After removing the camera from store shelves in December of last year, Amazon is sunsetting the Echo Look. Clients started to get messages yesterday noted that their units, as well as accompanying app, will “no longer function” starting in July of this year, as the functions of Echo Look move...
Mitch McConnell: Final COVID-19 Relief Bill Coming In A Month
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Congress will decide whether to pass another COVID-19 relief package soon. “We’re taking a careful look at a fourth and final bill,” the Kentucky Republican said on Friday (May 29), CNBC reported. “You could anticipate the decision being made on whether to go forward...
Facebook Launches Venue As Live-Streaming Meets Post-Pandemic World
Facebook is introducing the world to Venue, an app designed to offer at-home users a digital second-screen experience at live events. Instead of livestreaming events directly, Venue was created as a platform that allows various expert hosts – journalists, athletes, social media personalities, etc. – to host digital venues connected...
Main Street’s Digital Shift, ATM Innovation, PPP Loans Top This Week’s News
It’s the end of the work week, and the PYMNTS Weekender is here to make sure you didn’t miss anything with the latest in payments and commerce news. We have deep dives on Main Street’s digital shift, ATM innovation and PPP loans. Top News The Flaw In Demonizing Big Tech...
Survey: Despite Pandemic, 1 In 4 Americans Say Their Wallets Are Fatter
While the number of laid-off workers who filed for jobless benefits exceeded 40 million last week, 1 in 10 Americans say COVID-19 has boosted their budget, according to a new survey. CNBC reported a TD Ameritrade poll of more than 1,000 adults across the U.S. contacted between April 24 through...
Google Withdraws Offers To More Than 2,000 Contract Workers
More than 2,000 people who had signed employment agreements with Google as temp and contract workers had their offers rescinded, The New York Times reported. As the California-based search giant deals with shrinking ad revenues caused by COVID-19, Google told employment agencies about its decision in an email last week,...
US Lawmakers Ask FTC To Examine Tipping Practices On Instacart And Other Delivery Platforms
After reports that eCommerce delivery platforms are allowing consumers to “tip bait,” four U.S. senators are asking the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to look at “potentially unfair and misleading” tipping practices on Instacart as well as other services. In a letter to FTC Chairman Joseph Simons, U.S. Senators Brian Schatz,...
Democrats Skeptical Of Second Round Of Stimulus Checks
House Democrats who had hoped to provide Americans with a second $1,200 stimulus check are facing opposition from members of their own party in the Senate, The Hill reported. Two weeks ago, the House narrowly adopted a $3 trillion measure that would provide a second wave of cash payments to...
Today In Payments: Mastercard Introduces Recovery Insights Tools; Starling Notches $49M In Funding
In today’s top news, Mastercard introduces Recovery Insights tools, Google is mulling a purchase of a share of Vodafone India, and British digital bank Starling has raised $49 million in funding. Mastercard Debuts COVID-Recovery Data Tools For Business, Gov’t Mastercard’s new Recovery Insights technology will try to assist companies and...
Swedens Economy Grew In Q1 In Absence Of Lockdown
Sweden is winning the race among European nations to restore the economy from the coronavirus pandemic, according to data published on Friday (May 29), CNBC reported. The Nordic country reported its gross domestic product (GDP), a measure of economic health, grew at an annual rate of 0.4 percent from January...