Fintech

Now that the U.S. is five months into the COVID crisis a new victim is emerging. Caught between small businesses furloughing their staff landlords needing to collect rent are millions of hourly workers.

Paystand's Zero Card leverages its proprietary blockchain-based bank-to-bank payments network in combination with a virtual Mastercard.

Credit card balances declined most sharply as consumers cut back their spending due to the coronavirus pandemic and associated shutdown orders, the New York Fed said Thursday. But delinquencies also fell across all debt categories, thanks to government and lender relief efforts.

Credit card debt has actually gone down since the pandemic struck, with many consumers spending less while using bailout money to chip away at balances. But that may not last.

Some institutions have long worked to recruit a diverse workforce and address discrimination but these initiatives have taken on greater importance as protests have highlighted racial inequality.

The coronavirus outbreak initially looked like it might torpedo U.K.-based Paysafe’s plan to expand in the U.S. in 2020. But several months into the pandemic, the payments conglomerate sees ways it can grow by helping bruised small businesses retool operations.

Many sellers are ditching the loans to avoid the cumbersome forgiveness process. For others, the Paycheck Protection Program was never a strategic fit.

Womply is joining the growing niche of providers offering card-based bill-payment services for cash-strapped small-business owners.

Just as legal limbo has threatened the agency’s long-running effort to create a fintech license, a charter unique to payments companies could face a court challenge, observers say.

Square's gross payment volume tumbled by 15% year-over-year due to COVID-19’s impact, but revenue jumped as online selling rose, Cash App doubled in users and Square enabled almost $900 million in PPP loans.