Welcome to the Five at Five your late look at the payments and commerce news of the day. Coverage includes Equifax reporting second quarter earnings, Walmart promoting the baby market and JCPenney targeting moms. Also, Flywire raises $100 million and Venmo books more than $14 billion in payments during the quarter.
Equifax Q2 Earnings Disappoint As Data Breach Impact Hurts Revenue
Consumer reporting agency Equifax reported weak second-quarter earnings as it fights to regain the trust of customers, following the record 2017 data breach that impacted more than 143 million people. The company has shaken up top management and is meeting with top customers amid an aggressive push by rival credit agencies.
JCPenney Targets Mom Business
The legacy department store, after making several attempts in recent years to ramp up sales, is working to drive moms into its locations, the WSJ reported. The chain recently held a “Shark Tank” event to generate ideas, and one approach was to open stores an hour early for frequent customers, offering exclusive access to Liz Claiborne items.
Walmart Bullish On Baby Sales
Walmart is revamping the landing page for baby items on its web page, following the closure of the last Babies R Us retail store. Walmart has expanded its assortment of baby items to about 30,000 and has seen a 40 percent jump in searches for the category.
Flywire Raises $100 million In New Round
The payments company raised another $100 million in a Series D funding round led by Singapore-based Temasek. The new investment, which includes contributions by Bain Capital Ventures and F-Prime Capital Partners, will be mainly to accelerate growth in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific.
Venmo, Zelle Report P2P Progress During Quarter
Venmo, the P2P firm owned by PayPal, said it booked more than $14 billion in payments during the second quarter, a 78 percent increase in year-over-year business. Zelle reported that it processed more than $28 billion in payments during the quarter, a 17 percent gain from a year ago.
