Wells Fargo Fallout, New Amazon Payments Top Week’s News

It’s that time again — the weekend! But before you really sink into your fun and relaxation, allow the latest edition of the PYMNTS Weekender to catch you up on the all the big news from the past seven days. Amazon is making new moves in payments, 2019 holiday sales trends are helping to set the table for 2020, a virus is infecting the world of commerce and stationery sales might find signs of new life in this digital world. There is that and much more in this new PYMNTS Weekender.

Top News

Ex-Wells CEO Fined, Banned From Banking For Life

Former Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf has been banned from ever working in the banking industry again by the U.S. government. He will also have to pay $17.5 million for his role in a scandal at Wells Fargo involving millions of fake accounts created to meet the bank’s sales quotas.

OCC Prepares Civil Suit Against Former Wells Fargo Executives

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is putting together “so-called notices of charges” against 10 people, although settlements could be extended to some, sources have said.

How ‘Contact Us’ And The Kardashians Ignited Afterpay In The US

Never underestimate the value of the “Contact Us” form that every merchant and service provider places somewhere on its website — because no one knows who is going to end up on the other side of it.

Despite Papyrus’ Closing, Stationery Retail Is Not All Doom-And-Gloom

Not to be cynical, but mention the world “stationery” to people these days and odds are they minds will move toward a similar word, stationary — the concept of lack of motion, as in a couch potato or a broken-down car on the side of the road. That’s understandable, given how viciously email, texting and other forms of digital and mobile communication have displaced actual writing — which, of course, would seem to reduce the need for actual stationery products.

Can Amazon Make Waving The Future Of Payments?

The rumors about hand-based payments out of Amazon have been building for the last few months. In early September 2019, reports emerged that Amazon was testing hand recognition-based payments at Whole Foods locations using its New York employees and some custom-fitted vending machines as an initial experiment. There were also New York Post reports that the technology might make an appearance at Whole Food checkouts this year.

Visa’s Chief Risk Officer On Securing Commerce In The 2020s

Futureproofing is the process of creating systems and processes resilient enough to hold their value in the face of an unknown future. It’s also about creating a mindset and a corporate culture where everyone is responsible for weighing risks against future opportunities.

Fiserv: What The 2019 Holiday Shopping Data Says About 2020 Spend

’Tis the season for … looking back at 2019 holiday sales trends, and figuring out what they mean for payments and commerce so far. Based on the incoming data, it seems that Amazon might not be the traffic driver some retailers expect, that the consumer experience experiment is going well, that mobile wallets might be enjoying a real moment of glory and that apparel sales are moving away from the traditional brick-and-mortar mix, though it’s hard to tell what’s really happening there.

Top Trackers and Reports

Why State And Local Governments Struggle To Shred The Paper Check

Instant payments are lauded for their convenience, ease and most importantly, for their speed. Fifty-one percent of United States consumers stated in the most recent PYMNTS Disbursements Satisfaction Report that they would prefer to receive tax refunds, child support payments and other government payments through instant payout methods.

The Bank App Feature 54.1 Percent Of Consumers Agree They Want

Though many banks may be betting big on advanced technology to help them in the fight against financial fraud, their customers would feel more secure if they were given more control over their banking apps’ authentication processes.

How kimkim Uses Faster Payments To Win Gig Worker Loyalty

Gig workers will make up a full half of the American workforce by 2028, responsible for creating online content, designing webpages and conducting local food or historical tours, as well as ferrying passengers for rideshares or renting out their homes on homesharing platforms.

Domino’s Mobile Order-Ahead 2.0: How Voice, 5G Can Deliver

Mobile order-ahead services are being used for more functions than ever, and beyond simply ordering and paying for food. Forty-two percent of consumers use them to find coupons, according to recent research, 38 percent to look up menu items and a full one-third say they use their mobile order-ahead apps more often than they did two years ago.

Fun, Cool and Otherwise Interesting

Virtual Gaming Grows Into A Force For Tourism And Even Atlantic City

With every passing year, it becomes harder and harder to talk about, or even think about, the global digital and mobile ecosystem without considering the place of gaming within that world. And now comes along another bit of news that further drives home that point.

Central Banks Team On Digital Currency Standards And Use Cases

And now, for digital currencies, it’s a group effort — among central banks, that is. Up until now, the explorations and considerations of digital currencies — as would be, potentially, issued by central banking systems to bring fiat into digital form — has been done on a country-by-country basis. But as reported Tuesday (Jan. 21), at least some of those central banks are banding together to form a group that will study ways and means of issuing central bank digital currencies (CBDC).

Banks’ Earnings Show Digital Traction Amid Buoyant Consumer Spending

There are a few common themes among big bank earnings reports. The U.S. consumer is strong, and the ripple effects of strong U.S. consumer spending is carrying over to other areas where banks get their bread and butter. And, increasingly, digital conduits are gaining a share of consumer and commercial spending.

Travel Stocks Drop Amid Coronavirus Concerns

The virus, it seems, is spreading rapidly. As of the third week of this month, it has grown to 300 cases spread across five nations, including China, Japan, Thailand, South Korea and (as of this week) the U.S.