In today’s top news, executives from the biggest U.S. banks warned the Senate of the volatility of cryptocurrencies, and Amazon is reportedly looking into starting a retail pharmacy business. Plus, Instagram now lets users sell, find and purchase from product drops.
Big Banks Express Caution Over Crypto At Senate Hearing
Chief executives from the biggest U.S. banks testified before the U.S. Senate Banking Committee on Wednesday (May 26) to express concerns about cryptocurrencies. They specifically called out the volatility of the crypto market and its lack of supervision and oversight, and urged the committee to appoint a supervisor.
Report: Amazon Interested In Physical Pharmacies
Three of America’s four biggest drugstores saw their shares decline on Wednesday (May 26) following a report that Amazon may be getting into the pharmacy business. It’s not yet clear what an Amazon pharmacy would look like, whether it would mean opening its own standalone stores or adding pharmacies to its Whole Foods supermarkets.
Instagram Rolls Out Feature For Product Drops
Instagram is adding a new feature, Instagram Drops, which allows sellers to link to product drops through its app, and enables users to find new and upcoming product launches and to sign up for merchandise reminders regarding sought-after products.
Paymentus CEO Says IPO Cements Role As Bill Payments OS
Shares of Paymentus rose nearly 40 percent in their trading debut on Wednesday (May 26) as investors bought into its plans to disrupt and digitize trillions of dollars of household expenses. The scale of the payments firm indicates a widespread pain point tied to the complexity of bill payments, and specifically the inefficiencies of paper checks and paper statements.
BigCommerce: SMBs Tap Trusted Payment Providers To Curb Cart Abandonment
Curbing cart abandonment is a matter of survival for SMBs selling online. In the Optimizing SMB Payments Report, BigCommerce’s Chad Jaben explains the importance of offering SMBs a choice of 600-plus payment providers to boost the trust and sense of security that keeps their customers happy.
NEW DATA: New Models Needed To Make Loyalty Work For Local Businesses
Consumers all over the world love shopping local, but want to be rewarded for their business. However, 90 percent of consumers don’t want to share their info with those merchants. PYMNTS surveyed 4,519 consumers in Australia, Brazil, the U.K. and the U.S. to better understand the frictions in local loyalty and how new loyalty models could benefit local businesses.
Best Buy Earnings Show Positive Impact Of Stay-At-Home Economy
Demand for consumer electronics continues unabated, as Best Buy’s earnings show. The company pointed toward stimulus checks as a tailwind, along with the fact that appliances are in demand shows that we, as a nation, are busy filling our homes (the ones we bought amid the pandemic).
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