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Whatā€™s happening among the MEF membership? Hereā€™s your weekly round up of all the latest announcements from the membersā€¦

Firefox launches its most private browser for iOS

Browser giant Firefox is targeting privacy-conscious iPhone users with Firefox Focus.

It says the new browser is set by default to block many of the trackers that follow people around the Web. Users can instantly erase all sessions with a single tap.

And it adds that the browser is fast too, because there are no tabs, menus or pop-ups. Meanwhile any site that doesnā€™t load because it is dependent on tracking can be opened in ā€˜regularā€™ Firefox or Safari.

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Perform Group agrees deal with Franceā€™s Winamax

UK gambling specialist Perform Group has added a new client for its Watch&Bet live streaming service: France-based operator Winamax SAS.

The partnership will provide Winamax with access to over 18,000 live events per year, including La Liga Santander, the EFL Cup, FIBA Basketball and WTA and ATP Tennis.

Andrew Ashenden, EVP Betting at Perform, said: ā€œWeā€™re delighted that Winamax has chosen to take our live video streams via our Watch&Bet product. We are confident that the combination of Winamaxā€™s strong brand and our industry-leading consumer product will signal the start of a long and successful partnership.ā€

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Deutsche Telekom and Huawei demonstrate 5G first

The race is on to build the next generation of mobile networks, and Deutsche Telekom has just made a breakthrough with ā€˜autonomous network slicingā€™.

With Huawei, it completed a successful demo at its lab in Bonn, Germany. Autonomous network slicing lets operators provide a range of differentiated network services over a single 5G infrastructure.

European operators plan to roll out commercial 5G technology around 2020.

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Mastercard invests in mobile payment startup Paykey

Israelā€™s PayKey has raised $6 million in Series A funding, with Mastercard among the backers.

Paykeyā€™s offering comprises an app and keyboard. Users assign their card details to it and then, when they are having a conversation with someone inside any chat app (Facebook for example), they can click a $ button to send a payment.

While many OTT messaging apps and social media firms are independently pursuing payments, Paykeyā€™s difference is that it is ā€˜platform agnosticā€™.

Other investors in the round included e.ventures, Wharton Asset Management, CommerzVentures and Santander.

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Boku enables carrier billing for Mansion

Customers of UK gambling firm Mansion can now make deposits to their mobile casino accounts fromĀ the phone bill with a single click.

Boku is powering the functionality that lets players select ā€œPay By Mobileā€ as the payment option and click the payment button on both the Casino.com and MansionCasino.com brands.

Jon Prideaux, CEO of Boku commented, ā€œMansion is a superb partner for Boku, as both the company and their users value the quick, seamless and secure payment option that carrier billing provides for depositing funds.ā€

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PayMaya accounts now link to PayPal

Businesses in the Philippines can withdraw their PayMaya balances and move them to PayPal, following a deal between the two companies.

PayMaya (formerly Smart e-money) believes the arrangement with help its customers with overseas transactions. PayPal is active in more than 200 countries.

ā€œMany freelancers and online businesses in the Philippines rely on PayPal as a means to receive payment from overseas transactions. Traditionally, funds from a PayPal account are withdrawn through a bank account but now, it is made easier and more convenient with PayMaya,ā€ the company said in a statement.

PayMaya hopes to end the year with at least a million users and P200 billion worth of transactions processed, Paolo Azzola, MD of PayMaya Philippines told reporters at the PayPal launch.

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