In today’s top payments news around the world, Ocado is bolstering its automation push by buying two robotics companies, while the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is calling for the Group of Twenty (G20) member states to keep pumping money into their economies to mitigate the effects of COVID-19. Plus, PhonePe continues to bring in new clients in India.
Online Grocer Ocado Acquires Robotics Companies To Drive Automation
Britain-based digital grocery Ocado is intensifying its automation push by buying two robotics firms. Owning Las Vegas’ Haddington Dynamics and San Francisco’s Kindred Systems will assist Ocado in taking on “one of the world’s hardest challenges in robotics, the picking and packing of groceries,” according to an announcement from the company.
IMF Calls On G20 To Pump Money Into Global Economies
The IMF is advocating that the Group of Twenty (G20) member states keep infusing funds into their economies to mitigate the devastating impacts of the continuing coronavirus crisis. The IMF said in that quick action by the G20 has “helped avert an even worse economic crisis in the wake of COVID-19 than what has been witnessed.”
Walmart’s PhonePe Grabs 40 Pct Of India’s Digital Payments Market
PhonePe, which is a digital payment provider owned by Walmart, continues to bring in new clients in India, where it now has 250 million users. The firm noted that October marked 100 million monthly active users, 925 million transactions, 2.3 billion app sessions and a market share of 40 percent of standard transactions. CEO Sameer Nigam said the firm is “on a mission to make digital payments a way of life for every Indian citizen.”
Study: UK’s Restaurant Subsidies Helped Boost Spread Of COVID-19
Britain’s Eat Out to Help Out campaign, which provided a 50 percent discount at eateries on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays in August, was very successful in boosting sales. Taxpayers spent $647 million for the rescue effort, which subsidized the cost of food and nonalcoholic beverages. But a new study said the initiative may have contributed to the spread of the coronavirus.
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