Open your wallet and take out a coin or banknote and the Queen’s portrait offers a symbol of permanence and security – but are the days of cash numbered?

A growing number of people now never use cash preferring to use cards, electronic transfers or their smartphones to make purchases. And, according to a new research from ThoughtWorks, three in five adults (59%) think Britain will be a cashless society by 2030.

The launch of Paysend Link app is another innovation from payments disrupter Paysend, which is set to support a new way to send and receive money.

The new app builds on the services Paysend already offers, and will allow users to pay anyone in the world with just their mobile number.

Ronald Millar, CEO of PaySend, said: “We are constantly looking for ways to simplify and improve customer experience and make it even easier for the sender to initiate a transaction. Now all they have to do is provide a recipient’s phone number and click send.

BLEND Network, a fast-growing peer-to-peer property lending platform, is bolstering its regional lending to small-and-medium-sized property developers with the appointment of two new lending professionals.

The new hires will help BLEND Network better serve its clients and foster new borrower relationships while also enhancing its due diligence capability for the benefit of its lenders. The announcement follows the appointment of senior property professional Paul Watson as Head of Origination in January.

“Facebook’s announcement that it is to further extend its payment services should not be a surprise. This is another example of Big Tech expanding into financial services, following on the heels of Apple’s credit card announcement in March and Amazon launching peer-to-peer payments in India just a couple of days ago.

Version 3.1.2 of the Open Banking Standard enables enhanced features and functionality, extending beyond basic compliance with PSD2 and RTS regulation.

The Open Banking Implementation Entity (OBIE) is pleased to announce the publication of the latest Open Banking Standard, version 3.1.2 – including updates to the Customer Experience Guidelines (CEGs) and the Operational Guidelines (OGs). Both Guidelines include a number of minor changes and clarifications which have been made in consultation with participants in the ecosystem, and also include updated versions of the checklists.

Cross River Bank (“Cross River”), a leading innovator and provider of banking services for financial technology companies, today announced that it has entered into a partnership agreement with RS2 Software, a global payments processing and technology provider. Together, Cross River and RS2 will provide merchants with a seamless, global payment experience for processing credit and debit card transactions, as well as digital banking for their workers and consumers.

Global payments provider Klarna has today announced that all its alternative payment options are available both in-store as well as online.

Klarna’s alternative payment options include:

Sysnet Global Solutions, the leading provider of cyber security and compliance solutions, has established acquirers now hold higher expectations for compliance than they did 12 months ago. 

If long term certainty was ever guaranteed that time is over. Today’s leading businesses face a disruption that cannot be ignored if they are to exceed expectations and navigate through the fog of uncertainty. Proactive and insightful, the most effective finance organisations of the future will be capable of driving the business forward and holding them accountable to business results all at a fraction of the cost of today’s finance organisations.

Lexmark, a global imaging solutions leader, announced that Thomas Valjak will join the company as Vice President Channel, EMEA, effective today. With almost 25 years of experience inbusiness management, channel and end-user sales, Valjak will help accelerate the company’s channel growth across the region of EMEA.