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Catch up on six of the stories our payments compliance analysts have covered lately, and stay up-to-date on the latest news.

Google Starts 2024 By Laying Off Over 1,000 Staff, Including Executives

Google has begun cutting more than 1,000 staff members across its Ads, Search, Assistant, Maps, Android and Core developer teams.

Zach Vorhies, a former senior engineer at the company and now a Google whistleblower, broke the news on X within hours of Google employees being informed.

Debarghya Das, former software engineer and technical lead for Google Search, also shared testimony from inside the company confirming the layoffs.

Although the cuts were initially reported to be in the hundreds, Das’ source said the final total will exceed 1,000.

“They’ve fragmented the layoffs on purpose to make them seem more localised, but it’s affecting the whole company,” he said.

More than 1,000 layoffs have since been confirmed by WARNTracker.com, a site that tracks filings of Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notifications (WARN) to state regulators.

The news comes after Google already announced plans to cut 12,000 staff in January 2023, comprising about 6 percent of its total workforce at the time.

“I am confident about the huge opportunity in front of us thanks to the strength of our mission, the value of our products and services, and our early investments in AI,” said Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai.

“To fully capture it, we’ll need to make tough choices.”

Global Payments And Commerzbank Announce Joint Venture 

Global Payments, a leading payment technology company, and Germany's Commerzbank have unveiled a joint venture to offer digital payment solutions to small and medium-sized business customers across Germany.

The new entity, Commerz Globalpay GmbH, is expected to launch in the first half of 2024. It will provide a comprehensive suite of omnichannel payment and software solutions at scale, providing a single outlet for merchants to run and grow their businesses more efficiently.

Global Payments will hold a 51 percent stake in the company, which will be based in Frankfurt am Main, while Commerzbank will hold 49 percent.

The completion of the transaction is subject to the approval of the responsible supervisory and antitrust authorities.

European Commission Consults On Generative AI And Virtual Worlds

The European Commission has launched two calls for contributions on competition in virtual worlds and generative AI.

Stakeholders are encouraged to share their insights on how competition law can help ensure that these markets remain competitive. Following a review, the commission has said it may organise a workshop on the topic later this year.

"Virtual worlds and generative AI are rapidly developing," said Margrethe Vestager, the commission's competition chief.

"It is fundamental that these new markets stay competitive and that nothing stands in the way of businesses growing and providing the best and most innovative products to consumers."

The commission has also confirmed that it is investigating some of the agreements that have been concluded between large digital market players and generative AI developers and providers.

Further, the commission is checking whether Microsoft's investment in OpenAI might be reviewable under the EU Merger Regulation.

Indian Fintech Mobikwik Seeks To Raise $84m In New IPO

Indian fintech Mobikwik has submitted an application for an initial public offering (IPO) from which it seeks to raise $84.2m in equity capital.

The application, filed with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), is the second that Mobikwik has submitted after an abortive attempt to go public in 2021.

Mobikwik is a financial service platform that offers mobile payments, credit, investment and insurance products.

Since starting out as a digital wallet in 2008, it has amassed more than 146m registered users and 3.8m merchant partners.

In 2020, it also became the first non-bank Indian financial company to join the American Express network and issue Amex cards in India.

KakaoPay Sees 14-Fold Surge In Transaction Value By Foreign Users

KakaoPay, the financial arm of South Korean super app Kakao Talk, has reported that the value of transactions made by foreign users increased 14-fold during 2023.

The firm also noted that the number of transactions made by foreigners and the number of foreign customers on the platform increased eightfold, according to Korea Times.

The surge is attributed to the return of foreign tourists to South Korea following the COVID-19 pandemic, and to the many partnerships that KakaoPay has launched with foreign mobile wallet providers.

These include Alipay from China, AlipayHK from Hong Kong, GCash from the Philippines, Touch 'n Go and Public Bank Berhad from Malaysia, TrueMoney from Thailand, Tinaba from Italy, EZ-Link, OCBC Bank and ChangiPay from Singapore, MPay from Macau and HiPay from Mongolia.

In 2024, KakaoPay aims to process 60 percent of the transactions made by the 1.3m foreign tourists that will visit South Korea.

New EU Cybersecurity Rules Enter Into Force

The EU's new Cybersecurity Regulation, which introduces new requirements for cybersecurity among EU institutions, bodies, offices and agencies, has entered into force. 

The regulation lays down measures for the establishment of an internal cybersecurity risk management, governance and control framework for each EU entity, which includes the European Banking Authority and the European Central Bank. 

It also aligns EU-level institutions with the standards imposed on member states, and sets up a new Interinstitutional Cybersecurity Board (IICB) to monitor and support its implementation by EU entities.

Johannes Hahn, commissioner for budget and administration, said that as cyber threats become more pervasive and sophisticated, achieving a high common level of cybersecurity is ”paramount” for ensuring open, efficient and resilient EU public administration.

"The rapid adoption of the Regulation proves the commitment of the EU towards these objectives,” he said.

“Now I call upon the co-legislators to swiftly engage in negotiations for the parallel Information Security Regulation.”

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