Big Merger, Big Hacking And Need For Big App Dominates Week’s News

The dog days are summer are here – and so is the end of another busy week in payments and commerce. In this latest edition of the PYMNTS Weekender, coverage includes the latest on the Apple credit card, the race to create an everyday app, a deep look at meal kit retail as Blue Apron turns seven and the latest big twist in subscription commerce.

Top News

Fiserv-First Data Merger Is Complete

The big deal is now complete: Fiserv announced it has completed its acquisition of First Data Corporation. The two massive firms first inked the deal earlier this year, which will see Fiserv purchase First Data for $22 billion in an all-stock transaction.

Hacker Arrested in Capital One Breach Affecting 100M+

Software engineer Paige Thompson, 33, allegedly boasted about the hack and left crumbs for investigators to follow. Thompson formerly worked for Amazon Web Services, which hosted the Capital One database that was breached.

BAMS, First Data JV to Call It Quits in 2020

With their joint venture set to end next year, First Data and Bank of America said they will pursue independent merchant services strategies starting in June 2020.

Apple Credit Card Coming in August

Despite some hiccups along the way with Goldman Sachs, the Apple credit card is on track for an August release, according to a report.

Who Will Be the Consumer’s Everyday App?

Everyone wants to be the consumer’s everyday app – the “super app” to rule them all, the front door into the goods and services consumers use as they go about their day. Karen Webster digs deep.

Reports and Trackers

How Visa’s Using Blockchain Tech to Simplify X-Border Payments

Global payments revenues are at an all-time high, and experts predict they could even climb to be a $2 trillion industry by 2020. Cross-border payment revenues currently account for approximately $200 billion, a significant slice of the payments pie. Currently, there are 0.7 international transactions per capita every year, up from 0.5 in 2014.

Report: The Late Tuition Payment Epidemic

Over the past three decades, the cost of college tuition has increased significantly. According to the College Board, the cost of a four-year degree at a public higher education institution has more than tripled.

Payment Tech Tops FIs’ Innovation Agendas

The financial world is awash in hot tech topics these days, from blockchain to artificial intelligence (AI). However, financial institutions (FIs) are getting better at separating vital areas of innovation from the hype.

Fun, Cool and Otherwise Interesting

Blue Apron Turns Seven As Meal Kit Industry Grows Up

Call Blue Apron what you will: a struggling retailer, a comeback kid, a prime example of hype in the online world, a respectable survivor. But no matter the label, this much is true: As of August, the meal kit pioneer is seven years old.

How House Calls Have Gone to the Telehealth Dogs

Veterinary care in the U.S. is expensive, particularly if pet owners meet the American Veterinary Association’s pet care standards of two vet visits per year, a full suite of vaccines and flea/tick/parasite medications, which cost a total of about $750 per year.

Can Uber Change the Subscription Game, Too?

You have probably noticed, but in case you haven’t, let’s just state the blunt truth: When it comes to subscription commerce, one of the hottest areas of payments and retail, things are getting brutal out there. Actually, not just brutal, but almost existential, in a fight-for-dominance type of way.

Senate Hearing Focuses on Need for Crypto Oversight

The Tuesday hearing, of course, came in the wake of an examination earlier this month by the Senate Banking Committee of Libra, the proposed digital currency in the works from Facebook and a host of other companies through a consortium model.