Today In Payments: China’s Rebounding Economy Is Likely Not Norm; At Least $20B Of PPP Loans Have Been Canceled

In today’s top news, China’s economy looks to be rebounding, and a minimum of $20 billion in PPP loans has been returned. Plus, lawmakers ask the FTC to investigate the tipping practices of delivery platforms.

China’s Rebounding Economy Is Likely Exception, Not Norm

Manufacturing indexes in China show that the country’s post-pandemic economy is on the rebound, the latest reports indicate. China’s official manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) and the Caixin China PMI, both showed that factory productivity was on the upswing in May, but some analysts say other global economies may not experience the same growth.

SBA Data Shows $20B+ Of PPP Loans Have Been Canceled

A minimum of $20 billion in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans have been canceled — some by large public firms that returned millions after criticism of taking away help from small businesses and the potential of an audit for loans exceeding $2 million. But most are by SMBs afraid they can’t spend the money in ways that will qualify for loan forgiveness.

Lawmakers Ask FTC To Examine Delivery Platforms Tipping Protocols

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.

Amazon To Sunset Echo Look In July

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 to other offerings and apps.

The Rise Of Card-On-File Commerce

In the good old days of January 2020, omnichannel described the need to make digital a part of physical retail’s shopping experience. The pandemic and the massive shift to digital that it has ignited, Karen Webster says, has turned that concept on its ear as retailers rush to make physical part of the consumer’s digital experience. That, she says, means creating an integrated payments experience that bridges any digital or physical touchpoint where consumers and merchants meet to do business. And the ultimate in a contactless, touchless, even card-less, commerce experience.

Visa’s Kevin Phalen: Moving B2B Payments From Acceleration To Execution

Seven months ago, the conversation was about moving B2B payments from inertia to execution. The developments across the global economy over the last seven to eight weeks, Kevin Phalen, global head of Visa Business Solutions, tells Karen Webster, has moved those conversations from how to pick up the pace to how to just get it done. Here’s how he sees the future of B2B payments.

Australia Seems Headed Toward A ‘Service-Sector Recession,’ And America Could Be Next

Australia may be entering its first recession since the early 1990s, this time focused on the service sector. A recent Reuters survey of economists estimates that Australia’s roughly $1.4 trillion GDP contracted 30 basis points in the first quarter.