Today In Payments: COVID Hit UK Hard; Amex Negotiating To Buy SMB Lender Kabbage

In today’s top news, the impact of the pandemic has hit the U.K. harder than other developed countries, and Amex is eying an acquisition of small and medium-sized business (SMB) lender Kabbage. Plus, GM’s CFO is leaving the company to join Stripe.

COVID Hits UK Economy Harder Than Other Developed Economies

The impact of the coronavirus in Europe hit the United Kingdom especially hard. England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland saw gross domestic product, the value of goods and services, shrink more than 20 percent in the second quarter (Q2).

Amex Negotiating To Buy SMB Lender Kabbage

American Express Co. could be the new owner of Kabbage Inc., one of the largest online business lenders. If the deal closes, it would value the SoftBank Group Corp. and Reverence Capital Partners-backed lender at as much as $850 million, according to sources.

GM CFO Jumps Ship For CFO Role At Stripe

As its reach expands throughout the world, Stripe has announced that Dhivya Suryadevara will serve as chief financial officer. Suryadevara joins the payments company from General Motors, where she held the same role.

Intuit Offered $1.5B To Buy BigCommerce Before Its IPO

Before BigCommerce held its initial public offering (IPO), Intuit offered to buy the company for $1.5 billion, a proposal that was rejected. The proposal wasn’t unfounded: During the economic crisis this year, subscription software vendors have seen their worth double and triple in value due to the upswing in demand for digital tools as people work from home.

DraftKings: Why Sportsbook Is The Ticket To The Everywhere Fan Experience

With live sports and entertainment still mostly on hold, fans are getting their sports fix by betting on it. Dan Hannigan-Daley, director of sportsbook product at popular app DraftKings, says lockdown boredom and a lack of actual live sports to watch have been the perfect lineup for sports-betting firms that come up with things like computer-simulated games to bet on.

NEW REPORT: Turning The Page On Digital Media Platforms’ Legacy AP Practices

Many digital publications rely on freelancers to create compelling content. But using manual AP processes to pay these professionals means pay days are measured in months, not hours or days, says Ed Klaris, CEO of intellectual property and royalties-focused firm KlarisIP. In the CFO’s Guide To Digitizing B2B Payments, Klaris discusses how digital AP tools take the friction from paying these valuable freelance contributors.

Instacart-Walmart Delivery Pact Heats Up Online Grocery Wars

Hell hath no fury like a grocery delivery firm scorned. Instacart — which served as exclusive grocery-delivery partner for Amazon/Whole Foods until Amazon ended the arrangement in 2018 — is launching a similar program with Walmart, and has arrangements in place with just about everyone else. It’s the latest battle in the war between Amazon and Walmart for customers’ share of stomach (and spend). Who will win this round?