Payments

The motivation behind JPMorgan Chase's purchase of rewards company cxLoyalty is clear — travel spending and rewards have suffered greatly during the pandemic — but another problem Chase is tackling with this acquisition is the need to wean people off cash rewards.

Michael Moeser, senior analyst at PaymentsSource, talks to Jennifer Philo, group vice president of U.S. commerce at Blackhawk Network, about the ways the global pandemic has transformed the use cases for gift cards, prepaid cards and loyalty products the company supports.

JPMorgan Chase is buying cxLoyalty, a major credit card loyalty platform, in a bid to enrich its own card loyalty programs when travel resumes after the global pandemic.

Many consumers started using digital payments out of necessity once the pandemic struck. They may continue as it recedes because they like the convenience.

Square Inc., the digital-payment company run by Jack Dorsey, has held talks to acquire the music-streaming service Tidal as part of a push to diversify, according to a person familiar with the situation.

While there has been a general trend of paying people faster for work already performed, starting with gig workers, COVID-19 has created (or exposed) many issues that are fueling the shift toward on-demand pay, especially for hourly workers.

Ultimately, whatever options banks and fintechs deliver for this next phase of the pandemic must appease not only the merchants but their customers as well.

Homeis, an internet platform that creates social immigrant communities, has partnered with money transfer fintechs Remitly, TransferWise and Afriex as it registers its millionth user.

JPMorgan Chase is partnering with Air Canada, the bank's first new cobranded card partner to be announced in years.