Today In Payments: Amazon Trials Video Onboarding For New Merchants; Hospitals Face Cash Crunch

In today’s top news, Amazon is trialing video onboarding calls to prevent merchant fraud, and hospitals face major financial hardship amid the coronavirus pandemic. Plus, the CEO of Bank of America called on Congress to give funding to all small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in need.

Amazon Trials Video Onboarding Calls To Thwart Merchant Fraud

Amazon is trialing video as an alternative to in-person meetings to verify the identity of new merchants. Face-to-face meetings and video calls were being piloted before the pandemic as a way to stop counterfeit merchandise.

Hospitals Face Financial Hardship As COVID-19 Continues To Surge

Hospitals on the front lines of treating the coronavirus pandemic are projecting staggering losses, some as high as $50 billion a month. Medicine is going broke — hit by what Rick Pollack, president and CEO of the American Hospital Association, called a “triple whammy” of bad conditions simultaneously.

BoA CEO Says All PPP Applications Should Be Funded

As the Paycheck Prevention Program (PPP) reopens on Monday (April 27) with $310 billion, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said Congress should “not make this a foot race,” and make the assistance big enough to help all SMBs.

WH Economic Adviser Expects US Jobless Rate To Climb To 16 Pct

The U.S. economy could face a historic shock amid the coronavirus pandemic, with a possible 16 percent unemployment rate, hitting levels aligned with the Great Depression from 1929 to 1939. White House Economic Advisor Kevin Hassett said economic data in the coming months are going to be terrible.

Why Reopening The US Economy Should Be About Reinventing It

Many say that reopening the economy will spur a V-shaped recovery — a rapid rise up after a rapid decline in the wake of COVID-19. Karen Webster said expecting businesses to spring right back is highly unlikely and points to the lessons of platform ignition for the reasons why. She said there are six more months before consumers and Main Street SMBs say things could start to look normal, and lots of new digital habits and way too much friction associated with going back to the status quo means reopening the economy must also mean reinventing the businesses that drive it. Here’s why.

How FIs And FinTechs Are Expanding The Credit Card Paradigm

Consumers expect more from credit cards, including mobile integration, rewards, spend management and strong account security. While these benefits represent vast opportunities for credit-solution providers and the consumers who’ll benefit from them, they also pose big technical challenges to card issuers and processors. In Beyond The Card: Innovating The Next Generation Of Credit Solutions, PYMNTS offers a roadmap to this complex landscape — and the innovative firms that are leading the way.

The Balancing Act Between PPP’s Letter And Spirit Of The ‘Law’

The Small Business Administration (SBA) issued new guidance for the second installment of the PPP, stating applicants must show “current economic uncertainty makes this loan request necessary.” The spirit of the PPP allowed the first round of funds to be exhausted in a matter of weeks. Now, as the “letter” of the PPP changes, the program itself will become more clearly defined, conceivably winnowing down the pool of companies looking for funding.