Today In Payments: Purchases Using Voice-Assistants Up 10 Pct; Afterpay Goes In-Store Nationwide With Major Retailers

In today’s top news, purchases via voice assistant are up 10 percent year-over-year, and Afterpay is now available in-store nationwide with major retailers. Plus, J.P. Morgan reports third-quarter results that show a strong consumer base.

Purchases Using Voice-Assistants Up 10 Pct Year-Over-Year

How We Will Pay, a PYMNTS and Visa collaboration, gauges the situation 10 months into the pandemic, as connected commerce coalesces and new patterns solidify. Significantly: 23 million consumers made purchases using voice assistants.

Afterpay Goes In-Store Nationwide With Major Retailers

Afterpay has announced its in-store buy now, pay later (BNPL) service is being offered by major retailers at locations across the U.S. Afterpay says its customers report a 300 percent increase in average order value among shoppers who use the product.

J. P. Morgan 3Q Results Show Consumers Weathering The Pandemic

J.P. Morgan‘s Q3 results showed resilient consumer activity amid economic headwinds, as well as improvement in loan loss reserve activity and mobile growth.

Apple Unveils Higher-Speed iPhone 12

Apple Inc. on Tuesday (Oct. 13) unveiled its iPhone 12, which as was widely expected, operates on high-speed 5G networks. For all the hype around 5G, however, Reuters reported on Monday (Oct. 12) that consumers are unlikely to experience the fastest speeds 5G can theoretically offer in the near-term.

Why London’s Calling For The FinTech Industry

With Brexit on the horizon, 2020 was already set to be a wild one in the U.K. FinTech scene — and that was before a global pandemic was added to the mix. But challenges and unexpected curveballs aside, Plaid U.K. Head Keith Grose and Innovate Finance CEO Charlotte Crosswell told Karen Webster as part of a recent PYMNTSTV session in partnership with London & Partners, London is still the place to be for any FinTech firm really serious about going global.

KeyBank’s Gavrity On The ‘Verticalization’ Of B2B Payments

The pandemic has forced a fundamental reckoning for businesses large and small. Ken Gavrity, head of Enterprise Payments at KeyBank, told Karen Webster that companies must re-examine the most basic operations in order to stay afloat and maybe even thrive as the “verticalization” of B2B payments is upon us.

Netflix And The Art Of The Shrinking Free Trial

Netflix has taken down the “free trial” option from its site for would-be subscribers in the United States, but is trying other ways to attract new users.