Top News In Payments: Amazon Invests $1B In India SMBs; Wells Sees Card Spending Growth

In today’s top payments news, Amazon plans to invest $1 billion in small and medium-sized businesses in India. Plus, in fourth quarter earnings, Wells Fargo reports card spending growth and Goldman Sachs points to its consumer banking expansion.

Amazon Invests $1B In India To Take SMBs Digital

CEO Jeff Bezos announced that Amazon will invest $1 billion in small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in India. The aim is to help more than 10 million businesses digitize and enable exports of India-made goods worth $10 billion by 2025.

Wells Fargo Sees Card Spending Growth As Restructuring, Regulators Loom

Wells Fargo’s latest earnings report emphasizes costs and scandals, with card spending growth amid restructuring and regulatory questions.

Goldman Sachs: Marcus At $60 Billion In Deposits

Goldman Sachs’ earnings results for the fourth quarter shed light on its continued shift downstream into consumer banking and credit.

Buy Now Pay Later’s Impact On Mobile Checkout Conversion

The eCommerce retail landscape is changing. Younger customers like millennials and Generation Z shoppers remain wary of traditional pay systems, and will abandon their purchase at the first sign of friction. In the latest Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) Tracker, PYMNTS talks with Cate Khan, co-founder of online retailer Verishop, to discuss how the eTailer is using BNPL to entice customers, particularly millennials.

The Coming ‘Stair Step’ In Merchant Services Provider Spend

Merchant service providers will have to boost tech spending in the 2020s, to bring legacy systems into the digital age. Endava Head of Payments Americas Glenn Geil sat down with Karen Webster to discuss the roadmap as “stair step” spending gets underway.

Google Buys Pointy To Boost Local Brick-And-Mortar Retail

Google is acquiring Pointy, a tech retail startup that enables merchants to get their products online and increase their web presence. The move will boost brick-and-mortar retail by showing people local stores and products on a larger scale.

Fed: Two-Thirds Of SMBs Are Dissatisfied With Online Lenders

According to the Fed’s Small Business Credit Survey, credit seekers are turning increasingly to non-bank online lenders – particularly smaller, newer, minority-owned firms—which process loan applications much faster, yet don’t meet the satisfaction rate traditional lenders tote.