Today In Payments: Amazon One Lets Consumers Pay By Hand; Stripe Heads $12M Funding Round For PayMongo

In today’s top news, Amazon introduces pay-by-hand tech to its Amazon Go stores, and payments platform PayMongo raises $12 million. Plus, 70 percent of businesses plan to automate their accounts receivable departments.

Amazon One Lets Consumers Pay With Their Hand

Amazon has introduced the latest touchless way to pay at checkout; Amazon One, where users can pay by scanning the palm of their hand. The feature is currently only available at two Amazon Go stores in Seattle, but the eCommerce giant plans to expand it to its other checkout-free stores.

Stripe Heads Up $12M Funding Round For PayMongo

Filipino online payments platform PayMongo raised $12 million in a funding round led by Stripe, and also including existing investors Y Combinator and Global Founders Capital, and new investor Bedrock Capital. PayMongo plans to use the funding to introduce new features and products, and to keep building its product, design and engineering teams.

Amazon Debuts Men’s Subscription Shopping Service

Amazon is introducing a new $4.99 per month personal shopping service for its male Prime members, in an expansion of its Personal Shopper by Prime Wardrobe, originally aimed at women. Each month, an Amazon stylist selects an assortment of items matching each customer’s preferences and fit and ships them to the customers. Whatever the customer doesn’t want can be returned.

Apple And Epic’s Battle May Head To Trial in 2021

The ongoing war between Apple and Epic Games over the future of Fortnite on iOS seems to be heading for a trial showdown that could have drastic effects on what the future of the digital economy will be, and what entities will play the role of gatekeeper.

NEW DATA: Pandemic Pushes 70 Pct Of Businesses To Automate Accounts Receivables

Fifty percent of businesses say manual processes, sluggish payments and high operating costs have made managing accounts receivable departments nerve-wracking over the last six months. In the B2B Payments Innovation Readiness Report, PYMNTS, in collaboration with American Express, analyzed survey responses from 460 businesses across five sectors to examine the impact of automating AR functions on days sales outstanding and cash flow.

Why Millennials And Gen Z Could Save 2020’s Holiday Shopping Season

Things are looking very uncertain as the holiday shopping season looms, with retailers unsure what U.S. consumers will do. But panelists on the latest “On the Agenda” discussion believe younger consumers could save the day, although merchants will have to raise their digital game. Karen Webster discusses with Cosmetics CEO Ric Kostick, Afterpay Co-Founder and CEO Nick Molnar and Apricot Lane Boutique CEO Patrick Stewart.

Fed Consumer Finance Survey Reveals Online Banking Usage, (Slightly) Higher Debt Burdens

The Fed’s latest Survey of Consumer Finances might come with a caveat: The data measure a period that may seem long ago and far away — the time before COVID.