Five At Five: Facebook’s AR Push

Welcome to Five at Five, your late look at the day’s payments and commerce news. Coverage includes news about new social media ads and Google’s new payment offering. U.S. authorities are going after Heartland Payment Systems, lawmakers target cashless eateries, and pancakes have regained their rightful place in the universe.

Facebook Testing AR Ads In News Feed

Facebook is expanding on a move from earlier this year to enable advertisers to use augmented reality (AR) to display products in Messenger on the News Feed. The service will be available to a select group of advertisers.

Amid New Google Pay Features, Users Can Split The Bill

Google’s Director of Product Management Gerardo Capiel said that a slew of updates, which have just started rolling out, allow users in the United States to send and request money using the Google Pay app, a feature that will soon debut in the United Kingdom.

SEC Charges Heartland Ex-CEO With Insider Trading

Robert O. Carr, the former CEO of the payments processing company Heartland Payment Systems, and his longtime girlfriend, Katherine M. Hanratty, allegedly engaged in insider trading. Specifically, Carr provided Hanratty with confidential information about a potential acquisition of Heartland by another payments processing company.

Critics: Cashless Restaurants Lack Financial Inclusion

As a growing number of restaurants in Washington D.C. have decided to go cashless, some lawmakers have introduced a bill that would require retailers to accept cash.

IHOP Is Back On Pancakes

IHOP, the restaurant famous for its breakfasts, flirted with becoming IHOB as an attempt to promote its burger offerings. Thankfully, for eaters of the most important meal of the day, the experiment/publicity stunt has drawn to a close.