PYMNTS AM Radar: Credit Card Debt; Payments Innovation; BNPL Loyalty; Social Commerce; ICYMI

Today is Friday, June 10, and banks are happy that people are finally using credit cards again and letting the balances rack up interest. But with record-high inflation, gas at $5 per gallon, and runaway prices for food, housing and just about everything, it could come back to haunt them. Federal prosecutors are opening a criminal inquiry into Wells Fargo, alleging the bank violated anti-discrimination laws by pretending to interview minority candidates.

New unemployment claims climbed above pre-pandemic levels for the first time since January, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported, and the consumer price index report, out today, is forecasted to go up 0.7% month-over-month for May. Here’s what else should be on your radar this morning.

Credit Card Debt. Consumers are increasingly letting their credit card debt revolve after paying down $83 billion during the pandemic. While it’s a good money-maker for banks, the state of the economy could make it risky business for consumers and bankers. READ MORE

Payments Innovation. Food journalist, author and CEO of Food52 Amanda Hesser told PYMNTS in the “Digital Payments Flip the Script: 10 Merchants and 10 Visions for Digital Transformation” that the company had to build its platform to process payments because at the time, there wasn’t anything available to “create the kind of curated drop-ship model that we have.” READ MORE

BNPL Loyalty. Buy now, pay later sales volume is tracking to top $181 billion this year. But despite the popularity among consumers and the increasing number of retailers participating with big-ticket offerings, consumers can be transient instead of loyal. In the latest edition of the Buy Now, Pay Later Tracker®, PYMNTS explores the impact of BNPL offerings on consumer payment preferences, trust and loyalty. READ MORE

Social Commerce. WooCommerce teamed up with TikTok to give its merchants a way to engage with users and make sales as potential customers breeze through entertaining snippets on just about everything. WooCommerce CEO Paul Maiorana told PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster that when he’s on TikTok, he doesn’t have an intention of making a purchase but often does. READ MORE

ICYMI. Amazon wants shoppers to skip going to the physical shoe store and use its virtual try-on tool instead. The artificial intelligence (AI)-based innovation is an interactive mobile experience that lets people see how the shoes look on their feet from every angle. The tool doesn’t let people know how the shoes will feel, however. READ MORE