Today In Payments: Hilton Times Square To Close; PayPal Launches iZettle Food & Drink In UK

In today’s top news, the Hilton Times Square is closing, and PayPal launched iZettle Food & Drink in the U.K. Plus, Airbnb rejected William Ackman’s blank-check offer to go public.

Hilton Hotel In Times Square To Close

The Hilton Times Square is the latest victim of the pandemic. In a filing with New York’s State Department of Labor, the managing director of the 44-story landmark said it will close permanently next month, laying off 200 workers.

PayPal Launches iZettle Food & Drink In The UK

PayPal has launched its iZettle Food & Drink app, the point-of-sale (POS) platform for iOS to support food and drinks service in the U.K. The iZettle Food & Drink debut in PayPal promises a simplified POS solution designed to provide hospitality businesses with ways to operate and grow their business.

Airbnb Rejects Blank-Check Offer To Go Public

Airbnb has rejected investor William Ackman’s offer to merge with his newly formed blank-check company to go public, preferring a traditional initial public offering (IPO). Discussions with Ackman ended when Airbnb filed confidentially for an IPO in August.

Pandemic Fuels 173 Pct Hike In Square Stock

Square, developer of Cash App, the mobile payment platform that allows users to transfer money, has seen its stock soar by 173 percent this year, buoyed by a surge in touchless payments.

InstaMed CEO: From Telemedicine To ePayments, Healthcare Embraces A Digitization Boom

The healthcare industry’s gradual exploration of telemedicine and electronic payments pre-pandemic has now burst into an accelerated digitization effort to keep business (and cash) moving. InstaMed CEO Bill Marvin told Karen Webster how healthcare providers have strategized their digitization journeys to meet the immediate needs of today — and get ready for the new normal of a post-pandemic recovery.

Smaller Treasury Banks Step Up As Corporates Push For Instant Payments

Big corporates are turning to their treasury banks to fast-track their move to instant payments, but legacy infrastructure at some big banks can’t move fast enough to meet those demands. Lisa McFarland, executive vice president and chief product officer at Ingo Money, told Karen Webster that’s creating a great opportunity for regional and midsized financial institutions to fill the void.

Jobless Claims Fall, But SMBs (And Jobs) Still Walk A Pandemic Tightrope

In terms of headline numbers, the Labor Department on Thursday (Sept. 3) reported weekly initial claims were down by 130,000 to a seasonally adjusted 881,000 claims for the week ending Aug. 29. But as small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) still face a cash crunch, improvements to the labor picture may be short-lived.