Five At Five: Amazon Doesn’t Have A Lock On Smart Speakers

Welcome to Five at Five, your late look at the day’s payments and commerce news. Today’s coverage includes the latest news about smart speakers, along with an Uber partner raising a good piece of capital. Pinterest is eying an IPO, the year’s biggest shopping day is approaching and the holidays will result in significant late payments in the supply chain.

Amazon’s Smart Speaker Dominance Expected to Shrink as Competitors Rise

Forecasting Analyst Jaimie Chung said new speakers now have technology that is comparable to the Echo, and that will make other models more attractive.

Uber Partner Fair Raises $385M in Funding Led by SoftBank

Fair has a mobile app and website that makes it easy to search for and purchase a car while staying within a predetermined budget. Through the app, users search for a car and sign the lease without the need to go to a car dealer.

Pinterest Mulls April 2019 IPO

Pinterest could choose its underwriters for the IPO as soon as January. Once it’s set, the company could reach a valuation at or in excess of $12 billion, although that could obviously change between now and when the IPO becomes a reality.

US Shoppers to Spend $26B on Dec. 22

Data shows that this coming Saturday — Dec. 22 — is poised to be the biggest shopping day of the year.

Greensill: Holiday Impact on Late Payments Will Be $110B

Manufacturing, shipping and selling the gifts being purchased during the holidays this year will force businesses in the supply chain to be waiting on $110 billion, an 18 percent increase from last year.