Are you ready for the weekend? We sure are. But here at the PYMNTS Weekender, we want to make sure you didn’t miss any important news this week. Flywire made a big hire, and Congress seems to be going after algorithms. Not only that, but fresh PYMNTS research sheds light on fraud and facial recognition. That and much more in the latest PYMNTS Weekender.
Top News
Goldman Extends $10B In Apple Card Credit In First Month
According to regulatory filings made public this week, Apple Card customers had $736 million in loan balances at the end of September, though it’s not clear how that compares with other credit cards, as Bloomberg said banks do not break out performance by individual cards.
Flywire Taps Former Apple Pay Exec As President, COO
A relentless focus on customer experience and simplifying complexity are the defining characteristics of the most valuable companies in the world today. It’s a concept Rob Orgel, now the new president and chief operating officer at Flywire, told Karen Webster was foundational to his decade-long career at Apple.
Visa On Challenging B2B Payments Status Quo
To change the status quo — to upend the way it’s always been done — the mantra goes, “think outside the box.” Or in payments, think beyond the rails.
Congress Wants Digital Platforms To Release Their Algorithms – Why?
U.S. lawmakers proposed new legislation last week that would require internet platforms to more or less lay bare the intellectual property that drives their business model — their algorithms.
Citi: Turning Digital Payments Acceptance Into A Corporate Cash Management Play
As merchants go global, the pressure grows for payment capabilities to localize. That is to say, as organizations expand on an international scale and reach new customers, those businesses must allow consumers to pay the way they want for the optimal end-user experience.
Trackers and Reports
Trending: Malibu Poke Gets Personal With Facial Recognition To Order And Pay
A recent study found online food delivery orders increased nearly 15 percent since last year with more restaurants looking to enhance the digital ordering experience. These findings indicate that restaurants face increased pressure to deliver a seamless digital ordering experience that encourages customers to place return orders — whether patrons choose to eat in-restaurant or get delivery at home.
How Handy Uses Data To Find Fraudsters Before They Strike
Fraudsters are constantly reinventing their approach to schemes, putting businesses and eCommerce merchants in a precarious position of responding to constantly-evolving fraud threats. In other words, it is no longer enough to respond to a fraud attack after it occurs. Businesses must be able to anticipate and react to fraud in real time.
The Vitamin Shoppe On Offering Subscriptions At The POS
The subscription commerce market has grown by more than 100 percent each year for the past five years. While many businesses are wholly built on subscriptions, some are offshoots of existing brick-and-mortar retail chains or traditional eCommerce enterprises. Bloomingdale’s, Google and Nike are just some of the established companies branching out into the subscription space, along with retail businesses like nutritional supplement vendor The Vitamin Shoppe, boasting two subscription plans.
Cool, Fun and Otherwise Interesting
Why Amazon Decided To Bring Alexa Into The Bill Pay Flow
Amazon Pay Vice President Patrick Gauthier told Karen Webster in a recent interview that billing is one of those areas in which, once the company put a little research in, Amazon quickly found a problem begging for an Alexa-powered solution.
Uber Eyes 2021 Profits, Uber Eats Notches 64 Pct. Growth
Growth, yes, but perhaps not enough, at first blush, at least for some observers. Profits, yes — on the horizon, according to management.
Lyft Wants To Rewards Consumers Who Sell Their Cars
Go big or go home — that seems to be at least part of the thinking behind the latest effort to promote more ridesharing and more use of subscription commerce.
Can Robots Help Solve the Fresh Food Problem?
Fresh food is one of those products that, depending on the context, can almost feel like a minor luxury. Sure, consumers who can get to good grocery stores or farmers’ markets (not all shoppers can) or afford to subscribe to meal-kit delivery services, are assured of a steady supply of nutritious eats. But even so, many consumers work long shifts at places where vending machines and cafeterias offer, at best, mildly nutritious fare.
We’re always on the lookout for opportunities to partner with innovators and disruptors.
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