In today’s top payments news, Alibaba and Ant Financial created an app for the Chinese government to use to track people and their health status, and some AmEx salespeople reportedly misrepresented card rewards and feeds to boost card applications. Also, Karen Webster addresses the question everyone’s asking in the wake of the coronavirus: how global and connected should the world be?
China Uses Alipay To Deploy Color-Coded Health Rating App
Alibaba and Ant Financial collaborated with the government of Hangzhou to deploy a color-coded health rating system to track people in the wake of the fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak. Based on their medical conditions and travel history, the software determines if a person should be quarantined or allowed in public.
AmEx Reportedly Used High-Pressure Tactics To Boost SMB Sales
Salespeople from American Express reportedly misrepresented card rewards and fees and “strong-armed” small and medium-sized business (SMB) owners to boost card applications, current and former employees said. Some salespeople also reportedly pulled people’s credit reports without consent or issued cards that weren’t requested.
How The Digital World Will Soften The Blow Of The Coronavirus
Today, the world is facing a global pandemic and an economic unraveling stemming from a virus that’s said to be twice as contagious as the flu and for which there is no cure or vaccine. Some now question how global and connected the world should be. Karen Webster said that’s the wrong perspective — mostly because it’s the connected, digital economy that’s helping enterprises, their workers and the people they serve continue to interact and do business, even as the coronavirus spreads.
Visa’s Former Innovation Chief, Jim McCarthy, To Begin Position As President At i2c
It’s official. Today, Visa’s former global innovation chief, Jim McCarthy, will assume the role of president of i2c. In today’s Monday Conversation, McCarthy talks to Karen Webster about what prompted the move and his vision to close “the great innovation gap” plaguing the issuing part of the payments ecosystem.
Walmart Taps Verizon 5G To Power In-Store Health Centers
Walmart and Verizon are in talks to create a 5G wireless network at a pair of Walmart stores later this year in order to test new digital health practices for employees and shoppers. If the deal is signed, it would be the beginning of an effort to move Walmart beyond the scope of its grocery and clothing focus into a medical treatment and services hub.
Teamsters Join Push For FTC Antitrust Probe Of Amazon
Some of the largest labor unions have joined together to petition the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate Amazon for anti-competitive practices. Their petition asks the FTC to study Amazon’s impact on the economy and if the eCommerce giant has an unfair advantage in the marketplace. The unions represent over 5 million American workers.
Retail KPIs Get Worked Over For Customer Experience
Retailers aren’t focused on all the right performance metrics, according to a new study from Duke University. Instead of just the traditional accounting metrics, such as comparative sales, consumer spend and ticket size, businesses need to examine “forward looking indicators,” including the total amount of revenue a customer will afford the company over time — customer lifetime value.
We’re always on the lookout for opportunities to partner with innovators and disruptors.
Learn More