In this week’s news, we saw PayPal expand its debit Mastercard availability in four new countries, and Twitter unveiled its Super Follows feature on iOS for U.S. and Canada users. The Weekender is here to catch you up.
News
Apple Watch Production Suspended Over Performance Issues
Apple has temporarily halted production on its new smartwatch after manufacturers found during small-scale production that its complicated design made it too difficult to achieve satisfactory production performance, according to Reuters.
The new Apple Watches were slated to be released at the same time as the iPhone 13 in the next few weeks, but that timeline might have to be adjusted because of the production woes, the report says.
Twitter Launches Stripe-Powered Super Follows for Creator Subscriptions
Twitter debuted its Super Follows feature on iOS Wednesday (Sept. 1), giving users in the U.S. and Canada an option that is powered by payments platform Stripe.
Super Follows allow tweeters to set up monthly subscriptions to monetize bonus content. It’s expected to roll out in more countries soon.
Amazon Asks India Regulators to Nix Future Group Sale
Amazon has asked the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to withdraw its conditional approval of competitor Future Group’s $3.4 billion retail operations sale to Reliance Industries, citing a 2019 investment deal that gave Amazon the right to block any Future assets sale it didn’t like, Reuters reported Monday (Aug. 30).
Amazon is leaning on a ruling from India’s Supreme Court that says the interim decision by a Singapore arbitrator from October that put Future’s deal with Reliance on hold is valid, according to the report.
PayPal Business Debit Mastercard Expands into 4 New European Countries
PayPal and Mastercard said in an announcement Wednesday (Sept. 1) they will make their debit card for business available to clients in Belgium, Finland, Portugal and the Netherlands.
The PayPal Business Debit Mastercard, which debuted in 2003, is available in the U.S., Great Britain, Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Ireland, Spain and Austria.
Amid Safety Concerns, McDonald’s Suggests Franchisees Shift from Dine-In to Safer, More Profitable Channels
The rise in COVID-19 cases has McDonald’s shifting many of its locations away from dine-in options, especially in areas where more than 250 people out of 100,000 have the virus. These locations will continue to offer drive-thru, pickup and delivery options.
Trackers and Reports
NEW DATA: Three-Quarters of Mass Payment Recipients Would Pay to Have Choice in How They Receive Funds
Consumers today are getting more mass payments than they were just seven months ago and the average dollar value of such payments is on the rise, up from about $151.33 in December to $157.34 in June, according to PYMNTS research. That’s a total of $21 billion in additional funds in that time.
About 43 million U.S. consumers said they would pay an added fee if they were able to gain access to such payments in the method they like, 9 percent higher than those who would have paid a fee in December, according to The Mass Payment, a PYMNTS collaboration with Tango Card.
Report: Insurers Tap Open Banking to Keep Payments Process Seamless
Global contactless payments have grown almost 50 percent in the past year, increasing from $1.7 trillion in 2020 to $2.5 trillion in 2021, according to PYMNTS research.
As a result, financial institutions (FIs) are now reexamining their offerings to meet the demands of today’s digital-first customers. That’s leading to more interest in open banking technologies among financial players, according to PYMNTS’ latest U.S. Open Banking Tracker®.
Buy Now, Pay Later Plans Help Parents Stock Up on Back-to-School Necessities
Buy now, pay later (BNPL) options are becoming increasingly popular across the U.S., especially for millennials and Generation Z consumers. One recent study found that 27 percent of millennials and Gen Z customers had used installment payment plans in June.
BNPL payment methods are also becoming more popular in markets such as Indonesia, the nation with the fourth-highest population, where 9 out of 10 consumers within the market are at least aware of installment payment methods, with 27 percent of respondents having used BNPL by the end of 2020.
Fun, Cool and Otherwise Interesting
India Jumps On CBDC Bandwagon With Digital Rupee Trials
India could launch trials for a digital rupee in December as it builds out the framework for a central bank digital currency (CBDC), according to a CNBC report.
Shaktikanta Das, governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), told the news outlet that the central bank is exploring the security of digital currencies and how it would influence the country’s monetary policy and financial industry.
Video Conference Service Zoom Expects Slowdown as Companies Return to Offices
Forecasts show usage of video communication platform Zoom decreasing in the coming months after it achieved its first billion-dollar quarter, Reuters reported, with more workers retuning to the office and students returning to the classroom.
Analyst estimates for Zoom’s third quarter revenue are around $1.013 billion, slightly below the company’s forecast of between $1.015 billion and $1.02 billion, according to the report.
Manhattan, San Francisco and LA Real Estate Markets Strong as People Move Back to Cities
People are moving back to cities after focusing on suburban living during the initial part of the pandemic, Sotheby’s International Realty CEO Philip White said in a video posted on Bloomberg this week.
“We’re seeing a resurgence of people moving back into the cities [and] looking at properties there,” he said. “On our website alone, searches in San Francisco are up 200%. They’re up 173% in Manhattan. So, we’re just seeing a resurgence there across the board — Los Angeles as well. We’re not seeing the migration out of New York City, which we did see to some degree last year.”
White notes home sales fell for the second straight month because of limited inventory and high prices.
Crypto Wallet MetaMask Surpasses 10M Monthly Active Users
The MetaMask cryptocurrency wallet has surpassed 10 million monthly active users, according to an announcement from blockchain technology company ConsenSys on Tuesday (Aug. 31), up almost 20 times since July 2020.
That growth “positions MetaMask as the leading non-custodial wallet by users globally,” the company said in the announcement.
China’s Greater Bay Area Ushers In 3-Week Digital Shopping Festival
China kicked off a three-week online shopping event Thursday (Sept. 2) that’s focused on the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), according to a report in the state-owned Xinhua News Agency and China Daily.
The shopping event is intended to strengthen both “emotional and commercial ties” and will feature more than 298,000 brands and 13 million products, including food, cosmetics and appliances, the report says.
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