In today’s top news, officials are investigating wells Fargo regarding its management of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, and Visa led the latest funding round for FinTech startup Nium. Plus, AirBnB, crippled by the pandemic, announced layoffs totaling 25 percent of its workforce.
Federal, State Investigators Question Wells Fargo Over PPP Loans
Federal and state officials are investigating Wells Fargo regarding the bank’s management of PPP loans. A regulatory filing on Tuesday (May 5) indicated that the country’s fourth-largest bank received “formal and informal inquiries from federal and state governmental agencies regarding its offering of PPP loans.”
Visa Leads Latest Funding For FinTech Startup Nium
FinTech payments startup Nium, based in Singapore, is getting a new round of funding led by new investors Visa and BRI Ventures. Nium, formerly known as InstaReM, has closed four funding rounds totaling $59 million since it was founded in 2014.
Airbnb Says 2020 Revenue Will Be Halved
Despite an infusion of $2 billion from investors last month, Airbnb said the pandemic has forced the layoff of 1,900 employees, or 25 percent of its workforce, CNBC reported. Chesky’s words came as the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) reported the number of travelers who went through its security gates on May 4 was 163,692 compared to 2.5 million for the same day one year ago.
Revolut Eyes Consolidation, Looks To Buy Distressed Rivals
London-based FinTech Revolut is planning to tap the $500 million it got from investors to acquire competing technology firms suffering from the impact of the global coronavirus pandemic. Revolut Founder and CEO Nikolay Storonsky said that his business has “a real opportunity” to use the pandemic to its advantage.
Impossible Foods CFO On The Shift To Grocery And Clearing The Meat Lover’s Bar
Home cooks can now find Impossible Foods’ meatless meat products in all 1,700 Kroger stores, bringing the number of total grocery store outlets to 2,700. Chief Financial Officer David Lee tells Karen Webster that with a pandemic causing shortages of traditional meat, it’s a delicious moment for the entire plant-based-food industry — and for real meat lovers who crave a tasty and environmentally-friendly alternative.
Visa, Conferma Pay, Make Corporate ‘On The Go’ Card Spend Tap And Pay
Tap to pay has come to virtual corporate cards. Conferma Pay’s new partnership with Visa makes it possible for companies to use virtual cards provisioned to their employees Apple Pay and Google Pay accounts to manage, track and reconcile their “on the go” expenses in real time. Conferma Pay CEO Simon Barker tells Karen Webster that its virtual card platform easily integrates with existing spend management platforms to help companies manage spend before it is spent – now critical in the age of the distributed workforce.
ADP’s Massive Job Loss Tally Underscores Main Street Lending Urgency
A report by Automatic Data Processing (ADP) on Wednesday (May 6) showed that private-sector companies in the United States lost 20.2 million jobs in April. The higher numbers of jobs lost among larger small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) may underscore the urgency of the expansion of the Main Street lending program from the U.S. Federal Reserve.
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