Today In Payments: Tech Startups Laid Off 70K Since March; Quicken Loans Parent Files IPO

In today’s top news, tech startups have laid off nearly 70,000 employees in the last four months, and Rocket Companies, parent of Quicken Loans, filed for an IPO. Plus, Walmart reportedly plans to launch a subscription program.

Tech Startups Laid Off 70K Since March

Tech startups have been devastated by the layoffs of nearly 70,000 workers in the last four months, as the coronavirus has caused investors to turn their backs on companies seeking less than $100 million.

Rocket Cos, Quicken Loans Parent, Files IPO

Rocket Companies, one of the nation’s largest mortgage lenders and parent of Quicken Loans, filed its initial public offering (IPO) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) late Tuesday (July 7).

Walmart to Challenge Amazon Prime With Subscription Membership

Walmart will reportedly be launching a new subscription service, Walmart+, this July to compete with Amazon Prime. The service, which will cost $98 a year, will encompass everything from same-day delivery for grocery and general merchandise to discounts and early access to deals.

CFPB Eases Payday Lending Rules

The federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has eliminated a rule that placed limits on payday lenders. In a two-sentence ruling on Tuesday (July 7), CFPB Director Kathleen Kraninger rescinded the ability-to-repay underwriting requirements that had been imposed by a 2017 regulation under the Obama administration.

New Report: Fixing the Global Fruit Supply Chain’s Broken Payments Problem

Fruit importers/exporters never know how much they’ll pay their growers or get paid by grocery stores until the produce hits the market. In the latest Next-Gen AP Tracker, Juan Gonzalez Pita, founder of Salix Fruits, discusses how robust payables management tools have helped him streamline and expedite payments to growers in 18 countries.

What Will It Take to Get Rid of the Paper Paycheck?

Paying workers via paper checks is unreliable, unsafe and untenable, Mark Putman, general manager of Payments at ADP, tells PYMNTS. And that was before the global pandemic made paper checks a source of real friction for workers and their employers. Here’s where he says paper checks still live, and why.

What Happens if COVID Prompts Consumers and Businesses to Flee Cities?

One of the pandemic’s effects has been to spur individuals and companies to physically relocate from their city’s downtown area to its outskirts, and a resurgence in business districts could take up to three years. The ripple effects are growing.