Here is a list of product releases and updates for late December from companies that offer services to online merchants. There are updates on shipping, digital currencies, peer-to-peer payments, growth financing, chatbots, cybersecurity, and supply chain innovation.
Got an ecommerce product release? Email releases@practicalecommerce.com.
Ecommerce Product Releases
Volusion debuts SMB financing with Volusion Capital. Volusion, an ecommerce platform for small and medium-sized businesses, has introduced Volusion Capital, a financing option for small businesses that lack the capital to grow. Powered by New York fintech company Payability, Volusion Capital enables ecommerce merchants to leverage their online sales data and performance metrics to be eligible for up to $250,000 in funding. Merchants typically pay back advances within 8 to 24 weeks. Merchants are eligible to refinance once 50 percent of the advance has been repaid.
Volusion Capital
Ware2Go joins Point A to drive supply chain innovation. Ware2Go, an on-demand warehousing network to help merchants streamline their fulfillment processes, has joined Point A’s supply chain innovation network. Point A is a collaborative supply chain service that was formed in 2018 to bring together leading companies, startups, and academic institutions in an innovation hub. Through this partnership, Ware2Go can leverage the expertise of supply chain professionals worldwide.
Mastercard acquires security assessment startup RiskRecon. Mastercard has announced an agreement to acquire RiskRecon, a provider of artificial intelligence and data analytics services to help companies protect their cyber systems and infrastructure. With RiskRecon’s scanning and evaluation technologies, organizations can proactively manage cyber risks to safeguard critical intellectual property and consumer and payment data. In addition to supporting Mastercard products, RiskRecon will continue to provide cybersecurity services across a broad set of industries, including healthcare and manufacturing.
Ship.com emerges from stealth mode. Ship.com, an early-stage technology startup aiming to transform the way people track and ship packages, emerged from stealth mode as the first app for tracking, shipping, and sharing packages. Ship.com socializes peer-to-peer shipments — similar to Venmo streamlining and socializing peer-to-peer payments. Ship.com centralizes all retailer tracking and delivery notifications in one app and offers package shipping from the phone with no address required. The startup provides users with an app to centralize tracking and delivery notifications from all retailers, including Amazon and Walmart, and to share delivery info from USPS, UPS, or FedEx with friends and family.
Ship.com
F5 acquires Shape Security for $1 billion. F5 Networks and Shape Security has announced an agreement for F5 to acquire the privately held Shape for a total enterprise value of approximately $1 billion in cash. Shape protects banks, airlines, retailers, and government agencies with sophisticated bot, fraud, and abuse defense. Shape defends against credential stuffing attacks, where cybercriminals use stolen passwords from third-party data breaches to take over other online accounts.
Subscription-based social network MeWe launches premium features for businesses. MeWe, a subscription-based social network that emphasizes privacy (and claims to be the anti-Facebook), is launching a premium tier of its service to compete with enterprise networking and communication tools such as Slack. The company operates under a freemium model. Its newsfeed, custom camera, ephemeral content, 8 gigabytes of storage, life voice, and video and custom stickers are all free. Businesses can pay for additional features for $1.99 per month.
ChatBook raises $1 million in funding. Tokyo based startup ChatBook has raised $1 million in funding. The startup has partnered with Facebook, Salesforce, and Marketo, and has integrated its chatbots with B2B enterprises, processing more than 1 million data points of customer information. The new investment round will enable ChatBook to build on its position in social media automation and to strengthen product innovation and sales growth.
ChatBook
PayPal signs agreement with MercadoLibre. Earlier in 2019, PayPal made a strategic investment in MercadoLibre, one of the largest online commerce and payment systems in Latin America. The two companies have now signed a wide-ranging agreement. PayPal will be made available as a payment option in the Mercado Pago online checkout for consumers in Brazil and Mexico. PayPal will also be accepted in the MercadoLibre marketplace in Brazil and Mexico for cross-border purchases. PalPal, in turn, will offer Mercado Pago as a payment method for PayPal merchants around the world. Additionally, PayPal will expand Xoom’s presence by allowing Mercado Pago users in Mexico and Brazil to receive remittances into their Mercado Pago wallet.
Worldwide Asset eXchange and CurrencyWorks partner for selling digital goods. Worldwide Asset eXchange (WAX) has entered into an agreement with CurrencyWorks, which helps brands provide digital currencies and wallets. CurrencyWorks and WAX will provide a turnkey offering for brands to develop, sell, and facilitate secondary trading of digital collectible assets on the WAX blockchain protocol system. CurrencyWorks will act as a vendor partner to launch and develop digital currencies. The partnership enables brands of all sizes to cultivate new communities of digital traders.
Banking platform Curve launches ‘Curve Send’ for peer-to-peer payments in 25 currencies. Curve, a banking platform that consolidates multiple cards and accounts into a single smart card and app, has launched Curve Send, enabling consumers to send and receive money to any account free of charge and without currency conversion fees. Once the money has been sent, the recipients, if Curve customers, select the bank card to receive the money. Recipients that are not Curve customers enter their bank card details or take a photo of their card to share with the sender via a secure link. Once complete, Curve will send the money directly to that bank account, for free.
Curve
