Новости за 21.03.2024

Apple’s new store opened in Shanghai on Thursday (March 21), with Tim Cook in attendance. The chief executive got “thunderous applause” from the crowd, according to a report by Bloomberg News, which notes that his appearance comes at a precarious time for Apple. Among the company’s various troubles: a less-than-thunderous response to its flagship iPhone in China recently. The […]

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will hold a virtual hearing on April 24, allowing interested organizations to provide oral statements on the agency’s proposed rule to prohibit junk fees. The hearing will address the FTC’s proposed Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees, which was announced in October 2023, the agency said in a Thursday (March […]

Saudi Arabia aims to carve out a leadership role in the burgeoning artificial intelligence (AI) field with a proposed $40 billion investment fund, as The New York Times reported. The country is one of many global giants in the race to shape the future of AI, including Andreessen Horowitz and Nvidia, with investments in generative […]

Cross-border payments firm Thunes is expanding its partnership with Visa into Asia and Africa. The new collaboration, announced Thursday (March 21), will see Visa tap into Thunes’ network to send payments to over 108 digital wallet types and bank accounts throughout countries that include Kenya, the Philippines, Indonesia and Pakistan. Thunes will also implement Visa Direct’s push-to-card capability, to allow […]

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) is seeking public comment on a proposal that would “update, strengthen and clarify” its approach to evaluating bank mergers.  The FDIC board of directors voted Thursday (March 21) to approve a Federal Register notice seeking comment on proposed revisions to the agency’s statement of policy (SOP) on bank mergers. The revisions […]

Large players in the grocery industry took advantage of the pandemic’s supply chain problems to raise prices and profits and keep them high. So said the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in a press release and staff report issued Thursday (March 21). “As the pandemic illustrated, a major shock to the supply chain can have cascading […]

The White House is canceling nearly $6 billion in student loans for public service workers. The cancellation, announced Thursday (March 21), applies to 78,000 teachers, nurses, firefighters and other public sector employees. “These public service workers have dedicated their careers to serving their communities, but because of past administrative failures, never got the relief they were entitled to under […]

Pandion has raised $41.5 million in a Series B funding round to expand its residential parcel delivery network designed for eCommerce. The company will use the new funding to build new technology offerings, expand its geographic reach and increase its delivery speed, Pandion said in a Tuesday (March 19) press release. Pandion founder and CEO […]

Olive Garden owner Darden has seen a drop in lower-income diners patronizing its restaurants. The company, which also owns Longhorn Steakhouse, on Thursday (March 21) reported earnings that showed sales up 6.8% for the quarter, driven primarily by its recently-acquired Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse chain. However, a recurring theme during the company’s earnings call was pullback among lower-income consumers. “We’re clearly seeing consumer behavior […]

DoorDash and Alphabet-owned Wing have brought their drone delivery pilot program to the United States. This expansion builds on the pilot program that the two companies launched in Australia in 2022 and have since expanded to three locations and 60 participating merchants in that country, DoorDash and Wing said in a Thursday (March 21) press […]

Zelis and Availity have partnered to streamline the end-to-end process between healthcare payers and providers. This new strategic alliance will cover everything from administrative workflows through payments, the companies said in a Thursday (March 21) press release. The alliance brings together the healthcare financial solutions of Zelis and the real-time health information network of Availity, according to the release. […]

The U.S. government has filed its long-expected antitrust case against Apple and its iPhone. The suit, filed Thursday (March 21) by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and 16 other state and district attorneys general, accused Apple of monopolizing or attempting to monopolize the market for smartphones. “Consumers should not have to pay higher prices because companies violate the antitrust laws,” Attorney […]

PSCU/Co-op Solutions has appointed two new executive vice presidents (EVPs): Vel Davidov, EVP, chief financial officer, and Michael Summers, EVP, chief culture officer. Davidov, who has been with PSCU since 2002, will lead the payments credit union service organization’s (CUSO’s) financial planning and analysis (FP&A), mergers and acquisitions (M&A), treasury, accounting, tax and settlement operations, the […]

With Wednesday’s (March 20) announcement about Visa’s expanded partnership with LemFi, the focus is on cross-border payments. The cross-border payments landscape itself is a dynamic and fragmented one, full of unique local frictions that present a number of obstacles to foreign businesses looking to capture market share outside of their home borders. From regulatory compliance to navigating complex payment […]

Capital One says its planned $35.3 billion purchase of Discover will boost competition. That’s according to a report Thursday (March 21) by Reuters, citing information shared by a source who had seen the bank’s regulatory application. The filing also argues the deal won’t hinder competition in the credit card space, as the combined company will make up about 13% […]

As retailers look for new ways to save on labor, the disadvantages of going all in on self-checkout are coming to light, with Five Below the latest to pull back on the technology. The discount retailer, which targets Gen Z and Gen Alpha consumers and which has operated on a highly self-service-based model, shared Wednesday […]

Banks — the stalwarts of traditional lending — are finding new channels and conduits to getting capital to borrowers, across alternative channels, and with FinTech collaborations forged and expanded. Alternative lending (or alt-lending) gets funding, typically short-term in nature, to borrowers, with one particular ready-made audience extant in the form of small business applicants. The […]

Nvidia is entering the humanoid robotics field with its new foundation model, Project GR00T. The company announced the artificial intelligence (AI) system at its developer conference this week, saying that it is versatile enough to handle a multitude of tasks, including generating text to produce videos and images. Project GR00T (Generalist Robot 00 Technology) is designed to enable […]

Canadian artificial intelligence (AI) startup Cohere is reportedly in advanced discussions to raise $500 million. That funding would value the company — which makes foundation models to compete with ChatGPT creator OpenAI — at $5 billion, Reuters reported Thursday (March 21), citing a source familiar with the matter. According to that source, Cohere’s annualized revenue run rate has […]

British payments firm Navro has named a PayPal veteran to serve as its chief revenue officer. Colin Moss-Davies, PayPal’s former head of sales, was named to his new position Thursday (March 21), Navro said in a news release provided to PYMNTS. “Having operated in the FinTech space for 25 years, Colin has been instrumental in creating high-performance teams and […]

The Justice Department’s antitrust suit against Apple could reportedly arrive as soon as Thursday (March 21). That’s according to a report by Bloomberg News, citing sources familiar with the matter. The suit would accuse the tech giant of violating antitrust laws by preventing competitors from accessing hardware and software features of the iPhone. The suit also marks another front in the […]

FTX’s CEO says Sam Bankman-Fried’s deception didn’t stop with his fraud conviction.  In a victim impact statement filed Wednesday (March 20) ahead of Bankman-Fried’s sentencing next week, FTX chief executive John Ray writes that the one-time cryptocurrency wunderkind’s contention that his former customers will be repaid in full is false. “Customers still will never be […]

In an age where technology continues to evolve at an exponential pace, the integration of smart devices into consumers’ daily routines has become increasingly prevalent. From smartphones to smartwatches, these devices have not only transformed communication and access to information but have also revolutionized financial transactions.  The widespread adoption of contactless payments, enabled by near-field communication (NFC) technology, […]

When making decisions about employment, workers rank job benefits nearly as high in importance as the salary itself. Likewise, their expectations regarding benefits are evolving rapidly. While traditional benefits like paid vacation and health insurance remain popular, a recent study showed that workers value instant payroll access almost as much. Gig workers in particular are […]

Jason Paguandas, vice president and general manager, merchant security and fraud at Carat from Fiserv , told Karen Webster that while the technologies may be changing, the password is still stubbornly in place, and for a reason. Paguandas also outlined some key principles guiding authentication of payments and commerce. “Authentication is the moment of truth for […]