Today In Payments: Apple Parts Maker Foxconn Back To Work In China; Two Chinese Nationals Laundered $100M In Crypto

In today’s top news, Apple manufacturer and supplier Foxconn has returned to production, the Department of Justice charged two Chinese nationals with laundering over $100 million in cryptocurrency, and TurboTax’s deal to buy Credit Karma has sparked antitrust concerns.

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    Apple Parts Maker Foxconn Back To Work In China

    More than 50 percent of sidelined seasonal workers are not back to work at Apple manufacturer and supplier Foxconn in China. The Taiwanese firm said production would be back to normal by the end of the month after slowing due to the coronavirus outbreak.

    Two Chinese Nationals Charged With Laundering $100M In Crypto

    The Department of Justice charged two Chinese nationals with laundering over $100 million worth of cryptocurrency and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. The money came from the roughly $250 million that was previously stolen by North Korean fraudsters.

    Intuit Bid For Credit Karma Triggers Antitrust Worries

    Several legal experts have said that TurboTax’s deal to buy personal finance site Credit Karma for $7.1 billion raises serious antitrust concerns. Some have pointed to a similar attempt by H&R Block, when it tried to purchase another do-it-yourself tax software company in 2011 but was blocked by regulators.

    Visa Expects Revenue Hit As Virus Fears Curb Travel, X-Border Payments

    Visa announced that it expects revenue growth to be about 2.5 to 3.5 percentage points lower than previously anticipated. Spending overseas has decreased dramatically, especially for travel-related purposes, due to fears over the coronavirus.

    DHL: What Happens When Robots Run The Warehouse

    Amazon Prime is shrinking delivery windows, and consumers now expect items to arrive in a day — or less — making supply chain management and the last mile more critical than ever. Adrian Kumar, global head of Operations Science & Analytics at DHL Supply Chain, told Karen Webster that the key to optimizing fulfillment comes down to strengthening its weakest link using ergonomic design, artificial intelligence and letting robots run the warehouse.

    The Architecture Of Accounts Receivable

    Late payments and fraud are glaring red flags of a breakdown in accounts receivable processes, but pinpointing exactly what’s gone wrong — and how to fix it — can be a supplier’s nightmare. MSTS President Brandon Spear told Karen Webster why vendors must reconfigure the architecture of a receivable in order to get paid when net terms say the payment is due.

    Will New CFPB Rules Finally Be Able To Put Zombie Debt To Rest?

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is taking steps to make it harder for debt collectors to attempt to revive zombie debt — debt that has passed the statute of limitations for when a debt can be collected — with two proposed policy changes.


    Target Halting Practice of Price-Matching Amazon and Walmart

    Target’s price-matching days have reportedly come to an end.

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      The retailer will stop the practice of matching the prices of products from rival retailers like Walmart and Amazon beginning July 28, Retail Dive reported Friday (July 18).

      The company has seen that shoppers “overwhelmingly price match Target and not other retailers,” a Target spokesperson told the news outlet.

      “We’re always working to deliver consumers outstanding value and give them confidence to choose Target, with our everyday low prices, affordable and quality-focused owned brands, incredible deals, free-to-join membership program, Target Circle, and more,” the company said.

      With the soon-to-be-discontinued policy, Target matches prices on identical qualifying items from Amazon and Walmart, and allows customers to request such price matching at the time of purchase or within 14 days afterward, the report said.

      The report noted that this change is happening amid a major turnaround effort by Target following sliding sales and foot traffic, consumer backlash and the rocky tariff environment.

      Former CEO Brian Cornell said on an earnings call in May that price increases are seen as a “last resort” when it comes to softening the impact of tariffs.

      PYMNTS has contacted Target for comment but has not yet gotten a reply.

      Target’s move is happening during a summer that is turning out to be a pivotal one for retail giants, as PYMNTS wrote last week.

      “Sitting at the intersection of geopolitical headwinds, U.S. tariffs, AI disruption and an increasingly cost-conscious consumer, the question hanging over the retail industry is this: Can anyone thrive when the shopper won’t save them?” that report said.

      Although extended sales events such as Amazon’s Prime Day and Walmart+ Week were once “celebratory bonanzas of consumption,” PYMNTS added, they felt this year “more like high-stakes stress tests of brand agility, pricing power and technological readiness.”

      Amazon’s longer-than-normal Prime Day drove billions in sales, but also showed that consumers were more interested in essentials they could buy for under $20 than in big-ticket impulse buys. The average household spend — $156 — was roughly flat year over year, even with cooling inflation.

      Walmart responded by leaning on its Walmart+ Week event to underscore “everyday low prices,” especially on school supplies, which it advertised as costing less than last year.

      Meanwhile, the report added, Target and Sam’s Club froze prices on seasonal items to maintain loyalty amid looming threat of tariffs on products imported from China. 

      “But the move may signal desperation as much as differentiation,” PYMNTS added. Target’s sales and stock are both down, and Cornell’s exit “has thrown future strategy into question.”