Digital IDs For Online Bowling, Voice Commerce, Apple’s Mobeewave Deal Top This Week’s News

Top News

Apple Buys Mobeewave for $100M

Apple has purchased Canadian company Mobeewave, which will allow it to create mobile pay hubs out of iPhones. The deal went down for $100 million.

Rubio: Revamped PPP, SMB Loan Programs Aim to Smooth Out ‘Uneven Recovery’

Senator Marco Rubio of Florida introduced a $100 billion program under the Small Business Administration (SBA) 7a program to extend long-term, inexpensive loans to small businesses. Rubio said the program would particularly aid minority-owned businesses and low-income communities.

American Express Expands BNPL Options for Cardholders

Amex will now allow Platinum cardholders to join Green and Gold members in the corporation’s buy now, pay later (BNPL) option, dubbed Pay Over Time. Both this feature and Pay It Plan It are available on the Amex app.

Barrons: Online Lender Kabbage Shopping for Buyers

FinTech Kabbage could be seeking a sale, and in doing so, could look to garner up to $1 billion. The potential buyers that have emerged thus far have consisted of financial institutions and tech bidders.

Big Tech and the Optical Illusion of Monopoly

Karen Webster said that last week’s Big Tech Capitol Hill hearings revealed an optical illusion: Lawmakers see one thing, but when one looks closely, Big Tech firms seem to be acting more like competitors who are benefiting consumers and providing more choice.

Trackers and Reports

Report: Skillz Takes Bowling Online — And Strikes Out Bad Actors (Digital Identity Tracker) 

With consumers largely avoiding bowling alleys, some operators are looking to strike it big by integrating with digital gaming platforms, making them vulnerable to fraudsters. In this month’s Digital Identity Tracker, Vikram Rao, director of financial planning and analysis at mobile gaming platform Skillz, discusses how bowling apps can use novel digital identification methods to thwart fraudsters and spare legitimate consumers.

New Report: Why It’s Time to Retire the Subscription Paywall (Payments Orchestration Tracker)

A one-size-fits-all approach to payments with a standardized subscription paywall doesn’t fit anymore, says Trevor Kaufman, CEO of SaaS firm Piano.io. In this month’s Payments Orchestration Playbook, Kaufman discusses the importance of gauging consumer interest to determine whether paying per month, per piece or otherwise will maximize conversion.

Fun, Cool and Otherwise Interesting

Alexa, What’s the Future of Voice Commerce?

The present tense for voice commerce shows an eager and accelerated installed base with 90 million devices in the U.S. Its future will depend on artificial intelligence (AI) in three key areas.

Liquor Sales Up, But Glass Is Still Half Empty

Spirits maker Diageo – think Johnny Walker whiskey, Tanqueray gin and other popular drinks – took a huge write-down this week amid a big worldwide sales decline. However, alcohol sales are actually up sharply in America.

Uber Counters Ridesharing Slump With Delivery Double-Up

Before Q2 2020, Uber was the innovator that launched a digitally backed ridesharing business with a side hustle in the world of delivery. Q2 has reversed that.

Renewed Energy Around Convenience Stores as DashMart Joins the Fray

Credit the COVID-19 shift for a renewed interest in convenience stores, a realm DoorDash has entered with DashMart, its line of new digital convenience stores.