Today In Payments: Wirecard’s Former CEO Markus Braun Arrested; Airbnb CEO Sees Potential For 2020 IPO

In today’s top news, former Wirecard CEO Markus Braun was arrested Monday night over the firm’s recent accounting fraud scandal, and Airbnb’s CEO is again mulling a potential initial public offering (IPO). Plus, Amazon’s Big Style Sale runs this week.

Wirecard’s Former CEO Markus Braun Arrested

Former Wirecard CEO Markus Braun was arrested Monday night (June 22) in the latest chapter that has rocked the German payment services provider. Braun faces charges of accounting fraud and market manipulation designed to artificially inflate the financial technology company’s balance sheet to make it look more appealing to investors and customers.

Airbnb CEO Sees Potential For 2020 IPO Amid Bookings Rebound

Airbnb’s big rebound from its short but sharp pandemic-induced slump has its CEO, Brian Chesky, talking again about a potential IPO. But it’s cautious optimism: he’s made it clear that he’s not ready yet to fully commit to taking the company public this year.

Amazon Big Style Sale Keeps Consumers Guessing

With the 618 shopping festival wrapped and successful in China, attention now turns to Amazon and its series of shopping events, including this week’s Big Style Sale. But more questions right now revolve around Amazon Prime Day, which has been officially postponed due to the pandemic, but not rescheduled.

Verizon Debuts Visa Credit Card With Rewards

To provide a new method for cardholders to save on their cell phone bills, Verizon plans to debut the Verizon Visa Card. The Synchrony-issued credit card, which will officially roll out on June 26, will enable mobile clients to save on their bills via rewards.

NEW DATA: How Credit Unions Are Innovating To Help Micro Businesses

Thirty-six percent of credit unions say micro businesses form a “very important” or “extremely important” part of their member bases, according to the PYMNTS latest survey on Credit Union innovation. In the Credit Union Innovation Playbook: Microbusiness Opportunity Edition, PYMNTS surveyed 100 credit-union executives to learn the five key innovations CUs must implement to best serve their micro-business members.

Visa On Its 1 Billion Token Milestone — And What Lies Ahead

Visa has crossed a key milestone — 1 billion tokens issued since the company released the first one in 2014. Ansar Ansari, Visa’s senior vice president of product, digital solutions; and Alan Johnson, vice president of product, digital solutions tell Karen Webster why Visa’s approach to tokenization goes beyond securing credentials on file at merchants and streamlining guest checkout.

Post-Pandemic Era Ushers In reCommerce Boom

The outbreak of an unprecedented global health pandemic hit the world of retail like a meteor, flattening everything in its immediate path. But post-pandemic, the reCommerce market has seen growth as secondhand sales have boomed — even in segments like apparel.