It’s the end of the workweek, and the PYMNTS Weekender is here to make sure you didn’t miss anything with the latest in payments and commerce news.
We have deep dives into buy buttons and restaurant apps, as well as news on Intuit’s acquisition of Credit Karma.
Top News
Intuit Reportedly Set To Spend $7B To Buy Credit Karma
Intuit closed a deal to purchase Credit Karma for $7.1 billion on Monday (Feb. 24). The bookkeeping software firm will now add the personal credit score website to its roster, among other names such as TurboTax, Quickbooks and more. The company is now worth over $74 billion.
If Antitrust Issue Stops Merger E-Trade Would Get $525M From Morgan Stanley
If E-Trade Financial Corp. walks away from its $13 billion deal with Morgan Stanley, the bank will leave with a $375 million breakup fee. And E-Trade would receive $525 million if Morgan Stanley terminates the deal due to antitrust issues.
Morgan Stanley entered a deal Feb. 2o to purchase E-Trade, which would be the biggest acquisition by a major Wall Street bank as of the financial crisis of the late 2000s.
Uber Ousts Uber Eats Head As It Looks To Stem Losses
The executive leading Uber Eats is departing the firm, as Uber aims to stem losses from its Eats business in locations where there isn’t an indication that it will turn into a No. 1 or 2 player. Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty, who is Uber’s existing head of international rides, will take the place of Jason Droege, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
Mastercard’s Incoming CEO’s Take On The Future Of Payments
A significant change is coming to Mastercard, which will soon be marking the conclusion of an era as its longtime CEO Ajay Banga departs from his current role and moves on to the position of executive chairman, a role that Richard Haythornthwaite now holds, on Jan. 1, 2021. Banga has served as CEO since 2008 when he took over the reins shortly following the onset of the financial crisis. Haythornthwaite has served as chairman since May 2006.
The Connected Economy: It’s About Time
The new decade will be defined by the innovators who understand that time is a currency people truly value — and they will use connected devices as well as technology to maximize each unit of time. Not just by saving more of it, but by compressing time in a way that makes the use of it even more productive. Maybe even spendable.
Trackers and Reports
NEW DATA: What 1,052 eCommerce Sites Tell Us About The State Of Buy Buttons In 2020
Speed is the name of the game in the online shopping space. The less time it takes consumers to finish the checkout process, the less likely they are to abandon their carts, and the higher the conversion rates a site is likely to have. The challenge is that it takes almost two minutes — 118.5 seconds, in fact — to finish the average online shopping purchase.
That’s nearly two minutes of filling out data fields, such as names, payment information, billing addresses, shipping addresses and more. Long, frustrating form fills like these can frustrate shoppers and drive them away. Buy buttons, however, offer a compelling solution to this problem.
How Dropbox Fights Fraud (Digital Fraud Tracker)
Cloud service providers host terabytes of valuable information, making them a particularly attractive target for fraud. Dropbox is one platform working to protect its data from cybercrime with a three-part approach to combat illicit activity.
In a feature story, Rajan Kapoor, the platform’s director of security, discussed how Dropbox taps into user and employee education, automated tools, and threat response teams to keep cybercriminals out of the cloud.
How P.F. Chang’s Keeps Customer Data Under (Lettuce) Wraps
Many restaurants are striking out on their own with proprietary apps, even though joining third-party apps, such as Postmates or DoorDash, can help bolster sales and brand awareness. Such developments bring their share of challenges, with the inclusion of the threat of fraud, but pan-Asian eatery P.F. Chang’s found that these struggles were ultimately worth it.
In a feature story, PYMNTS spoke to P.F. Chang’s Director of Digital Marketing Whitney French about how the chain overcame its security obstacles as well as how its mobile ordering offerings are increasingly impacting its in-store operations.
Fun, Cool and Otherwise Interesting
Why DoorDash Is Eyeing An IPO
News emerged Thursday (Feb. 27) that on-demand food delivery platform DoorDash has filed yet-to-be-made-public documents with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission — known as a confidential S-1 — to undertake an initial public offering (IPO). In terms of mechanics, there wasn’t a disclosure about how many shares would be on offer, or at what price range, per news at the time.
5G Plans Face Setbacks Amid Coronavirus Spread
The coronavirus has already dented supply chains — notably those that serve auto manufacturers and retailers, among others. The headlines seem focused on consumer-facing companies, where end products, such as cell phones, may be slow to arrive on shelves.
The ripple effect, however, goes right to the infrastructure that backs future growth of technology, where data moves faster, and the Internet of Things (IoT) gets ever closer to ushering in a hyper-connected world. That is 5G, of course.
US Consumers Remain Resilient Despite Q4 GDP Revisions
The sky is not falling for the American consumer, however the sky is darkening — at least a bit. Commerce Department data indicates that GDP grew by 2.1 percent annualized (and by 2.3 percent for all of last year), which remains unchanged from what was reported originally — and the revision arrived in line with expectations.
How The Gig Economy Has Evolved Over The Last Decade
The gig economy was still in its nascent stages a decade ago. Today, it’s a bona fide influence unto itself in the labor force. According to the newest Gig Economy Tracker, PYMNTS found that 42 percent of U.S. workers will engage in some form of freelance work in 2020, 36 percent have participated in the gig economy and, by the conclusion of 2020, there will be an estimated 42 million workers active in the U.S. gig economy.
Senior Debt Has Spiked 543 Pct Over The Last Two Decades
Senior citizens are an increasingly debt-burdened demographic. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, debt among older Americans increased by 543 percent from 1999 to 2019. The total debt burden faced by seniors has grown to $1.1 trillion.
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