Today In Payments: ByteDance Bids For Singapore Banking License; AmEx Cleared To Process Transactions In China

In today’s top news, ByteDance joins the race for one of Singapore’s five digital banking licenses, and American Express has received initial approval to process transactions in China. Plus, the Senate will hold a hearing this week to explore the recent growth — and future — of telehealth in the U.S.

TikTok’s ByteDance Bids For Singapore Banking License

ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, is expanding into financial services with the family that owns OCBC Bank, the global financial services corporation headquartered in Singapore. ByteDance is negotiating with the Lee business family, as the technology group seeks to add banking to its portfolio.

AmEx Cleared To Process Transactions In China

American Express has won initial approval from the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) to process the nation’s currency. Express Company, a joint venture between American Express and LianLian DigiTech, a Chinese FinTech services company, is expected to begin processing transactions later this year.

Senate Committee To Consider Telehealth’s Future

The pandemic has hit telehealth with the force of a meteor, pushing regulators to amend or suspend guidelines that critics say held back telemedicine’s advance in the U.S. Now, the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee will host a hearing on the subject this week to evaluate its advantages — and potential risks.

Chargeback Fears Prompts Delay Of Merchant Funds

ePayment firms Square, PayPal, Stripe and Worldpay have implemented additional waiting times for users to access funds to protect themselves against chargebacks. The companies say they must be vigilant against possible losses for customers seeking refunds for purchased airline tickets, vacations other products or services.

Why Digital’s 3.0 Shift May Take Longer Than We Think

When digital 1.0’s wave hit in the mid-1990s, innovators were told that moving in “internet time” would give them an overnight competitive advantage. Two-plus decades and two digital evolutions later, those who survived recognize that using digital to solve for physical frictions — at scale — takes more than good tech, good luck and a slick user interface. It’s why, Karen Webster says, that the shift to a pandemic-fueled shift to digital 3.0 will take longer than we now think — even though consumers are chomping at the bit for more digital-first experiences, and faster. Here’s why.

From T-Shirts To PPE — What Hanes Learned From Its Supply Chain Pivot

Clothing brand Hanes jumped from producing T-shirts to fighting the global personal protective equipment (PPE) shortage by manufacturing 200 million face coverings and counting. But transitioning production required leveraging local supply chains and restarting shuttered factories, says Vice President Matt Hall. In the PPE Supply Chain Report, Hall discusses what it takes for companies to pivot their supply-chain operations and why face masks could become a permanent fixture on retail shelves.

Walmart, Shopify And The Shot Across Amazon’s (Marketplace) Bow

News came Monday (June 15) that Walmart has joined with eCommerce company Shopify in a bid to boost its online marketplace presence. Walmart will add as many as 1,200 Shopify sellers to its marketplace this year, with particular focus on adding small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).