Today In Payments: EU Launches Pandemic Economy Financial Crime Team; US Lenders Expect Few Loan Defaults

In today’s top news, the EU has established a team to fight financial crime amid the economic downturn, and U.S. lenders expect most borrowers to resume payments soon. Plus, buyers of Apple products will soon be able to pay for them in monthly installments with the Apple Card.

EU Launches Financial Crime Team To Police Pandemic Economy

The European Union (EU) has established a 65-person investigative unit to fight fraud and money laundering, crimes which are expected to rise in the wake of the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

US Lenders Expect Few Loan Defaults

U.S. lenders say they expect most borrowers who were given a temporary reprieve on loans due to income loss from the impact of COVID-19 will resume payments soon. Bank executives say many clients have not been as hard hit by the pandemic as they feared.

Apple Preps Installment Pay Plans On Apple Card

Buyers of Apple products will soon have the ability to pay for those products in monthly installments over a 12-month plan using the Apple Card. The program is intended to spur interest in the company’s credit card.

Instacart Updates Tipping Process To Protect Against Tip Baiting

After shopper complaints, Instacart is modifying its tipping process to protect against tip-baiting. Clients who remove tips after delivery will have to provide feedback and says it will take any customer who continually remove tips offline. Shoppers will also now have the ability to cash out tips 24 hours after a delivery is finished to get access to funds faster.

What Banks Can Learn From Amazon About Digital Onboarding

Registrations on mobile-banking apps rose 200 percent in April as the COVID-19 pandemic prompted consumers to turn to remote banking services. But simply enabling consumers to open accounts via mobile devices isn’t enough, says Stephen Welling, director of retail banking for Atlanta-based Cadence Bank. To successfully onboard and engage customers, banks must enable an Amazon-like experience, as Welling discusses in PYMNTS’ latest Digital Onboarding Tracker.

Innovation Or Annihilation: The Choice Restaurants Face As Recovery Revs Up

The road to recovery for restaurants will be a complicated one that will require new operating procedures to reassure customers that it’s safe to dine out. That’s why Stephen DeSousa, CEO of Broadway Hospitality Group, wrote a comprehensive recovery guide for 14 eateries that he owns. DeSousa joined Karen Webster, Ingo CEO Drew Edwards, Planters First Bancorp CEO Dan Speight and Kickfin Co-founder and co-CEO Brian Hassan for a roundtable on PPP and the restaurants’ road to recovery.

The Staycation Gains Ground – At Other Peoples’ Pads

The coronavirus has spurred the rebound of road trips, where some stats, like Airbnb’s, show that the dawn of summer has given a rise to vacation rental bookings. There’s a growing appeal for vacationing in a “bubble” — where on-site kitchens and laundry mean people can cook and clean their own environments to their liking, and exercise some control.