THE NEWS WRAP: Amazon boosts payments options in fight against Square and PayPal

Amazon has unveiled its mobile payments product – Amazon Local Register, a credit card reader and app combination that will enable small businesses to take payments on a smartphone or tablet.

 

The e-commerce giant is undercutting both Square and PayPal offering a flat charge of 1.75% payment until 2016.

 

Square and PayPal ask for 2.75% and 2.7% respectively.

 

It’s priced at $10 and available for Android, iOS and the company’s own Fire devices.

 

Famo.us raises $25 million

 

Programming startup Famo.us, which allows users to make mobile apps using JavaScript, has raised $25 million in additional funding and added high profile investor Jerry Murdock to its board, Re/code reports.

 

The round follows two others – one for $1.1 million and another for $4 million.

 

The San Francisco-based company is aimed at using JavaScript to create a product that’s easy to use by a range of developers and the non-tech savvy.

 

GetTaxi raises $150 million

 

Taxi hailing company GetTaxi has raised $150 million that will allow the company to launch business services in New York and expand its services in London.

 

Most of the 24 cities where GetTaxi operates are in Israel.

 

Overnight

 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 91.26 to 16,651.80. The Australian dollar is currently trading at US93 cents.

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