyperinflation. For example, the report reveals that Blackhawk Network partnered with Extole to provide its
over one-third of survey respondents in Latin America clients with refer-a-friend solutions to enhance customer
use stablecoins for daily purchases, significantly higher acquisition. This partnership allows Blackhawk to offer
than the global average. It predicts that blockchain automated, near-real-time digital rewards and incen-
technologies will save financial institutions $10 bil- tives through Extole's platform, catering to customers'
lion in reduced cross-border transaction costs by 2030. preferences for on-the-go payment and reward options,
However, Latin America lacks the regulatory sandboxes the partners stated. Extole-powered marketing pro-
required to test innovative defi products, researchers grams, including refer-a-friend initiatives, aim to reduce
noted. customer acquisition costs while nurturing relationships
with existing customers, driving ongoing engagement
Same Day ACH boosts ACH Network's results and encouraging loyal customers to support new cus-
tomer acquisition efforts.
The ACH Network saw robust results in the third quar-
ter of 2023, driven by the ongoing adoption of Same Bluefin, CORE to deliver PCI-validated P2PE
Day ACH and increased business-to-business payments.
There were 212 million Same Day ACH payments worth Bluefin partnered with CORE, a provider of enter-
$608 billion in the third quarter, marking a 20 percent prise revenue and payment management solutions, to
increase in volume and a 27.1 percent increase in value enhance payment security for CORE's customer base.
compared to the third quarter of 2022. In total, the ACH Bluefin will offer PCI-validated point-to-point encryp-
Network handled 597.6 million Same Day ACH pay- tion (P2PE) devices as CORE's solution partner, reduc-
ments worth $1.78 trillion in 2023, with a 16 percent ing PCI DSS compliance burden by over 70 percent and
increase in volume and a 42.4 percent increase in value PCI control scope reduction at the POS environment by
compared to the first three quarters of the previous year. more than 90 percent, Bluefin stated, adding that this
collaboration aims to provide a superior, secure, and
Shred-it: SMBs risk losing customers efficient omnichannel payment experience for clients
and their customers, ensuring end-to-end security across
Shred-it released its 13th annual Data Protection Report all channels.
titled Vulnerable Small Businesses Risk Losing More than
Just Money, to offer insights into information secu- Hokodo, Balance to power
rity concerns among small-business leaders (SBLs). The B2B cross-border payments
report revealed that one in four SBLs experienced a data
breach, with 50 percent attributing it to employee errors. Hokodo and Balance partnered to offer a unified pay-
Concerns about future data breaches were expressed ment terms solution for global B2B companies in Europe
by 73 percent of SBLs and 94 percent of consumers and North America. This collaboration aims to meet
surveyed. However, only 15 percent of SBLs require the growing demand for flexible payment terms and
employees to complete data protection and compliance quick access to credit for buyers and sellers. It enables
training, highlighting the need for better education and swift and adaptable payment terms, leveraging technol-
proactive measures in data protection. ogy for buyer profile assessments, and provides global
accessibility via an API-first approach, the partners
PARTNERSHIPS stated. FoodoMarket, a France-based food marketplace,
is among the first to benefit from this partnership, allow-
ing them to expand their operations internationally
Bitt, Marshall Islands sign while offering payment terms seamlessly, they added.
MOU for digital payments
Token.io expands to Scandinavia with Paysafe
The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) and Bitt
entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to In collaboration with Paysafe, Token.io, an account-to-
launch a pilot initiative for implementing a national digi- account (A2A) payment infrastructure provider, expand-
tal payments system (NDPS) using the US dollar. This ed its open banking connectivity network to Sweden,
collaboration aims to leverage technology to enhance Norway, Denmark and Finland. This expansion includes
financial inclusion, transparency and operational effi- account information services and payment initiation
ciency in the Marshall Islands. The NDPS will explore services offerings. Payment service providers, such as
blockchain technology and digital asset management to Paysafe, are now able to provide A2A payment capabili-
provide secure and transparent transactions, reducing ties to customers in these countries, enabling secure pay-

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