Choose your location
PYMNTS
TikTok Joins Merchants’ Summer Discounting Dash for Paycheck-to-Paycheck Shoppers
As retailers and marketplaces look to summer sales to win the spending of budget-strapped consumers, TikTok Shop is joining the mix with its own discounting event. TikTok announced Thursday (June 27) its “Deals For You Days,” with discounts on “thousands of products” from brands ranging from L’Oréal Paris to Zwilling beginning July 9. During the discounting event, creators are encouraged via content challenges to make live shopping videos, and the sales event aims to highlight such livestreamed, product-focused content.
E.l.f. Begins Selling Physical Products Through Roblox Virtual Kiosk
Beauty brand e.l.f. has expanded its partnership with virtual world and gaming platform Roblox to include real-world commerce. In the new virtual kiosk within the e.l.f. Up! experience on Roblox, which is powered by Walmart, U.S. visitors can buy a Roblox-exclusive limited-edition physical product — a hoodie — as well as a selection of other physical products that include a skincare product, lip balm and sunscreen, e.l.f. said in a Monday (July 1) press release.
Cyber Insurance Premiums Fall Despite Ransomware Wave
Despite a recent wave of ransomware attacks, cyber insurance premiums are declining around the globe. That’s because businesses have gotten better at dealing with losses related to cybercrime, specialist insurance broker Howden said in a report issued Monday (July 1). “Favorable dynamics have persisted into 2024, with the cost...
Supreme Court Set to Rule in Debit Card Swipe Fee Case
The Supreme Court is set to rule in a case involving debit card “swipe fees.”. The court on Monday (July 1) will likely issue its decision in the case, which stems from a North Dakota convenience store’s lawsuit that challenged a Federal Reserve rule on the amount businesses pay banks when customers make purchases with debit cards.
DEA: Drug Traffickers Found Citi ‘Favorable’ for Money Laundering
Federal investigators say drug traffickers laundered money through Citigroup, believing it had looser fraud measures. As the Financial Times (FT) reported Monday (July 1), a newly unsealed indictment alleges that a pair of California residents — accused of working with the Sinaloa drug cartel — deposited tens of thousands of dollars in cash with Citi ATMs without being flagged for money laundering.
Synchrony CEO: Personalized Financing Strategy Boosts Big-Ticket Commerce
Macroeconomic uncertainty over inflation and interest rates is affecting big-ticket items and leading to shifts among consumers. More homeowners — who have opted not to buy a new residence due to high mortgage rates and home prices — are sprucing up their properties and remodeling. More car owners, faced similarly with inflation, are keeping their vehicles on the road longer, with an eye toward keeping them well-maintained and properly appointed.
FedEx’s Performance Saves the CE 100 Index From Decline as Nike Disappoints
It was a flat week at the end of a flat month for Wall Street as well as the CE 100 Index. The week ending June 28 saw a slight gain in value with a 0.4% uptick led by gains in the “Move,” “Banking” and “Enablers” pillars. For the month of June the CE 100 Index was flat; year-to-date it’s up 2.9%, just a shade below the 3.7% bump in the Dow.
New Report: Who Is the Credit Card Outsider? … And How Do They Get Access?
The ability to access credit is a necessity in today’s economy. However, 16% of U.S. consumers find themselves without a credit card. Lack of credit access limits these consumers’ financial flexibility and restricts their access to a valuable lifeline in emergencies. We call these consumers, “credit card outsiders.”
Target Tries to Shake Off ‘Pandemic Hangover’ as Sales Slump
After seeing revenues surge during the pandemic, Target has been facing tough times. A report Sunday (June 30) by the Financial Times (FT) examines the retailer’s recent struggles: sales have slipped in part to protests against its LGBTQ+ themed products, and affluent consumers have turned their attention to Walmart. It’s led some observers to wonder if the brand has lost its spark.
Report: Apple’s Device Longevity Makes AI More Important
Apple’s devices are lasting longer, so customers don’t trade up as often. And as Bloomberg News reported Sunday (June 30), that could make the tech giant’s artificial intelligence (AI) efforts all the more important. To be clear, the report said, Apple is trying to make its products...
Redbox Goes Bankrupt as Streaming Video Kills the Rental Kiosk
Redbox’s parent has reportedly filed for bankruptcy protection after defaulting on loans and missing payroll. Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, which acquired the DVD rental kiosk company in 2022, told employees of its bankruptcy plans late Friday, The Verge reported Saturday (June 29), citing an internal email. The...
iRobot Co-Founder: Generative AI May Be Overhyped
MIT robotics professor and iRobot co-founder Rodney Brooks thinks artificial intelligence (AI) is impressive. Just not as impressive as many of its proponents have argued, Brooks told TechCrunch in an interview published Saturday (June 29). “I’m not saying LLMs are not important, but we have to be careful how we...
White House Pauses Student Loan Repayment for 3 Million Borrowers
The Department of Education is reportedly pausing repayments for around 3 million student loan borrowers. The pause comes as the White House defends its new repayment plan against a spate of GOP-backed lawsuits, CNBC reported Sunday (June 30). Enrollees in the Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE plan, and have a monthly payment above $0 will not owe anything for now, the Education Department told the network.
Financial Services Sector Shows Reluctance to Embrace AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) may cut costs, but financial services companies have reportedly been slow to embrace it. That’s according to a report Sunday (June 30) by the Financial Times (FT), which said that regulatory concerns and worries about job losses have kept banks from adopting AI products. “The big...
Amazon Recruits Execs From Adept for AGI Effort
Amazon has reportedly hired executives from Adept AI for its artificial general intelligence (AGI) project. David Luan, Adept’s co-founder and CEO, is set to join Amazon’s AGI autonomy team, Bloomberg News reported Friday (June 28), citing an internal memo. The report said four other Adept co-founders and an undetermined number of other workers will also join the team.
Swipe Fee Settlement Judge Says $30 Billion Agreement Is ‘Paltry’
Last week, a federal judge rejected Visa and Mastercard’s $30 billion settlement with merchants. Now, new court filings provide more detail about U.S. District Judge Margo Brodie’s rejection of the deal in the decades-old litigation between the two payments giants and retailers over credit card “swipe fees.”
AI Walks Into a Bar: The Quest for Artificial Humor
In a world where artificial intelligence (AI) can beat chess grandmasters and drive cars, researchers may face their toughest challenge: teaching machines to tell a good joke. As AI systems grow increasingly sophisticated, tackling everything from medical diagnoses to autonomous vehicles, a new frontier has emerged: humor. This isn’t just about programming machines to recite knock-knock jokes. It’s about creating AI that can understand, generate and deliver contextually appropriate humor in real-time interactions with humans.
AI Firms Aim to Build Engagement by Making Human-Like Chatbots
People are reportedly getting a little too friendly with chatbots. Some users are exchanging a high volume of messages with these artificial intelligence (AI)-powered tools and are in some cases attributing human-like qualities to the chatbots, Bloomberg reported Friday (June 28). “One of the ethical concerns is that while users...
CDK Global Hackers Tied to 96 Cyberattacks in Past Year
The hackers who struck car dealership software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform CDK Global on June 18 and 19 are reportedly affiliated with a Russia-based group called BlackSuit. This cybercriminal group has been tied to 96 extortion efforts since May 2023 and has likely committed dozens more, Bloomberg reported Friday (June 28). BlackSuit...
SEC Charges Web3 Firm Consensys With Unregistered Sale of Securities
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Consensys Friday (June 28), charging the blockchain and Web3 software company with engaging in the unregistered offer and sale of securities and with operating as an unregistered broker. These charges center on two services offered by Consensys Software: MetaMask Staking and MetaMask Swaps,...
PYMNTS
44K+
Posts
91M+
Views
Online coverage of payments news and top industry trends. Insight and reporting on payments, commerce, FinTech and innovation.
Welcome to NewsBreak, an open platform where diverse perspectives converge. Most of our content comes from established publications and journalists, as well as from our extensive network of tens of thousands of creators who contribute to our platform. We empower individuals to share insightful viewpoints through short posts and comments. It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency: our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. We strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation. Join us in shaping the news narrative together.