Weekender: Missing Big Tech Debate, Stripe And Lost Pet Protection Top News

The news never lets up at PYMNTS, and in case you missed some of our big stories, here is the latest edition of the Weekender. Coverage includes Visa’s new B2B push, new trackers and research on fraud and digital ID, Uber financial services and Mastercard’s biometric vision.

Top Performers

The Only Thing Missing From the Big Tech Breakup Debate: A Debate

A bashing that started in Europe in 2015 when the European Commission filed suit against Google for anticompetitive practices has accelerated sharply worldwide. And unfortunately for all, in the aftermath of Facebook’s failure to protect consumer data and the integrity of the content it publishes, everyone is being blamed.

Visa Launches Visa B2B Connect in 30+ Markets

It was late November 2017 when the world got its public preview of Visa B2B Connect at the Singapore FinTech Festival. It was described then as an idea to solve the many frictions inherent in sending money from one bank account to another across borders, typically between corporates — and of a large denomination.

Stripe Makes Terminal Available Across the U.S.

Stripe has announced that Stripe Terminal, a set of SDKs, APIs, and pre-certified card readers that lets users accept in-person payments, is now available all over the United States.

Mastercard Bets on Biometric Cards to Advance Inclusion

It was a launch supported by background efforts in developing biometric cards that have been three or four years in the making, as Mastercard Executive Vice President of Identity Solutions Bob Reany told Karen Webster in a recent conversation. It was a solution that laid in the cross-section of many separate but connected problems in the Mexican market and beyond.

Uber Plans Expansion Into Financial Services

Uber is expanding its services and moving toward providing financial products, according to a report by CNBC. The company has reportedly been hiring numerous product managers and engineers. Its new FinTech team could ultimately have more than 100 workers. Uber is taking advantage of New York’s talent pool in the financial department, which has more depth in the San Francisco sector.

Trackers and Reports

How Online Universities Take Fraudsters to School

In the June Digital Identity Tracker, PYMNTS explores the increasing importance of digital identity in the information age, and how consumers and providers are struggling to keep their identities secure.

BNY Mellon’s AI Fix For Reducing False-Positives

With 83 percent of consumers in the U.S. owning laptops and 91 percent owning mobile devices, there’s never been greater opportunity for digital fraud. Total losses due to fraud were a staggering $4.2 trillion in 2018, or slightly less than the gross domestic product (GDP) of Germany.

Fun, Cool and Otherwise Interesting

Fiverr’s IPO Bodes Well For (Some) Gig Economy Stocks

Amid a slew of busted initial public offerings in the tech realm, with Uber and Lyft among them, and the specter of regulators looking into platform firms like Facebook and Google, a recent addition to the pantheon bears watching.

Lost Pet Posters Get a Digital Upgrade

Pet retail is among the fiercest battlefields for both brick-and-mortar merchants and eCommerce operators. And that battle has attracted fresh fuel — including via a company offering a new way to track pets.