The major card networks have heavily invested in broader services as transaction processing loses its luster, a strategy that’s provided a ray of hope as retail and travel industries remain sidelined.
Three months ago, Stephen Squeri, the chairman and CEO of American Express, declared a global "economic free fall" due to the coronavirus. Its second-quarter earnings show how far a fall it has been.
American Express began adopting cloud computing a couple of years ago and has leaned hard on the technology to help front-line and corporate employees work at home during the coronavirus crisis, its global head of infrastructure says.
Many banks are slashing their spending. Others are changing their messaging strategies. And those banks that partner with pro sports teams are stuck in limbo, since it remains unclear when games will resume.
"We're now in a different world," Stephen Squeri, chairman and CEO of Amex, said during the card brand's first-quarter earnings call.
It was less than three months ago, though it seems like a lifetime. Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga welcomed progress in the trade dispute between the U.S. and China, but with a caveat. The good news wouldn't last if the coronavirus became a pandemic.
With health organizations warning of a global outbreak, banks are starting to assess the risks to their bottom lines.
With the world gripped in panic over the rapid spread of the coronavirus — and the stock market falling in response — payments companies have been left to speculate on what it all means to their operations in an increasingly global economy.