American Express

Digital technology and the coronavirus recovery will dramatically alter payments in the year ahead, but the scale and benefits of networks will survive, Eric Grover of Intrepid Ventures contends.

Given American Express was reporting a 95% hit to one of its core businesses less than two months ago, announcing access to the world’s largest digital payments market has to be a major sigh of relief — even if there’s still entrenched competitors, an international virus and a cold war to navigate.

Borrowers say getting the loans forgiven is just as complicated as obtaining the money; payment companies are holding some merchant funds in reserve as chargebacks spike.

American Express has added 26 Caribbean nations to the list of countries where it’s raised the ceiling on contactless transactions that may be conducted without PINs, to reduce consumers’ exposure to touching PIN pads.

The SBA issues guidance on Paycheck Protection Program loan forgiveness; after staffing up for PPP, Bank of America may need to delay investments to meet cost targets; American Express has leaned hard on cloud tech to help employees work at home during the pandemic.

American Express began adopting cloud computing a couple of years ago and has leaned hard on the technology to help front-line and corporate employees work at home during the coronavirus crisis, its global head of infrastructure says.

In line with the other major card brands, Mastercard is extending its EMV liability shift at gas pumps to April 2021. It is also launching a data-driven fraud protection tool for fuel merchants who have not completed their upgrade to chip-card EMV pumps.

American Express Chief Executive Steve Squeri said a majority of the company’s employees will work remotely through 2020 as it seeks to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

The Covid-19 pandemic has decimated the world’s travel industry and fatally crippled a deal calling for the Carlyle Group Inc. and Singapore sovereign-wealth fund GIC Pte to buy 20% of American Express Global Business Travel, according to unsealed lawsuits.

Carlyle Group Inc. and Singapore sovereign-wealth fund GIC Pte. Ltd. are backing out of a deal to buy a stake in American Express Global Business Travel, which has suffered losses from the Covid-19 pandemic.