In this week’s news, we saw Nedbank rolling out a WhatsApp money service, and new insights have emerged on unattended retail and business payments automation. The Weekender is here to catch you up.
News
Nedbank Launches WhatsApp Money Service With Mastercard In South Africa
South Africa-based Nedbank introduced an offering named Money Message that enables clients to transmit money via the very popular WhatsApp messaging program. A news release from Mastercard says the new service is a collaboration between the firm, Nedbank and Ukheshe.
Visa Direct Transactions Surge Almost 60 Pct YoY
Visa reported second-quarter fiscal year earnings results that displayed ongoing momentum in debit spending and tap to pay, some lessening of the headwinds in cross-border payments — and green shoots coming to the surface in credit.
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Walmart+ Leverages Grocery Delivery; Gains 8 Million New Paid Subscribers
The Walmart+ membership program has developed a base of over 60 million U.S. consumers signed up for the $98-per-year service, which offers online delivery, in-store savings and convenience offerings, in only seven months.
Deluxe Signs $960 Million Acquisition Deal For First American Payments
Deluxe is purchasing First American Payments Systems in a $960 million all-cash deal meant to help the firm speed up its digital growth in the payments space.
GameStop Now Has An Additional $551 Million To Fund Its eCommerce Transformation
Video game retailer GameStop has raised $551 million through the sale of 3.5 million new shares of stock, the firm announced this week, saying the proceeds would be harnessed to keep accelerating its transformation in addition to general corporate purposes.
Trackers And Reports
Unattended Retail Seeks Solution To Fragmented Loyalty Efforts
The utilization of unattended retail solutions soared during the coronavirus pandemic as more people looked for safe, touch-free methods to transact through cashierless stores, self-checkouts, self-service stations or kiosks.
PYMNTS explores the newest unattended retail technologies and developments — and how companies are harnessing these tools to satisfy consumers’ demands for digitally oriented physical shopping experiences.
Report: Automation Protects Business Payments From Email Compromise
Businesses globally are still trying to reconfigure their typical operations and payment workflows to keep up with the shifts brought about by the pandemic. PYMNTS analyzes how scammers’ attack strategies have evolved since the beginning of the pandemic in adding to what changes companies have to make to their own fraud prevention tactics to keep them out.
Fun, Cool And Otherwise Interesting
How We Pay 2021: BNPL And Credit Cards Are Magic Mixture For Millennials
PYMNTS polled thousands of U.S. consumers in three 2021 timeframes, finding emerging use patterns and spending secrets of millennials with buy now, pay later (BNPL) alternative credit in addition to credit cards.
QR Codes Gain More Mainstream Traction Through PayPal And Fiserv
Fiserv is launching a new functionality that will let enterprises of different sizes — smaller companies harnessing Clover and bigger companies harnessing Carat — take payments from PayPal and Venmo by the way of quick response (QR) codes presented at the point of sale.
Smart Payments Association Says 2021 Is Pivotal Year For Wearable Payments Tech
In its revised forecast for 2021, the Germany-based Smart Payments Association (SPA) finds that people and financial players are showing more and more interest in dropping cards, killing checks and paying by the way of super-charged apparel.
Smoothie King Grows Mid-Pandemic Sales With Health-Centric Messaging
Smoothie King, the smoothie-based quick-service restaurant (QSR), expanded its sales by adding digital ordering functionalities and by launching an array of health-focused menu items, deals and promotions concentrated on consumers seeking feel-good options in the midst of this challenging time.
Facebook Lays Out Its Vision For The Future Of Commerce
Facebook Marketplace, which was rolled out with little fanfare in 2016, has become huge and is turning into a springboard for Facebook’s bigger commerce ambitions.
“We built Marketplace into one of the world’s leading services for people to buy and sell, and I am pleased to share today that more than 1 billion people visit Marketplace each month,” CEO Mark Zuckerberg told investors during an earnings call. “And now, we’re investing in building for the future of commerce.”
