VeUP Acquires M3 Payments in Latest Fund Series

VeUP has overtaken the product suite of M3 Payments, the UK-based FinTech company as a part of a multi-million-dollar growth strategy. M3 Payments was launched in 2015 to allow international money transfers and social interaction.”

VeUP has overtaken the product suite of M3 Payments, the UK-based FinTech company as a part of a multi-million-dollar growth strategy. VeUP is a growing global tech consultancy that helps Independent Software Vendors in the AWS ecosystem grow faster, and make more impact in the marketplace.

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It was launched in 2015 to allow international money transfers and social interaction. The company’s payment system enables customers to send funds securely and safely across the globe.

It has a presence in 123 countries offering payments in six currencies i.e. GBP, CHF, PLN, EUR, USD, and ZAR. The multi-currency card of M3 Payments helps pay online, at any ATM, or for store payment.

The acquisition occurred in the latest series of deals backed by VeUP’s €100 million growth fund. It has been done to strengthen AWS technology companies. 

Mihai Ivascu, CEO, of M3 Payments, said, “We are delighted to pass the torch to VeUP, the company has the financial strength, global footprint, and expertise to take M3 Payments to the next phase of its development.”

VeUP offers bespoke services to ISVs or Independent Software Vendors working in the AWS ecosystem. The company gives tailored and effective consultancy under the supervision of AWS experts to ambitious companies looking to grow. Scott Young, special adviser, VeUP board said, “The FinTech market is constantly evolving and innovating. We are extremely impressed by this technology and product suite, providing seamless international money transfers at the touch of a button. This acquisition is the first of many in the FinTech space, which we believe presents a huge opportunity for our business.”

Indian Finance Ministry will not merge GST tax rates in 2023/24

Synopsis

“Nirmala Sitharaman, the Finance Minister of India, projected 12% growth in net GST collection in the 2023/24 budget presented last week. The federal government is looking forward to collecting 8.54 trillion Indian rupees ($103.20 billion) for 2022/23.”

Indian finance currently has five tax rates applicable in its GST system, bringing several state taxes under one roof. Tax rates range from 0% to 28%. In the next fiscal year, India is not going to remodel its Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, a senior official said on Monday. The move will be further delayed which has been in consideration for more than a year to simplify its tax rate structure and minimize the burden on consumers.

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In 2021, the finance ministry looked forward to remodeling the tax by combining two tax rates and lowering the levy on a number of items. Some have criticized the old regime of GST which was done five years earlier having too many tiers.

Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra said in an interview, “Right now, we are just looking to maintain stability (in tax rates), a stable tax regime. Minor changes will always be there… major taxation change like a merger of tax rates, we are not contemplating in 2023/24,”Malhotra further added the government would surely want to have fewer tax tiers but did not provide a timeline.

The government is also looking to make its taxation system simple for custom duty which is not included in the GST regime, by having fewer rates. 

Nirmala Sitharaman, the Finance Minister of India, projected a 12% growth in net GST collection in the 2023/24 budget presented last week. The federal government is looking forward to collecting 8.54 trillion Indian rupees ($103.20 billion) for 2022/23. 

The government is also looking forward to collecting 250 billion rupees using a windfall tax on petrol, diesel, and turbine fuel that was imposed in July 2022.

Going Beyond the Basics of Personal Financial Management

Contrary to popular belief, money management encompasses more than budgeting. People’s futures are shaped by how they act, and whether or not they have money. The amount of money a person makes can sometimes hasten their journey toward financial freedom, but ultimately, everything comes down to what is within their control. The hand frequently handles money. The children have a right to be provided for, regardless of the state of the nation’s economy, the employer, or any other factor.

 

People have more control over the likelihood of staying poor, becoming poor or becoming rich once they accept the fact that increasing money is highly controllable and that the only person to blame if it goes wrong is the person handling it. In the interim, remove educational attainment from the calculation. People must be equipped with this knowledge as they are motivated by tales of rags to riches to fully understand that becoming wealthy, in most cases, is not a matter of luck.

 

Why go beyond Personal Financial Management?

 

All media, including books, videos, and online blogs, have already discussed the path to financial freedom. There is a tonne of information available that can help people increase their income, including best-selling books and life coaches who work to change a person’s mindset from one of poverty to one of abundance by helping them create a mental blueprint that becomes ingrained in their minds and DNA.

 

Beyond managing their finances, a person’s capacity to address more complex issues, assist more people, resolve interpersonal conflicts, and even fend off threats to their mental health. People must first be taught the fundamentals to advance.

 

Personal financial management is about gaining full control of one’s financial situation, simply put, it’s about watching the spending, and saving money whenever an opportunity comes. Only two important things will be mentioned as basics:

 

  1. Income and Cash Flow Management

 

Knowing exactly how much money is coming into one’s pocket each hour, day, week, and month can help with this. The price of a cup of coffee from a café should be compared to the number of minutes or hours an individual works.

 

Who does that, exactly? Until one can manage business cash flow and budget for a family, anyone can do it with due diligence, patience, and the vision of a future that includes personal financial security. People who practice recording these details can use free mobile applications. The ability to record these on an excel file has also made it simpler.

 

  1. Ensuring availability of liquid assets or savings

 

People who are so intent on building wealth frequently make the mistake of having little to no liquid assets. People who are considered to be ready to buy a condo are typically confident that they have access to cash without having to liquidate the properties they already own to grow and secure their finances. The ability to convert any valuable asset into cash without having it lose value is referred to as the liquidity of assets. If a man lost all of his money in a reckless gambling spree and all he has left is a car, he should be able to sell it quickly for a fair price without having to significantly reduce the asking price, which is highly unlikely because a car is a very expensive item.

 

An emergency fund’s liquidity is guaranteed by shrewd investors. Additionally, a real estate asset is less liquid than money deposited in a bank’s time deposit. To achieve a lifestyle that includes condo living, a person needs the assistance of real estate agents who can help them make decisions about which properties are in line with their budget.

 

Despite being fundamental, these are difficult for novice investors and people managing their finances for the first time. Imagine not knowing these and focusing solely on investing in extremely volatile markets or even purchasing a large number of tangible properties without having enough cash saved up to cover financial losses or unforeseen expenses like accidents or medical bills.

 

Selling properties at extremely low prices to meet immediate financial needs puts pressure on the market. Not only will one lose the necessary funds, but also keep in mind that the selling price is frequently less than the market price and, worse yet, the buying price.

 

Saying that people have mastered the fundamentals and are prepared for more difficult tasks will lead to them pursuing more ambitious financial objectives and ensuring stronger financial capability.

 

  1. Helping others

 

A person is ready to assist once their finances are in order. Helping when one can, but not at the cost of sinking one’s boat, is not selfless.

 

Friends who lend money to one another instead of recommending them to apply for loans that will be turned down are wise with money. They are very useful because they have mastered the art of making and keeping money, but they also put themselves at risk of losing it. That is a unique situation. The point is that being an expert in personal finance enables one to assist those in need.

 

  1. Opening, growing a business, and ensuring job security for people

 

This is why bigger solutions can now be created with greater proficiency in money management. As an illustration, one investor decided to put money into a property that is being built by a real estate business that has only recently entered the market. Imagine that mismanaged finances led to a decision to retrench to preserve what was left.

 

The key takeaway is that bad personal financial management must be fixed before someone can imagine bigger wealth-creating plans like starting a business or bigger life goals and responsibilities like having children or hiring people who must support themselves as well.

 

Although this is brief, readers should still understand the point. The ability to manage your money well is a requirement for building wealth. If it weren’t, the wealthiest actors, basketball players, and other billionaires wouldn’t have all of a sudden gone bankrupt.

 

By practicing solutions and acting responsibly with all the money earned, personal financial management not only expands the wallet but also the mind. Put your hard-earned cash to use in an investment where opportunities are always present. Purchase Vista Residences.

 

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Elon Musk made his bid, and now he might actually have to lie in it

Twitter shareholders have approved Elon Musk’s Twitter dot com acquisition, so that’s nice. Musk has, at this point, sent several letters trying to terminate the deal, and who knows, maybe he’ll send more. His pretext for backing out of the deal — I am not going to try to pretend that he really believes this stuff — isn’t looking so good, partly because his whistleblower deus ex machina seems to be a bust. One way to implement the changes Zatko wanted was to run Dorsey over!

 

Elon Musk’s lies

 

The pretext Musk is leaning on is that Twitter is knowingly lying about its user numbers, overcounting bots, and so on. A whistleblower complaint filed by Peiter “Mudge” Zatko maybe bolsters his case slightly, but not much. Underlings expect that their bosses will help defend them in their work disputes. But executives don’t have that luxury. They are at the top of the food chain and are themselves responsible for resolving conflicts. There is nobody to go to in order to complain, not the board who only wants results, and not HR, because you are above HR. Not anybody — you have to resolve your own disputes.

 

Zatko’s complaint seems to be about looking for dispute resolution in the court of public opinion, because he was unable to resolve his dispute with [Twitter CEO Parag] Agrawal himself. In fact, the more I hear, the more I think current Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal had a point about Zatko’s “poor leadership,” which was one of the reasons Agrawal cited for Zatko’s firing. I’m not alone, either — Twitter shares closed up 2 percent after Zatko’s testimony on Tuesday, which doesn’t sound like much until you realize the rest of the stock market fell. Seems like investors didn’t think much of Zatko’s complaints, either.

 

Plus, as Techdirt’s Mike Masnick has noted, Zatko’s thoughts on Twitter’s measurement of monetizable users don’t square with Musk’s arguments about bots and fake accounts. There is one bright side for Musk here, though. (Well, besides the Zatko-related shareholder lawsuit.) He tweeted out a link to the Tesla merch store where one could order a “Cyberwhistle” for 1,000 Dogecoin. The “Cyberwhistle” is now out of stock, and presumably, Tesla is many Dogecoin richer.

For more updates on finance industry, Click here

Due to Inaccurate maps Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s broadband funding is delayed

It has been nine months since Congress passed President Biden’s $1 trillion infrastructure bill but the federal government has not allocated any of the $42.5 billion in funding.

 

President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

 

“Congress pass­ed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act), a once-in-a-generation investment in our nation’s infrastructure and competitiveness. For far too long, Washington policymakers have celebrated “infrastructure week” without ever agreeing to build infrastructure. The President promised to work across the aisle to deliver results and rebuild our crumbling infrastructure. After the President put forward his plan to do exactly that and then negotiated a deal with Members of Congress from both parties, this historic legislation is moving to his desk for signature.

 

This Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will rebuild America’s roads, bridges and rails, expand access to clean drinking water, ensure every American has access to high-speed internet, tackle the climate crisis, advance environmental justice, and invest in communities that have too often been left behind. The legislation will help ease inflationary pressures and strengthen supply chains by making long overdue improvements for our nation’s ports, airports, rail, and roads. It will drive the creation of good-paying union jobs and grow the economy sustainably and equitably so that everyone gets ahead for decades to come. Combined with the President’s Build Back Framework, it will add on average 1.5 million jobs per year for the next 10 years.”

 

Faster Internet is coming to America

 

According to Wall Street Journal, “The government’s $42.5 billion plan to expand internet service to underserved communities is stuck in a holding pattern nearly nine months after approval, largely because authorities still don’t know where gaps need to be filled.

 

The broadband plan, part of the $1 trillion infrastructure bill signed by President Biden last November, stipulates that money to improve service can’t be doled out until the Federal Communications Commission completes new maps showing where homes and businesses lack fast service.”

Celsius is Facing Investigations by Multiple Agencies after Freezing Withdrawals

Celsius, a crypto lending company freezed the withdrawals of customers. This has created a question towards the company. Multiple states are investigating the matter. A report by Reuters stated that state security boards in Alabama, Kentucky, New Jersey, Texas and Washington have launched probes into Celsius.

Enforcement director of Texas State Securities Board, Joseph Rotunda stated in front Reuters that, “I am very concerned that clients – including many retail investors – may need to immediately access their assets yet are unable to withdraw from their accounts. The inability to access their investment may result in significant financial consequences,”

 

The statements on Celsius by Investigation Agencies

 

The New Jersey and Washington state securities regulators are also looking in to the matter but they are yet to respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for the Kentucky Department of Financial Institutions stated that they have followed their policy  which does not allow them to comment on ongoing enforcement actions and investigations. Alabama Securities Commission Director Joseph Borg confirmed that U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has also been in communication with Celsius.

Celsius is blaming the extreme market conditions as the main reason behind their step. They said, “We are taking this action today to put Celsius in a better position to honor, over time, its withdrawal obligations,”

 

Global Scenario

 

The world has already seen raise of prime rates of Federal Reserve followed by Wallstreet banks. Added to that since the starting of june moe than 46,000 people reported losing over $1 billion in cryptocurrency scams since the start of 2021 according to a report by Federal Trade Commission (FTC). This unbalance in in global economy is a sign of more problems coming in in future. People shifting their trust to cryptocurrency will now have to think about it. There was a time when Bitcoin turned so many people from rags to riches. Now it is a time when it is hard to trust and invest money in any cryptocurrency.

Everything You Need to Know about Apple’s Pay Later services

In the WWDC 2022 Organized by Apple, the tech giant announced and talked about so many new software and hardware updates that they are going to offer. One of the very important and progressive steps for launching Apple’s Pay Later services. For that the company has created a subsidiary, called Apple Financing to handle Pay Later loans.

 

Apple’s Pay Later Services

 

Bloomberg, a privately held financial, software, data, and media company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, reported that Apple Financing will issue the Mastercard payment credentials to the customers so that they can use it to complete purchases. Unlike Apple Cards it will not handle lending and credit assessments. It will be built into Apple Wallet and will be eligible for use on any purchase made through Apple’s Pay Later services. Customers will be able to split the cost of purchase into four equal payments spread over a period of four months.

 

Apple’s Strategy

 

Apple’s old strategy of making components itself and being dependent on in-house versions despite being dependent on other companies’ products is being repeated. From components of computers to software, Apple always tries its best not to buy processes or other stuff from outside. This lessens the dependency on others. It means Apple in a real sense is a maker of gadgets and not an assembler. Apple previously came up with other services, like TV+ and Fitness+. And now after entertainment and fitness, Apple will enter financing too. The reason behind this is Apple’s continuous attempt to make its iPhone, iPad and Macbook users habituated to the Apple Environment.

 

Apple said that the actual mechanism of the Apple’s Pay Later services has not been decided yet. It will be decided by the treasury department of the company. The mechanism and the funding sources will shift over time. The best thing about this service is that Apple’s pay-later loans will not charge any interest and fees of any kind.

10 Fascinating Facts About Marc Benioff Illuminating His Success Story

What are some fascinating facts about Marc Benioff? Before we proceed to learn about this business giant and renowned leader, are you aware of who Marc Benioff is? If not, then do not worry as you are at the right place. 

A world-renowned leader, Marc Russel Benioff is an American internet entrepreneur and philanthropist. He is the co-founder, chairman and co-CEO of Salesforce, an enterprise cloud computing company. In fact, he acquired Time in September 2018. The story of Salesforce story is fascinating. 

It is the classic silicon valley story of a company being founded by a few tech pioneers out of a small apartment in San Francisco. Fast forward to 2022, Salesforce has over 70,000 employees across the globe. It also has more than 4 million members in its ecosystem, including customers, partners, ISV’s, and Salesforce professionals.

None of this would have been possible had Salesforce’s trailblazing leader Marc not taken the lead. In fact, while speaking of the founding of the company, Marc often speaks of the past. He claims that there were various aspects of his earlier years that shaped the idea of Salesforce as well as its growth. In this blog, we will discuss some interesting facts about Marc Benioff and the events which marked the inception of Salesforce. 

10 Facts About Marc Benioff

 

1. A Natural Entrepreneur

 

In an interview with the NY Times, Benioff talked about how he was born an Entrepreneur and used to go around to people’s homes to see if they needed antennas or CB radios repaired. After, he got a regular job cleaning in a jewelry store which he didn’t really enjoy. But it was across the street from Radio Shack, where he found a computer and wrote his first piece of software. 

 

2. Making the First Sale

 

The first piece of software he wrote on that computer from Radio Shack, was called “How to Juggle”. Benioff sold this for $75, a sign of things to come. 

 

3. The Liberty Software

 

At 15 years old, he founded the company “Liberty Software”, where he created and sold games for the Atari 8-bit. He developed games such as King Arthur’s heir, The Nightmare, and Escape from Vulcan’s Isle, which by 16, enabled him to earn royalties of $1,500 a month, paying his own way through college. 

 

4. An Apple Intern

 

While Benioff was putting himself through college, he had a conversation with legendary Apple employee Guy Kawasaki, who offered him an Intern role at Apple over the summer. Here, Benioff got his first taste of working for a tech company, as well as being influenced by Apple founder and CEO Steve Jobs who was always in the building. 

 

5. The Oracle Years

 

Benioff landed a job at Oracle coming out of college. As a star salesman, he quickly became one of CEO, Larry Ellison’s favourites, and won Rookie of the year at age 23. Three years later, he was promoted to Vice President, of which he was the youngest ever, making over $1M a year. 

 

6. The Sabbatical

 

At 31, with all the success Benioff had, he felt lost. He asked Ellison for some time off, took a 6-month sabbatical and travelled to India & Hawai. It was here that spurred a lifelong interest in yoga and Eastern religions. It was also this trip where Benioff came up with the idea for Salesforce, a cloud-based CRM that could be accessed as easily as Amazon.com. 

 

7. Telegraph Hill

 

Benioff founded Salesforce along with three others, in a small apartment 1 bedroom apartment atop Telegraph Hill in San Francisco. They used the closet as a server room. and were accompanied by posters of the Dalai Lama, Albert Einstein, and two dogs.

 

8. Political Moves

 

Fast forward to 2015, and the state of Indiana had just passed a bill that would make it legal for individuals to use religious grounds as a defence when they are sued by people who are from the LGBT community. At the time, Salesforce employed 2,000-3,000 in Indiana, and Benioff thought he should take a stand against this discriminative bill, for the sake of his employees and customers.

After exploring other CEO’s to do the same, receiving a lot of backlash from others thinking that CEO’s shouldn’t get in the way of the democratic process, Benioff threatened economic sanctions on Indiana if the law wasn’t reversed. This prompted the governor to react and change the bill. 

 

9. Acquiring the Time Magazine

 

In 2018, Benioff and his wife put their hard-earned cash to work and bought Time Magazine. He and his wife said they were “honored to be stewards of this iconic brand.”, “The power of Time has always been in its unique storytelling of the people & issues that affect us all & connect us all,” Benioff wrote. “A treasure trove of our history & culture.” 

10. A Fortune

 

From humble beginnings, a kid that liked to tinker with electronics and write computer programs, Benioff has built one of the world’s most admirable companies from the ground up. This has given him the title of self-made billionaire, with his network currently standing at around $8.7B.

How are Global Leaders Responding to Soaring Inflation?

Currently, the market is witnessing heavy inflation. The Russian-Ukrainian war has majorly contributed to the plunge of shares within the global market. Moreover, this drop in stock shares is further resulting in soaring inflation within the worldwide market. Amidst such soaring inflation, global leaders and investors are attempting to predict the future of the global market. One such instance is the influential world leader and the Tesla CEO Elon Musk has marked his words on the inflating scenario.

As soaring inflation continue at a pace not seen in decades, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said to own physical assets over cash. In a tweet around midnight recently, the Tesla founder said: “As a general principle, for those looking for advice from this thread, it is generally better to own physical things like a home or stock in companies you think make good products, than dollars when inflation is high.

 

Holding onto Personal Shares

 

Even so, Musk said he is holding onto cryptocurrencies. “I still own & won’t sell my Bitcoin, Ethereum or Doge,” he added. The comments come as the consumer price index for February rose 7.9% from a year ago, the highest level since January 1982.

Investors may turn to physical assets such as commodities during inflationary times, as inflation boosts the prices of those holdings. Musk’s comments on crypto briefly moved the price of bitcoin higher before the digital asset pared gains. Bitcoin was nearly flat at $38,940.47 by around 7:30 a.m. ET.

 

Current Price of Bitcoin

 

The price of bitcoin is down nearly 19% in 2022, according to CoinDesk data. MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor earlier in the Twitter thread touted crypto as an inflation play. “Weaker currencies will collapse, and the flight of capital from cash, debt, & value stocks to scarce property like #bitcoin will intensify,” Saylor said.

The two CEOs are known as prominent figures in the crypto space, both having added bitcoin to their respective company’s balance sheets. Musk’s comments in the past have regularly moved the price of digital coins.

 

Also Read: How Big Tech plays a key role in easing Russia-Ukraine’s chaotic tension?