Today In Payments: German Leaders To Vote On eScooter Ban; Softbank Takes Hit In Quarterly Earnings

In today’s top news, Germany’s leaders will vote on the Road Traffic Act on Friday, which will determine the regulation of eScooters in the country, and Softbank’s quarterly profit dropped 99 percent. Also, the FTC expanded its antitrust probe into Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Alphabet, and Microsoft.

eScooters Prepare As Germany Leaders Vote On Ban

Germany’s leaders will vote to amend the country’s Road Traffic Act on Friday, putting the fate of electric scooters in the hands of individual municipalities, who can then decide whether to restrict the micro-vehicles to certain areas or ban them altogether.

SoftBank Takes $2B Hit In Quarterly Earnings

SoftBank’s quarterly profit dropped 99 percent to 2.59 billion yen ($23.5 million) following steep Vision Fund losses. The Vision Fund lost 225.1 billion yen ($2.84 billion) for the three months ending in December. The results are anticipated to escalate anxieties that founder Masayoshi Son has lost his touch when it comes to finding investors to back a second Vision Fund.

FTC Big Tech Probe To Examine Acquisitions

The Federal Trade Commission has expanded its antitrust investigation into the five biggest tech companies in the U.S.: Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Alphabet and Microsoft. The FTC recently asked the companies to turn over information regarding takeovers of smaller companies between the years of 2010 and 2019.

Uber Money Expands To India

Uber has brought an Uber Money team to Hyderabad, India, which will be made up of over 100 technology professionals tasked with global financial products as well as technology innovations.

JPMorgan: Real-Time Treasury A Key Driver Of Corporate’s Loyalty

Corporate treasurers’ banking needs are more complex than ever, and they’re willing to switch providers to access the tech they need, according to JPMorgan’s EMEA dead of Wholesale Payments, Shahrokh Moinian, who sat down with Karen Webster to discuss how to drive real-time treasury.

Ohio University On Paper Checks And The Higher Ed Financial Aid Catch 22

Despite students’ preference for digital disbursement, universities are federally mandated to offer access to aid via paper checks, which is slowing down widespread adoption of faster disbursement methods. In the latest Disbursements Tracker, Ohio University Bursar Sherry Rossiter discusses student need for faster payment options and why it’s time to oust paper checks from student aid.

Western Union On Doubling Down On Digital In 2020

Western Union’s fourth quarter results narrowly missed on both earnings and revenue. Shortly after the news went live on Tuesday, WU Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Raj Agrawal spoke with Karen Webster about the firm’s results, plans for bigger white label expansion and designs on greater digital growth.