Healthcare stocks like McKesson and United Healthcare were up 2.3% and 1.8% respectively. Ahold Delhaize gathered 0.8%, followed by Bharti Airtel, which was up by a similar amount.

Everyone else? They slipped or plunged, as the overall CE 100 Index was down 9.9%, keeping pace with the dismal 9.9% dive of the Nasdaq. Tariffs, of course, were to blame, as the impact of the Trump administration’s actions and the trade war taking shape has yet to be calculated, and investors fled common stocks.

All Pillars Lose Ground

Every single pillar in the CE 100 was down, and in fact, the “best” performing segment was the Eat group, which gave up “only” 4%. Banking names lost nearly 16% for the week, as credit risks seem to be deepening; payments-focused names lost 11% as consumer spending is now at risk of being impacted by sticker shock on everything from cars to avocados.

McKesson’s shares rose after the company said that it had completed its previously announced acquisition of a controlling interest in PRISM Vision Holdings, LLC, which provides general ophthalmology and retina management services. McKesson acquired an approximate 80% controlling interest in PRISM Vision Holdings, paying $850 million for the stake.

Payments Names Post Declines

Within the payments space Affirm sank 22.6%, followed by Sezzle, which gave up 18.4%. The buy now, pay later names shed value as Klarna pulled its IPO at the end of the week. 

In Affirm-specific news, Stride Bank will become a new card issuing partner for the Affirm Card, supporting the growing demand for this debit card that enables consumers to pay in full or convert eligible purchases into pay-over-time loans in the Affirm app. The collaboration enables Stride Bank to continue expanding its payments programs with FinTech companies and helps Affirm extend its reach to more consumers and merchants, the firms announced. The Affirm Card had 1.7 million active cardholders as of Dec. 31.  

In other news fashion retailer Revolve Group will soon enable its customers in the U.S. to use Affirm to pay over time. The retailer will add this payment method in the U.S. in the coming days, both online and in its mobile app, and plans to then expand it to its customers in Canada and the U.K.

PayPal’s shares skidded 10.4%. PayPal and Venmo users can now buy, hold, sell and transfer two more cryptocurrencies — Chainlink (LINK) and Solana (SOL) — directly in their accounts. Users of the digital wallets will start to see LINK and SOL available for purchase over the next few weeks, according to the release.

Elsewhere, Visa shares lost 8.7%. Visa has unveiled three new value-added services designed to make accepting payments easier and more secure. The services are meant for acquirers, payment facilitators, retailers, marketplaces and shops, the company said.

With Authorize.net 2.0, Visa has reimagined its Authorize.net by adding a streamlined user interface, artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. Unified Checkout is a new experience that can be launched in a few hours and will orchestrate more than 25 card and alternative payment options,  The ARIC Risk Hub uses adaptive AI to help protect acquirers and their merchants against fraud and financial crime by identifying risky transactions.

In addition,  Visa reportedly offered Apple about $100 million to get the tech giant’s credit card business, which Mastercard holds.

Goldman shares, in the banking segment, lost 13%. Also within the banking names, JPMorgan shares dipped by more than 13%.

As reported last week, India’s Axis, a private sector bank, will offer near real-time 24/7 programmable U.S. dollar clearing for commercial clients. Kinexys Digital Payments will power this development, leveraging its blockchain deposit accounts launched in 2019, per the announcement.

The Enablers segment, which includes the “Mag 7” names like Microsoft, Alphabet, Apple and others, lost 11% as supply chain issues and tariffs — which would hit hardware such as cellphones — came into sharp focus. Apple’s stock, for example, was lower by more than 13%.

The post CE 100 Index Sinks 9.9% on Tariff Worries and Payment Names Plunge appeared first on PYMNTS.com.

The overall Index was off 2.5%, almost in lockstep with the tech-heavy NASDAQ Index, and now stands 4.2% lower for the year-to-date performance.

The Enablers segment of the CE 100 Index dipped most visibly among the segments, down 4.1%.  Meta’s stock lost 6.1%. As reported here, Meta Platforms is seeking a ruling from a U.S. federal court, asserting that its use of copyrighted books by authors such as Ta-Nehisi Coates and comedian Sarah Silverman to train its artificial intelligence system did not violate copyright law. Meta is claiming the practice falls under “fair use,” a legal doctrine that allows for limited use of copyrighted material without permission under certain conditions.

Nvidia shares lost a similar amount on the heels of news earlier in the month that it will procure “several hundred billion” dollars’ worth of chips and other electronics manufactured in the U.S. over the next four years, per comments from CEO Jensen Huang.

Payment Names Give Up Ground as Block Sheds Staff

Payments related to names, as a group in the CE 100 Index, were 3.4% lower through the week.

Visa shares were among the few players in the green, up 2.1%.  The payment network said that it has inked a referral agreement with virtual care and spend management platform Extend.  Through the joint effort, firms defined by Visa as emerging middle-market companies can use virtual cards to manage spending, fight fraud and close their books more quickly.

PayPal’s stock lost nearly 8%.  The company said it passed $30 billion in global loan originations for small businesses since launching its first merchant lending solution in 2013. That volume was tied to 1.4 million loans to more than 420,000 business accounts globally, the company said.

Affirm’s 7.5% decline came after the BNPL provider said it has struck a new agreement with J.P. Morgan Payments.  The partnership will mean that Affirm’s solutions become available to merchants on the J.P. Morgan Payments network in the U.S., letting them offer BNPL plans at checkout. The partnership comes nearly a week after Affirm announced it would begin furnishing information about all of its payment plans to Experian starting April 1.

Also within the payments segment, as tracked by the CE 100 Index, Block shares gave up just under 10%. Citing “performance issues” and strategy, the company said that it would lay off 8% of it staff.  Block will also lay off 80 managers as it tries to “flatten” its organization, he added.

“None of the above points are trying to hit a specific financial target, replacing folks with AI or changing our headcount cap,” the company said in a statement. “They are specific to our needs around strategy, raising the bar and acting faster on performance, and flattening our org so we can move faster and with less abstraction.”

A Few Gains

Tesla was another one of the (relatively few) companies in the CE 100 Index to gain momentum, up 6%.  

In an announcement this past week, Tesla said it is entering the dining business, preparing to open a drive-in restaurant in Los Angeles.  This new location would allow diners to eat and watch movies on an outdoor screen while they charged their electric vehicles.

Elsewhere, Ocado’s 13.7% surge came after a Wall Street upgrade, as noted by sites such as Investing.com.  J.P. Morgan upgraded the name from neutral to overweight as performance and EBITDA (a rough calculation of cash flow) improved.

The post CE 100 Index Slips 2.5% as Chip and Payment Names Lose Ground appeared first on PYMNTS.com.

Porch Group led advancing names in the Index, surging more than 14.4%. Investing sites such as Tipranks reported that sell-side Wall Street firm Stephens boosted its price target on the company to $10 from $8 while keeping its “overweight” rating on the make (which is equivalent to a “buy” rating).  Analysts maintained that Porch’s operational execution and strategic focus should help the company navigate any further macro pressures.

Tencent Surges on Earnings

Tencent’s 11.6% rally led the Pay and Be Paid segment of the CE 100 Index to nearly 3% higher.  Fourth quarter earnings detailed that revenues in the quarter were up 11% year on year to about $23.9 billion, as the games segment in China showed a 23% revenue surge. The company also noted that it is seeing growth in its AI-related drive to improve and enhance operations. In a statement that accompanied the results, management stated that “these stepped-up investments will generate ongoing returns via uplifting productivity in our advertising business and longevity of our games, as well as longer term value from accelerated consumer usage of our AI applications and enterprise adoption of our AI services.”

Visa’s stock was 1.1% higher.  The company announced that, in connection with Worldpay, the payments network has launched a new Click to Pay with Visa checkout feature for online merchants in the U.K.   The joint efforts allow customers to complete a transaction with a single click, eliminating the need to manually enter card details.

And Block, which helped lead the Pay and Be Paid segment of the CE 100 Index 2.9% higher, saw its shares gain 6.8%. The company had said earlier in the month that As had been reported last week, Block said that its Square Financial Services industrial bank has been approved by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to make consumers loans directly to borrowers, using Cash App Borrow. The announcement represents a shift, as the firm had previously made the loans through its external banking partner. By bringing the loan originating and servicing functions in house, Block retains the revenue streams associated with that lending, PYMNTS noted.

Affirm shares slipped 0.4%.

Affirm said Wednesday (March 19) that it plans to begin furnishing information about all of its payment plans to Experian on April 1.  The expanded data will include biweekly payment plans, Pay in 30 (single installment), Pay-in-2 and Pay-in-6 offerings.  Affirm has maintained that expanded credit reporting will help consumers build their credit histories and enable both consumers and lenders to make more informed decisions. That data may be included in new credit scoring models developed in the future, according to the announcement.

Nike shares led to the downside among the few names that declined in the CE 100 Index, off 5.2%

The company posted results this past week that saw declines across most metrics, and management commentary projected that tariffs will have a near term, negative impact on margins. Revenues were down 9% year over year to $11.3 billion, while the Street had expected a double digit-drop to the $11 billion level. CFO Matthew Friend said tariffs on imports from China and Mexico will hit margins by 4% to 5%. And revenues will decline in the midteens range, per guidance.  Nike Direct revenues were $4.7 billion, down 12%, and driven by a 15% decline in Nike digital sales, and a 2% dip at the companies stores.  Digital traffic is slated to be down by double digit percentage points in the current fiscal year.

Overall, CFO Matthew Friend said, “We are also navigating through several external factors that create uncertainty in the current operating environment, including geopolitical dynamics, new tariffs, volatile foreign exchange rates and tax regulations, as well as the impact of this uncertainty and other macro factors on consumer confidence.”

FedEx’s quarterly results spurred investors to send the shares 4.9% lower.

In the company’s earnings report, and as PYMNTS reported, for a third consecutive quarter, FedEx cut its full-year and revenue outlook.

“Our revised earnings outlook reflects continued weakness and uncertainty in the U.S. industrial economy, which is constraining demand for our business-to-business services,” said John Dietrich, FedEx Corp. executive vice president and chief financial officer.   The latest revenues of $22.7 billion were down 3.8% year on year.  FedEx Express, the company’s largest revenue driver, experienced a 4% decline, settling at $10.5 billion. FedEx Ground saw a 3% dip to $7.8 billion tied to an eCommerce deceleration.

The post CE 100 Index Adds 2.1% as Porch Group Rallies and Tencent Surges on Earnings appeared first on PYMNTS.com.

The February 2025 eBook, “How People Pay: Consumer Preference for Connected Technology,” delves into the relationship between consumers and their connected devices, identifying distinct “Tech Savvy Personas” based on their affinity for and ownership of such technology.

The report buckets respondents into Basic Tech, Mainstream Tech, and Connected Tech segments, revealing differences in their technology portfolios and, consequently, their payment behaviors. A key finding is the gradual expansion of consumers’ technology ownership over time, with more individuals moving into the category of owning four or more connected devices. This shift is attributed to the increasing ease of access to connected devices and the growing prevalence of connectivity in everyday products.

However, the study highlights that while technology adoption is growing, most consumers appear satisfied with remaining in the basic or mainstream tech categories, suggesting that the preferences of the approximately 10% of consumers identified as Connected Tech are markedly distinct.

These tech enthusiasts, who consider being connected a top priority, own a wide array of devices beyond the traditional smartphone, laptop, and smart TV, including voice-activated devices, security systems and connected cars.

This divergence in device ownership directly correlates with payment preferences, with Connected Tech consumers exhibiting a greater inclination towards digital payment methods and online shopping. The report underscores a clear trend of these advanced users moving away from physical forms of payment, embracing the convenience and seamlessness offered by mobile and contactless payment options.

Key data points from the report include:

• 76% of consumers now possess four or more connected devices, indicating a broad trend towards greater technological integration in daily life. This growth suggests that the definition of essential technology is expanding beyond traditional devices.
• Only 10% of consumers are classified as Connected Tech consumers, highlighting the gap between early adopters who embrace a wide range of connected devices and the majority who remain in the Basic or Mainstream Tech categories. This distinct segment drives much of the innovation in digital payment adoption.
• 48% of Connected Tech users used a digital wallet in the last 30 days, making them 50% more likely to do so compared to owners of basic devices. This demonstrates a strong preference for digital payment methods among those with a higher ownership of connected technology.

Beyond these key findings, the report reveals other dynamics shaping consumer payment preferences. Millennials and bridge millennials are at the forefront of technology ownership, being three times more likely to be advanced users compared to baby boomers, reflecting the influence of generational exposure and purchasing power.

Conversely, low-income consumers are more inclined to stick with essential devices like smartphones and laptops, as these provide sufficient access to the digital economy, even if income constraints limit the adoption of a wider array of connected experiences.

Furthermore, while ownership of device types has remained relatively stable over the past two years for most consumers, suggesting contentment with their current range of devices, Mainstream Tech consumers are relying more on mobile devices for making purchases, indicating a growing reliance on mobile shopping across broader consumer segments.

The post 76% of Consumers Own 4 or More Connected Devices appeared first on PYMNTS.com.

All components of the Index were lower as trade wars and tariffs roiled markets, and overall, the CE 100 names were 3.3% lower, which was worse than had been seen in the overall markets.  There have been notable headlines surrounding the impact of macro concerns on end-market demand.

iRobot shares plummeted 47%, as the Live segment of the CE 100 Index was the pillar to post the steepest drop, declining by 9.1%

The company said in its most recent earnings report that it had “substantial doubt” about its ability to continue as a going concern — which, we note, is Wall Street language that raises the specter that the firm faces an uncertain future. The company cited uncertainty tied to consumer demand, competition, macroeconomic conditions and tariff policies.

The company’s board of directors has initiated a formal strategic review to consider a potential sale or strategic transaction, refinancing the company’s debt and other alternatives, iRobot said.

The company also said that since implementing its operational restructuring plan in January 2024, it has reduced its headcount by more than 50%, lowered its sales and marketing expenses, decreased inventory and cash outflows, and significantly reduced the cost of its products. The company launched its restructuring in January 2024 when a planned acquisition by Amazon fell through.  In the most recent quarter, revenues declined to $172 million from $307.5 million in the year-ago December period.

Delta Notes Waning Consumer and Corporate Confidence

Delta shares dipped by more than 12%.  The airline’s shares sank in the Move segment of the CE 100 Index, which declined by about 6%. Due to softer domestic demand, Delta revised its March quarter outlook downward compared to the guidance it provided on Jan. 10. The airline now expects its total revenue to grow 3% to 4% year over year during the March quarter, down from its earlier guidance of 7% to 9% — its operating margin to be 4% to 5%, down from its previous guidance of 6% to 8%.  Consumer and corporate confidence has waned on increased macro uncertainty, according to commentary from Delta.

Adobe’s 12.6% loss for the week came as the Work segment was off by 2%. The company reported earnings this past week, where fiscal first quarter revenues were up 11% in constant currency to $5.7 billion.  However, revenue guidance that topped out at $5.82 billion for the current quarter fell short of Street estimates.

Despite the overall slide, there were a few bright spots.

Peloton shares gained 13.5% even though the Be Well segment of the CE 100 Index was 0.8% lower.

Investing sites such as Investopedia noted the positive momentum as Canaccord Genuity upgraded the company’s stock to “buy” from “hold.”  In the note announcing the upgrade, analysts pointed to the contention that the firm is a “clear leader in the connected fitness industry,”  with a “loyal member base” of 6 million members. 

Nvidia surged nearly 8% on the week.

PYMNTS noted that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is reportedly working to make sure the chip maker has a secure foundation in case the demand driven by artificial intelligence (AI) systems slows down.  Bloomberg reported that with Nvidia’s annual conference set to be held next week, it is expected that Huang will highlight the company’s wide-ranging efforts to find “the next frontier in AI.”

The post CE 100 Index Dips 3.3%, Led by iRobot’s Plunge on Doubts About Its Future appeared first on PYMNTS.com.

The PYMNTS Intelligence report “How People Pay: Consumer Preference for Connected Technology” found that 76% of now own four or more connected devices, a testament to the increasing ubiquity of smart technology.

As emerging technologies integrate with consumers’ daily lives, the evolution of digital payments is becoming more than just a matter of convenience. It’s defining the future of economic transactions.

The PYMNTS Intelligence findings illustrated a clear correlation between device ownership and payment behavior. The more connected a consumer is, the more likely they are to engage in digital transactions, adopt alternative payment methods, and move away from traditional cash-based purchases.

But consumers aren’t one-size-fits-all, and the study categorizes consumers into three distinct technology personas. Understanding what defines their individual payments behavior could be crucial to anticipating what’s coming next.

Read also: Decoding the Connected Consumer: Personas, Preferences and Payment Strategies

Key Consumer Segments to Target in the Connected Economy

The demographic breakdown of payment trends revealed that millennials and bridge millennials (ages 30-45) are three times more likely to be advanced tech users than baby boomers. Having come of age in the digital era, these generations prioritize convenience and innovation in payments.

Their growing purchasing power makes them a focal point for businesses seeking to adapt. Unlike Generation Z, which is still building financial independence, millennials are in their peak earning years. They expect payments to be embedded within their lifestyle. For retailers and financial institutions, this means a pressing need to optimize payment experiences for mobile-first interactions.

Across all generations, three consumer segments emerged.

• Basic Tech Users: Individuals with minimal connected devices, often limited to a smartphone, laptop or television.
• Mainstream Tech Users: A step ahead, owning a wider range of connected devices including tablets, game consoles and smartwatches.
• Connected Tech Users: The most advanced segment, embracing an ecosystem of devices such as voice-activated speakers, smart security systems and augmented reality headsets.

The data showed that Connected Tech Users are 50% more likely to use a digital wallet than those in the Basic Tech category. Consumers are increasingly relying on Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal for frictionless transactions, whether shopping online or in-store.

The near-elimination of cash in everyday purchases further supports the notion that physical currency is on the decline, especially among tech-savvy consumers. According to the report, 60% of Connected Tech Users have not used physical money in the last 30 days, a 34% increase from three years ago.

How Payments Innovation Is Reshaping the Connected Economy

Retailers and the food industry are feeling the ripple effects of payments innovation. The study highlighted that 35% of Connected Tech Users made their most recent retail purchase online, compared to 24% of Basic Tech Users. This suggests that the proliferation of smart devices is making digital commerce the norm, rather than the exception.

In the restaurant sector, similar trends emerged. Mobile ordering, QR code payments and contactless transactions are becoming integral to the dining experience. While 15.8% of Basic Tech Users made a restaurant purchase online, that number jumped to 20.6% among Connected Tech Users.

The implications for businesses are clear. If retailers and restaurants want to stay competitive, they must optimize their digital ordering and payment processes. Seamless checkout experiences, loyalty program integration and artificial intelligence-driven personalization will be the differentiators.

Ultimately, for businesses, the challenge isn’t just keeping up; it’s anticipating what’s next. Payment innovation isn’t just a matter of financial transactions — it’s a fundamental shift in how we experience commerce.

The post These 3 Connected Consumer Segments Will Define Commerce’s Next Decade appeared first on PYMNTS.com.

Macro concerns weighed on the markets in general, as tariffs went into effect early in the week, and then were modified, clouding at least some visibility on enterprises’ planning across supply chains — and for consumer spending too. Through the week, as reported here, job growth slowed, in figures that have yet to reflect the widespread cuts to staffing levels at several government agencies.

Only one of the 11 pillars — the Communicate pillar — gained ground, up 0.9%.

Banking stocks led to the downside, down by more than 7.9%.  Banks, of course, would be among the firms impacted by tariffs as the lending environment becomes even more uncertain.   

Citigroup shares dipped 11.9%.  The shares slid in the wake of widely reported news at the end of the month: the bank accidentally credited a client’s account with $81 trillion — when $280 had been the intended amount to send — and then quickly repaired that mistake.

LendingClub lost 12.5%.  J.P. Morgan was 8.5% lower, amid reports that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) dropped its lawsuit targeting the operator and three owner banks of Zelle. The CFPB has dismissed the action against Early Warning Services, J.P. Morgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo “with prejudice,” which means the suit cannot be revived. 

MongoDB Leads to the Downside

In the Enablers segment, which slid 3.7%, MongoDB shares plummeted by nearly 30%.  In the company’s most recent earnings results, announced this past week, guidance of between $2.24 billion to $2.28 billion in revenues for the current fiscal year fell short of expectations for $2.32 billion in the firm’s consolidated top line. The revenue growth would mark a significant slowdown from the fiscal fourth quarter revenue growth of 20% and the slowest pace since the company began trading on public markets back in 2017.  Atlas, the firm’s database offering, is seeing slower growth, according to management commentary on the conference call.

Payment Names Slide

Within the Pay and be Paid pillar of the CE 100 Index, (off by 5.4%), BNPL names declined by significant amounts, leading that segment lower. The key names in this space have been especially volatile in the wake of earnings reports.   This past week, the Federal Reserve noted pressures on consumer spending.

Sezzle shares slipped 21.9%.  Affirm shares gave up 19%.  In an announcement,  Affirm said that it has added Stitch Fix to its merchant network.

Tencent countered some of those losses, up 9.3%.

As reported by PYMNTS, Tencent said its new artificial intelligence model is faster than that of DeepSeek. The company’s Hunyuan Turbo S AI model has been designed to provide instant responses — a design that distinguishes itself from the deep reasoning offered by China’s DeepSeek.

Western Union was up 7.3%.  The company said at the end of the month it was launching an international money transfer service with Saudi Arabia’s urpay tied to the urpay wallet, enabling customers to seamlessly send money to friends and family globally.

Visa and Mastercard moved this past week on the news that they are facing regulatory action in the United Kingdom following a payments watchdog’s investigation. As reported, the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) is considering “remedies” for the two companies amid allegations the card market is uncompetitive. Mastercard emailed a statement to PYMNTS that countered, “We disagree with the findings in [the] report, which continues to underplay the true competitiveness of the payment industry and our ongoing innovation and investment into security and the consumer experience.”  Visa shares slipped 4.8%; Mastercard’s stock lost 5.2%.

The post CE 100 Index Plunges 4.3% as Payment and Banking Names Slide on Tariff Volatility appeared first on PYMNTS.com.

Eight of 11 pillars were lower, and February proved to be a month awash in red, as the CE 100 name, overall, was 2.1% lower.

Porch Group shares surged more than 61%, propelling the Live pillar of the CE 100 Index 5.4% higher. Though revenues were 12% lower through the most recent quarter, profitability metrics improved, as EBITDA (a rough measure of cash flow) was nearly $42 million, up $30.1 million from a year ago — and that measure was ahead of expectations.  The company noted in its earnings release that “premium growth has restarted, “where in the quarter, new business premiums increased 50% compared to the prior year and “already in Q1 2025 new business premiums are double versus the prior year.”

Within the Eat segment of the CE 100 Index, which gained 5.2%, Dominos shares gathered 5.9%, building back some losses sustained in the wake of its own earnings report earlier last month, as revenues gained 2.9% in the fourth quarter, to $1.4 billion, and same store sales gathered 0.4%.

AI Names Push Enablers Pillar Lower

However, the Enablers vertical of the CE 100 Index was 4.2% lower, as AI-related headlines and earnings dominated the space.  C3.ai shares led to the downside, plunging more than 17%.  The company said in its earnings report last week that in its fiscal third quarter, revenue growth, year over year, was 26%, where that metric had been 29% in the previous quarter; subscription revenues were 22% higher in the most recent period, which was flat compared to the fiscal second quarter.  Forward-looking guidance anticipates year-over-year revenue growth for the current fiscal fourth quarter of between 20% to 31%.

Nvidia shares declined 7.8%.

As PYMNTS reported, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said sales of the company’s most advanced chip architecture hit a record in the fourth quarter.  Asked about headwinds from U.S. export controls of its most advanced chips to China, the company’s second-largest market, Nvidia officials said sales of its chips to China are about half from what they were before export restrictions. But as a percentage of revenue, it has remained the same. Nvidia said the impact is unknown and will depend on the timing, countries affected and the size of the tariffs. For the first quarter of fiscal 2026, Nvidia expects to record revenue of $43 billion, plus or minus 2%. Analysts are expecting revenue of $42.05 billion.

Payment names were, as a group, 1.7% lower.

PayPal lost roughly 6%. We noted in our own reporting on last week’s investor day that the company is bolstering its omnichannel efforts under its “unified commerce” approach,  as CEO Alex Chriss said PayPal continues its transformation from “a payments company to a commerce platform.” The event was held the same day the company announced PayPal Open, its new merchant platform, expanded efforts with Verifone to “win checkout” and detailed a broadening of its strategic pact with J.P. Morgan Payments to expand merchant acquiring and launch Fastlane in Europe and the U.K.

Diego Scotti, general manager of the company’s consumer group, said that PayPal’s “pay everywhere” efforts would include tap-to-pay, credit, and pay-later products and that debit has shown particular promise, as total payment volume (TPV) via debit cards has grown 100% year on year.

Frank Keller, GM of large enterprise, said that the company has been “laser focused on reimagining our checkout experiences,” and said that Fastlane has gained momentum, with more than 170 million accounts in the U.S. that are “Fastlane ready,” where merchants will see conversion lifts of 50% in guest checkouts. The company’s overall plan is to accelerate TPV by 8% to 10% in 2027, he said, and volumes should grow at eCommerce levels.

Mastercard shares moved this week on news that payments firm Unzer has debuted a pay-by-bank tool in conjunction with the payments network. Unzer Direct Transfer is an open banking-powered method that lets consumers pay directly from bank accounts without needing a credit or debit card.  Mastercard shares gained 3.4%.

The post CE 100 Index Slips 1.3% as C3.ai and Nvidia Drag Enablers Group Lower appeared first on PYMNTS.com.

This move will allow the company to streamline its free consumer communications offerings and more easily adapt to customer needs, Jeff Teper, president, collaborative apps and platforms at Microsoft, wrote in a Friday blog post.

“Hundreds of millions of people already use Teams as their hub for teamwork, helping them stay connected and engaged at work, school and home,” Teper said in the post. “In the past two years, the number of minutes spent in meetings by consumer users of Teams have grown 4X, reflecting the value Teams brings to everyday communication and collaboration.”

Teams provides many of the features of Skype — one-on-one calls and group calls, messaging and file sharing — while also offering additional ones like hosting meetings, managing calendars, and building and joining communities, Teper said.

During the transition period, users can sign into Teams (free) with their Skype credentials, which will make their Skype chats and contacts appear in Teams, and call and chat with users of both Teams and Skype, according to the post.

If they don’t want to migrate to Teams, Skype users can export their data, including chats, contacts and call history, the post said.

Skype will remain available until May 5, per the post.

“We’re excited about the new opportunities that Teams brings are are committed to helping you stay connected in new and meaningful ways,” Teper said in the post.

Skype was founded in 2003 by Nordic entrepreneurs, was later owned by eBay and a private equity-led consortium, and then was acquired by Microsoft in 2011 for $8.5 billion, Bloomberg reported Friday.

The service lost ground to smartphone-native communication apps, Zoom and Slack, the report said.

Microsoft launched Teams in 181 markets around the globe in March 2017, with the product initially being a chat-focused workspace for Office 365.

The company added a free version of Teams in July 2018, saying this version was designed for freelancers, small business owners and teams inside larger organizations that didn’t have commercial Office 365 subscriptions.

The post Microsoft to Retire Skype in May, Focus on Teams appeared first on PYMNTS.com.

Fiverr shares plummeted 23%, leading the Work segment of the CE100 Index down by more than 5.4%

This past week, the company detailed that it had seen growth in its services business, which includes subscription-based revenues, cementing freelancers’ relationships with buyers over several months.  However, as noted during an earnings call, a muted macro environment persists, seemingly trumping better-than-expected guidance.  Revenues were $103.7 million, up 13.3%; guidance had looked for a 9% to 12% gain.

Services revenue soared by more than 102% year over year to $30.1 million.  Revenue growth in the current quarter is expected to accelerate to a range of 11% to 16% year over year, per company guidance.  But active buyers — the Fiverr clients that purchase services and contract with freelancers — were down from last year’s 4 million, now standing at 3.6 million. Spending per buyer was up 9% year on year to $302.

Chief Financial Officer Ofer Katz said on the call that “going into 2025, given that marketplace revenue is largely tied to GMV volume, and we have yet to see signs of macro improvement, we expect that growth of this revenue segment will continue to be muted… Given that macro rebound is a matter of when, not if, when it does rebound, we expect our marketplace will be one of the first areas to experience the uplift.”

Pay and Be Paid Names Slide

Block’s 18.5% slide led the Pay and be Paid segment of the CE100 Index  to decline 5.1%.

In the company’s most recent earnings results, the company missed Wall Street’s short-term estimates for its fourth quarter 2024 earnings and revenue numbers.  Block’s leadership emphasized the strong engagement with Cash App, which saw gross profit per active user increase by 13% year over year to $76 in Q4 2024. The company reported a 10% year-over-year increase in gross payment volume to $58.9 billion in Q4 2024.

Affirm’s shares lost 15% in the wake of announcing it has expanded its partnership with Shopify.  According to the announcement, the joint efforts will make Affirm the exclusive pay-over-time provider for Shopify’s Shop Pay Installments program in the U.S. and Shopify’s home country of Canada, with plans to expand into the U.K.

Mastercard shares lost 1.3%. As reported here, Mastercard announced a package of digital and financial management tools aimed at the Middle Market segment.  Under the heading  Mastercard Mid-Market Accelerator, the suite of solutions is aimed at companies with annual revenues between $10 million and $100 million or about 50-250 employees.  As part of the rollout, Mastercard is collaborating with issuers such as Citizens and FinTech providers such as Navan (expense management) and Trovata (cash flow management).  The accelerator ensures that companies can access these services directly through their existing banking relationships, streamlining adoption and making it easier for issuers to provide tailored solutions.

Also within the payments pillar, Visa said this past week at its investor day that it sees a $520 billion annual revenue potential ahead for its value-added services (up from $9 billion last year).

Visa’s stock lost 1.5% on the week.

MercadoLibre Gains Ground

MercadoLibre was one of the few standouts to show positive momentum this week, as shares gathered 7.1% in the Shop pillar of the CE100 Index.

As reported by PYMNTS, the platform’s latest results showed double-digit growth in unique active buyers and items sold across the company’s marketplace, along with momentum in its credit card business.  Gross merchandise values (GMV) were up 8% to $14.5 billion, items sold gathered 27% year over year to 525.5 million, and the total payments volumes soared 33% to $58.9 billion. The company’s credit portfolio was up 74% year over year to $6.6 billion. Unique buyers gained 24% to 67.3 million individuals and items sold per buyer gained 3% year over year, to 7.8.

The post CE 100 Index Slumps 4.3% as Fiverr and Block Plummet After Earnings Reports appeared first on PYMNTS.com.