Today In Payments: Atlanta Fed Warns Outbreaks Could Stall Recovery; Big Tech CEOs To Testify In Antitrust Probe

In today’s top news, a Federal Reserve official warns the surge in coronavirus cases could dampen economic recovery, and the CEOs of the four biggest tech companies will testify before Congress. Plus, a second Wirecard executive was arrested over the recent fraud scandal.

Atlanta Fed Warns Recovery Could Stall As Outbreaks Surge

The uptick in U.S. coronavirus cases could dampen the recovery of the nation’s economy, according to a Federal Reserve official. Hospitals across the Sun Belt continue to be filled with new COVID-19 patients, and business reopenings have leveled off.

Big Tech CEOs Head To Capitol Hill On July 27

The CEOs of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google parent Alphabet will all appear before Congress this month as part of a governmental antitrust probe into their companies.

Wirecard Exec Who Ran Unit At Heart Of Scandal In Custody In Munich

Wirecard executive Oliver Bellenhaus, 46, has been arrested in Munich for his alleged central role in the massive worldwide fraud case currently enveloping the company. Bellenhaus was in charge of Wirecard’s CardSystems Middle East and ran that division primarily from his apartment in Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building.

US Online Grocery Sales Hit $7.2B In June

Online grocery sales growth continued in June as the pandemic continued to shape the way people shopped for necessities like food. In the last 30 days, the survey found that the number of online sales grew over 9 percent, hitting a record of $7.2 billion.

New Report: How FinTechs Help Brazilian SMBs Solve Cross-Border Payments Pains

In this month’s Smarter Payments Tracker, Alexandre Liuzzi, co-founder of Brazilian FinTech BeeTech, discusses how digital onboarding and banking application programming interfaces (APIs) can give small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) the certainty and confidence to expand operations overseas and make sales.

General Atlantic’s Dr. Jud Linville On FinTechs, Credit And What’s Ahead For Banks

The digital transformation of financial services that began well before the pandemic has only accelerated in recent months. But Dr. Jud Linville, senior adviser at growth equity firm General Atlantic, tells Karen Webster that banks must learn to become agile despite the current unknowns and possible consumer credit crunch. He says that’s the only way they can a find a competitive advantage against nimble FinTechs.

‘Down’ Rounds And Investor Caution — Blip Or Trend?

Recent down rounds in the stock market may spotlight the particular headwinds of the pandemic — and challenges facing companies that promise to be tech “disruptors” in particular. And the series of “down rounds” seem to imply there is a growing disconnect between public and private market valuations.