Five At Five: Facebook Hit By GDPR On Monthly Users

GDPR

Welcome to the Five at Five, your late look at the payments and commerce news of the day. Coverage includes Facebook getting hit by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), First Data beats Street, Kroger unit says goodbye for now to Visa, T-Mobile enters a big 5G deal with Nokia, and IBM prevails over Groupon in a patent case.

GDPR Takes Toll on Facebook Engagement Figures

Two months since its implementation, GDPR is showing an impact. Facebook, the world’s leading social media platform, reported last week that it lost about 1 million monthly active users (MAU) in Europe due to the new regulations, leaving it with 376 million. The platform has more than 2.2 billion MAU’s worldwide.

First Data Earnings Beat Street On Clover POS Surge

First Data, a leading payments processor, reported better-than-expected earnings in the second quarter, largely due to a double-digit jump in business from its Clover point-of-sale (POS) business.

Kroger Unit Says Visa No More

FoodsCo, a subsidiary of supermarket retailer Kroger, announced it would stop accepting Visa card payments at 21 of its stores and five gas stations in northern and central California, starting in mid-August. The company cited high interchange rates and network fees for the ban.

T-Mobile Enters Major 5G Deployment Deal With Nokia

T-Mobile signed a $3.5 billion agreement with Nokia, which calls for the mobile firms to test, develop and deploy 5G connectivity. T-Mobile expects to have for the service available for customers in major U.S. cities — like New York, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Dallas — by early 2019.

IBM Prevails in Patent Case Against Discount Web Retailer Groupon

IBM was awarded $83 million in a patent infringement suit against Groupon. The suit involved allegations that Groupon used IBM’s eCommerce technology without prior authorization. IBM had originally sought $167 million in damages.