Today In Payments: Facebook Calls Out Apple; DC AG Sues Instacart

In today’s news, Facebook called out Apple on its fee structure and transparency, and D.C.’s attorney general is suing Instacart for pocketing tips meant for drivers. Plus, Klarna reported mixed results for the first half of 2020.

Facebook Calls Out Apple on Fees, Transparency

Facebook Inc. alleges that Apple demanded it remove a message in its app that told customers about the computer giant’s 30 percent cut of online sales for its new events feature.

DC AG Sues Instacart Over Fees Customers Thought Were Tips

The attorney general for the District of Columbia alleged in a lawsuit filed on Thursday (Aug. 27) that Instacart made substantial sums in the city by tricking customers into thinking voluntary payments they added to food delivery bills were tips for drivers.

Klarna Sees 615 Pct Increase in Net Losses

Klarna, the Swedish-based global payments and buy now, pay later (BNPL) provider, reported mixed results for 2020’s first half — a 37 percent jump in operating income, but a 903 percent expansion in overall operating losses.

Report: Walmart Joins Microsoft on TikTok Bid

Walmart confirmed it is teaming up with Microsoft Corp. to buy TikTok’s U.S. operation in Culver City, California. The sources said the sale could cost Microsoft and Walmart as much as $30 billion.

Report: How ING Group Is Using AI to Fight Financial Crime

In this month’s Preventing Financial Crimes Playbook, Beate Zwijnenberg, chief information security officer for ING Group, explains the role of artificial intelligence (AI)-powered multi-layered defense systems in detecting the anomalous transactions that too often go unnoticed by human analysts.

Smaller FIs at the Real-Time Payments Crossroads

While financial institutions’ interest in real-time payments services is on the rise, smaller banks have work to do to organize their workflows for the real-time use cases that consumers increasingly demand. Doug Brown, NCR Digital Banking’s senior vice president and general manager, tells Karen Webster what smaller FIs must do to remain competitive.

Consumer Spending: Running Dry …. or Dry Powder?

Now that July has ended, the question is whether the positive consumer spending was simply a function of the weekly $600 in supplemental unemployment benefits.