Today In Payments: Analysts Say Wells Fargo Road To Recovery Will Be Tough; N26 Notches $100M Amid Pandemic Uncertainty

In today’s top news, analysts lowered Wells Fargo’s rating, and N26 raised $100 million in funding. Plus, U.S. banks have extended over $500 billion in loans to small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

Analysts Say Wells Fargo Road To Recovery Will Be Tough

Analysts at UBS Securities lowered Wells Fargo’s rating and earnings forecast, saying the bank will have a tougher time bouncing back from the pandemic — more so than other financial institutions. The analysts stated that the bank doesn’t have enough funds to protect it from pandemic-related losses.

N26 Notches $100M Amid Pandemic Uncertainty

German challenger bank N26 closed a funding deal for an additional $100 million as it prepares for financial uncertainty due to the pandemic. N26’s co-founder and CEO Valentin Stalf said the FinTech has enough cash but went for additional funding as more people “bank from home.”

Banks Extend $500B In PPP Loans To Help Struggling SMBs

Banks in the U.S. have extended over $500 billion in loans to SMBs affected by the pandemic. The Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Treasury Department said there is roughly $145 billion left in the fund.

Robinhood Nets $280 Million On A $8.3B Valuation

Robinhood Markets, coming off a new $280 million funding round backed by Sequoia Capital, has seen its value and services expand during the pandemic, according to a Reuters report. The FinTech startup, which works to help millennials get into equities, crypto trading and other options, has benefited from the quarantine’s effects as people stay at home and have time to explore new finance options.

Bankers On Fixing B2B Payments API Flaws

Glitches such as those arising from faulty application programming interfaces (APIs) can lead up to 88 percent of app users to abandon them, making it imperative for banks to constantly monitor their APIs’ performance. In this month’s B2B API Tracker, PYMNTS spoke with Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB executives Robert Pehrson and Paula da Silva about how harnessing internal data and third-party data from ratings institutes and government agencies can maintain API performance and offer a seamless banking experience.

Digital Declutters The Medicine Cabinet

Digital is changing the way we shop for everything — even medicines as brick-and-mortar aisles suddenly feel crowded and unsafe. Achal Patel, co-founder and CEO of online direct-to-consumer (D2C) pharmacy Cabinet, tells Karen Webster how that is now also disrupting the way consumers shop for over-the-counter medications and decluttering the medicine cabinet in the process.

Hertz Feels The Hurt From Ride-Hailing And Online Platforms

Car rental giant Hertz Global Holdings Inc. has gotten a bit of breathing room — until May 22 — from lenders to find ways to contend with challenges that have dented top lines. Hertz was reportedly quite close to filing for bankruptcy, as early as Tuesday (May 5) if it was not able to work out a deal with its creditors, in part to extend a grace period on a missed debt payment.