News

Payment Methods
Rising Use of Amex Cards Shows Credit Appeals to Savvy Younger Consumers
July 21, 2023

Younger consumers — Gen Z and millennials among them — boosted American Express’ results, as disclosed on Friday (July 21). But beyond the confines of an earnings report, the continued embrace of the cards out in the field in a landscape where 73% of millennials...

Banking
Regional Banks Report Stable or Higher Deposits
July 21, 2023

Regional banks are still facing a variety of pressures, but in terms of deposits they are doing better than they were three months ago. Second-quarter results released this week showed that many regional lenders’ deposits were stable or higher than they were in the first...

Retail
Grocers Struggle to Compete With Mega-Retailers Amid Inflation
July 21, 2023

As food inflation continues indefinitely, grocery shoppers continue to seek savings, abandoning previous favorite brands and retailers in favor of the best deals. Amid these shifts, traditional grocers are struggling to hold onto their share in the face of increasing competition from mega-retailers and discounters....

Payment Methods
Alipay and WeChat Pay Add Links to Visa and Mastercard
July 21, 2023

Visitors to China can now link their Visa and Mastercard accounts to the country’s most popular mobile payment applications, Alipay and WeChat Pay. Ant Group, the operator of Alipay, said Friday (July 21) that overseas users of the platform can now link Visa, MasterCard, Diners Club and Discover cards to their mobile...

Payment Methods
This Week In Payments: Rules for AI, Block Picks a Fee Fight and FedNow Arrives
July 21, 2023

This week in payments saw the SEC weigh in on artificial intelligence (AI), the long-awaited debut of the FedNow instant payments rail to mixed reviews, and payment processor Block taking on major credit card issuers over fees. On the AI front, in a Monday (July...

Retail
UK Retail Sales Rise 0.7% Amid Good Weather and Sales
July 21, 2023

British consumers’ purchases rose by 0.7% in June after increasing just 0.1% in May. Month-over-month retail sales volumes in the United Kingdom increased across all the main sectors except for automotive fuel, the Office for National Statistics reported Friday (July 21). By sector, the sales...

Social Commerce
Threads User Engagement Drops to 4 Minutes From 19 Minutes
July 21, 2023

Threads’ user engagement reportedly continued to decline in the second week since its launch. The average time iOS and Android users spend on the Meta-owned social media app has decreased to four minutes from 19 minutes shortly after launch, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Friday (July 21),...

Retail
Barbie’s Wardrobe and Zales’ Jewelry Are Available to Rent  
July 21, 2023

Resale and rental have become hot initiatives among retailers. The intention is to cater to consumers’ changing preferences and values, while also mitigating the effects of inflation. But are these initiatives panning out? We’ll find out at the next earnings call for some of the...

Social Commerce
TikTok Shop Partners With Atome to Offer Installment Payments in Malaysia
July 21, 2023

TikTok Shop has partnered with buy now, pay later (BNPL) service Atome to offer installment payments in Malaysia. “Today we announce our partnership with Atome, providing our customers easy payment options at checkout,” Jonathan Low, eCommerce lead of strategy and special projects at TikTok Shop, said in a Friday...