THE NEWS WRAP: Uber bows down to regulators in Germany

Taxi-hailing service Uber has bowed down to regulators in Germany and will instead pay for the transport licences of its UberX drivers, according to Reuters.

 

The move follows a decision by a German court earlier this month to issue a nationwide ban on unlicensed UberX drivers.

 

Drivers operating in Germany without proper accreditation can face fines of more than $300,000 per violation of the law. The country is Europe’s largest economy.

Pebble Time wraps up record-breaking $US20 million Kickstarter campaign

Pebble Time, the smartwatch with up to seven days of battery life, has wrapped up its record-breaking crowdfunding campaign overnight – scooping up $US20,338,986 in funding from more than 78,000 backers.

 

The campaign is the most-funded Kickstarter project of all time.

 

Pebble Technology’s founders said in a joint statement on their Kickstarter page that the past month had been an “amazing” experience.

 

“We will be spending the coming months hard at work polishing every last detail of Pebble Time and Pebble Time Steel, finishing Pebble timeline, and ramping up the production process,” they said.

 

“Expect updates as we progress.”

Mobile payments platform raises $US5 million

Mobile payments startup MyCheck has raised $5 million in Series B funding in order to spearhead its growth into Europe and America.

 

The round was led by existing investors as well as the Spanish venture capital fund Santander Innoventures.

 

The chief executive of MyCheck, Shlomit Kugler, told TechCrunch the investment will help with marketing as well as hiring business development professionals in key growth markets.

 

“Merchants today are struggling to succeed and are looking for higher tickets, more traffic, cut expenses, and more effectively market themselves,” he said.

 

“Customers are looking for an ‘Uber-like experience’ – to use their smartphone to receive great offers, be able to pay and leave at will whilst leaving their wallet at home.”

Overnight

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 34.43 points, rising 0.19% to 17,712.66. The Aussie dollar is currently trading at around 77.4 US cents.

 

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