Today In Payments: Walmart Takes Aim At Amazon Prime With Subscriptions; Great Hill Partners Acquires One Inc.

In today’s top news, Walmart is working on a new paid subscription program to compete with Amazon Prime, and Great Hill Partners acquired the digital insurance payments solutions vendor One Inc. Also, PayPal warned of a 1 percent drop in its first-quarter 2020 revenue.

Walmart Takes Aim at Amazon Prime With Walmart+

Walmart is reportedly working on a new paid subscription model to compete with Prime, called Walmart+. The company’s goal is to create a program that offers perks Amazon can’t match, and could start testing it as soon as March.

Great Hill Partners Acquires Insurance Payments Startup One Inc.

Private equity firm Great Hill Partners is acquiring One Inc., a digital insurance payments solutions vendor. One Inc’s platform lets insurance companies conduct a smooth payment experience through policyholders, vendors, agents, and service providers.

PayPal Warns of Q1 Revenue Hit from Coronavirus

PayPal is expecting a 1 percent drop in its first-quarter 2020 revenue, it announced. The FinTech said that “business trends” remain strong, but that the Coronavirus has hit “international cross-border eCommerce traffic.”

EU Antitrust Chief Backs Gig Workers

European Commissioner Margrethe Vestager wants to help gig economy workers fight for better wages and conditions. She voiced her concern over the difficulties of freelance workers and stressed the importance of helping them unionize.

BBVA’s Four-Step Guide to Digital-First Transformations

Ensuring that customer-facing and back-end operations are working in parallel is just one of the many obstacles banks face when adopting digital-first banking systems. In this month’s Digital-First Banking Tracker, BBVA USA’s Head of Retail Banking Murat Çağrı Süzer details the bank’s four-step digital overhaul that helped get its digital transformation teams working in tandem.

Coronavirus, Olympics and What’s Next for Sporting Events Worldwide

Will the impact of the Coronavirus escalate far enough to put the Olympics on hold? Anbritt Stengele, founder and president of Sports Traveler, tells PYMNTS that it’s unlikely. Here’s why she says “bucket list” events like the Olympics can be immune to these types of global concerns.

China’s Halting Return to Work Signals US Supply Chain Headwinds

Due to the Coronavirus, Chinese businesses are running at about 20 percent of their normal levels. As cash on hand decreases, businesses and suppliers are forced to shut their doors, causing a spiraling effect throughout the global supply chain.