OneBanks picks G4S to deploy cash services: The UK company runs banking kiosks that fill voids left by branch closures—its tie-up with G4S could appeal to those who still conduct banking transactions primarily in cash.
Mastercard will bring FinGo’s vein-scanning payments solution to more markets, and Visa is working on a biometric authentication solution for online transactions with the UAE’s Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank.
AWS puts BMO in the cloud: The Amazon unit is taking over tasks ranging from hosting digital channels to a call center revamp—just the latest banking-cloud vendor tie-up as banks turn to the cloud to quickly scale new digital products.
Why some people aren’t sold on cryptos
On today's episode, we discuss some updates in the social audio landscape, whether convenience is outweighing price, if fashion rental can make a comeback, podcast ads versus other ad formats, changes in millennials' spending behaviors, how football players are similar to bears in more than just stature, and more. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer analyst Nina Goetzen, forecasting analyst Peter Vahle, and analyst at Insider Intelligence Blake Droesch.
Facebook’s first wrist wearable: The social giant’s smartwatch will have a detachable screen and could ship by mid-2022. While the wearable could be integral to its grand AR ambitions, fractured consumer trust may leave it dead on arrival.
Google’s 16th submarine cable: Google continues Big Tech’s rapid investment in global physical internet infrastructure with a new cable connecting the US and Argentina. The move comes despite recent high-profile outages illustrating the potential dangers of internet infrastructure consolidation.
Apple placates mobile advertisers: iOS 15 will allow advertisers to get postback data directly from Apple, rather than going through an ad network—a huge help for marketers hungry for data in a post-IDFA world.
Empty stores on Turkey Day: Best Buy joins Target and Walmart in closing its doors on Thanksgiving Day as the lasting shift to online shopping alters the calculus of staying open.
A local problem: The Media Rating Council determined that Nielsen likely undercounted local TV ratings as a result of the same pandemic-issues that dragged national TV ratings.
Growing the creator economy: Instagram is adding new monetization opportunities to propel its ecommerce push.
Payments service providers are building an array of financial services to compete with financial institutions (FIs). Lending, bank account products, issuing, and other services that have been FIs’ bread and butter are being challenged in a bid to add more revenue opportunities and engender greater loyalty. These payment disruptors, such as Square, Stripe, and Shopify, are using their existing relationships with small businesses to attract clients away from FIs and persuading them to use their own financial offerings.
It’s Prime Day in June. Amazon traditionally held Prime Day in mid-July but pushed the event to October last year because of the coronavirus pandemic. (The exception was India, where it took place in August 2020.) This year, Amazon will hold Prime Day on June 21–22.
When social buying in China will boom