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YouTube Premium Is Getting A Price Hike Around The Globe
European, Asian, and Middle Eastern users are already reporting that they’ve been told the service is about to become more expensive.
YouTube is notifying Premium subscribers outside of the United States that they’ll soon have to pay more for the service, according to status updates from users on social media over the weekend.
So far, the price hikes are being reported in multiple regions, including parts of Europe, the Middle East, and South America, according to the website Android Authority.
The price increases will have an effect on both individual and family plans. In certain EU countries, users have complained that family plans will soon rise from €17.99 to €25.99 (or €11.99 to €13.99 for YouTube Premium individuals) from November 7th. Similar increases are being reported in places like Singapore, Colombia, and Saudi Arabia.
Also Read: Best Video Streaming Services In The Middle East
The price increases will be familiar to US users, who have already experienced similar rises. YouTube’s individual Premium plans went from $11.99 to $13.99 in the US several months after the video platform raised its family plan subscription from $17.99 to $22.99. Other streaming services have also bumped up their prices in the last few months, including Disney Plus, Max, and Paramount Plus.
News
NEOPAY Wants To Follow Merchants Across Channels And Borders
A controlling 65% stake in noon payments would give NEOPAY access to marketplace sellers, online merchants and the payment flows they generate.
It’s been a long time since checkouts were single defined places. A merchant might take payments at a physical register, on its own website and through an online marketplace, sometimes in more than one country. NEOPAY wants to follow those transactions wherever they happen.
The UAE payments company has entered into an agreement to acquire a 65% controlling stake in noon payments. NEOPAY already runs the acquiring infrastructure that lets merchants accept card payments, along with omnichannel acceptance and a merchant services platform. This new deal would add noon payments’ embedded payments platform, e-commerce gateway and merchant network across the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. That would considerably expand both NEOPAY’s digital commerce capabilities and its regional reach.
For merchants, the attraction is a single provider for online and in-store payments, plus faster settlements, data and analytics, and value-added financial services.
“Payments should be simple, reliable, and built for the markets they serve,” said Faraz Khalid, CEO of noon. His counterpart at NEOPAY, Vibhor Mundhada, added: “We have built a strong payments business in the UAE, and our ambition is now to take that capability across the region”. The acquisition, Mundhada added, would “expand our footprint into Saudi Arabia and Egypt” while reinforcing NEOPAY’s position at home.
Also Read: In Kuwait, Your Surgeon Might Be Operating From Another Country
NEOPAY is also keen to point out potential payment volume increases. The company says noon payments’ integrations with marketplace sellers and online merchants create high transaction density in some of the region’s fastest-growing digital commerce segments. It also believes control of the business would give it access to those merchant relationships and payment flows, and speed up the rollout of alternative payment methods and installment options.
The combined roadmap targets faster merchant onboarding, better payment performance, tighter fraud controls and embedded financial services. The deal could also strengthen cross-border payments and settlement along key regional commerce corridors.
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