Connected Economy, Loyalty, B2B Payments Top This Week’s News

In this week’s news, we saw data on the connected economy and news on McDonald’s loyalty rollout. Also, new insights have emerged on business-to-business (B2B) payments. The Weekender is here to catch you up.

News

How Consumers Live In The Connected Economy

Nearly everyone in the United States in the present day takes part in the connected economy — and throughout each one of the pillars that define it.

McDonald’s Preps National Loyalty Rollout

McDonald’s announced this week that its loyalty program will be available nationwide beginning on July 8.

DoorDash Challenges Instacart’s Hold On Grocery With New Albertsons Partnership

DoorDash revealed a partnership with supermarket chain Albertsons Companies to offer one-hour grocery delivery.

Why Visa Thinks Tink Is The Way To Go For Open Banking

Visa struck a deal to acquire Tink for the equivalent of $2.1 billion. Tink runs a European opening banking platform.

Disneyland Swaps Annual Passes For ‘Superfan’ Memberships

It appears that Disney its aiming to move its long-term annual pass program away from a single point of purchase at various price points and in the direction of a subscription-based model of a Disneyland park experience.

Blockchain Tech Turns Companies Into Neobanks In Days Not Weeks

The Optherium platform serves as a white-label neobank and RegTech Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) offering for digital banking.

Trackers And Reports

Study: How 73 Million Highly Connected Consumers Are Pioneering The Connected Economy

PYMNTS examines how consumers are harnessing connected technology and the web in essential areas — or “pillars” of their lives — such as banking and work.

Report: Remote Deposit Capture Paves Path For B2B Payments Digitization

Firms that depend on checks can no longer ignore the need for payments innovations after the events of the past year. PYMNTS explores why it is essential for financial institutions (FIs) and payment partners to convince merchants to digitize their B2B payment workflows.

NEW DATA: 96 Pct Of CFOs Are Digitizing Payments To Improve Customer, Vendor Satisfaction

Almost 93 percent of companies in the United States with a minimum of $25 million in revenues are currently digitizing their accounts receivable (AR) and accounts payable (AP) operations.

Fun, Cool And Otherwise Interesting

Sweetgreen’s IPO May Shine Light On The Battle Between Salad Vs Fast Food

Sweetgreen, which is geared toward salads, has confidentially filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for an initial public offering (IPO), as reported this week. The chain’s public listing, however, may herald a bit of a battle.

Soho House IPO Lifts Velvet Rope On Members-Only Investment Opportunities

Membership Collective Group, a global membership platform whose portfolio includes 28 Soho Houses, among other offerings, has filed with the SEC for a listing.

Prime Day Shoppers Bought Smaller Items, More Groceries Vs Big-Ticket Binges

Shoppers who went in droves to Amazon to get summer savings left with less in their carts on average than in past years.

Krispy Kreme Vs Dunkin’: Opposite Approaches To Turning Donuts To Dollars

Krispy Kreme began this month with a bang, filing its S-1 with the SEC publicly and unveiling its planned return to the public markets.

Amazon Wins Grocery Voice Commerce Trial As Super-Connected Consumers Engage

A federal jury ruled in favor of Amazon this week on a case in which Israeli connected technology firm Freshub accused the retail giant of knowingly harnessing Freshub’s patented grocery voice-ordering technology in its Echo and Alexa smart home devices.