Apple has reached deals to lower its card transaction fees with some of the largest financial institutions in the US as part of its plan to launch its mobile payments platform, sources have told Bank Innovation.
Those financial institutions include American Express, JP Morgan, Chase, Citigroup, Capital One and Bank of America.
Apple has convinced those institutions to consider its mobile payment transactions as “card present” transactions, which carry a lower discount rate than “card not present” transactions, because of fraud risk.
In addition Apple has negotiated the “card present” rate down by 15 to 25 basis points. It appears that Apple will get a 10% discount on the processing rate it will pay, which means it would save $27 million in iTunes revenue alone, before taking into account the increased revenue from the new payments platform.
Hootsuite raises $35 million
Canadian startup Hootsuite Media has raised $35 million from a group led by Fidelity Investments, sources have told the Wall Street Journal.
The company offers a platform that helps companies engage with users on social media, and is expected to eventually go public.
The round values the company at close to $800 million.
Oculus to be priced between $200 and $400
Oculus Rift co-founders Palmer Luckey and Nate Mitchell have told Eurogamer that they want the consumer version of the Oculus Rift to be available in the $200 to $400 price range.
The consumer version is not expected to be released until 2015, although Luckey wouldn’t confirm that.
“We don’t have anything to announce at this time,” he says.
“Sorry. That’s the toughest question – it’s the one that pains me the most”
Overnight
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 8.70 to 17,069.58. The Australian dollar is currently trading at US93 cents.
Kye began his career at a Fairfax daily on the North-West Coast of Tasmania. He has since taken his belongings, and keen interest in technology, to Melbourne. He has a bachelor of Arts majoring in Political Science from the University of Tasmania and a Graduate Diploma in Journalism from RMIT University.
