Despite a net loss of $49.9 million — down from $73.4 million in Q1 2024 — Amwell achieved a reduced adjusted EBITDA loss of $35 million, compared to $45.7 million in the prior quarter. Amwell’s gross margin stood at 37% while total visits reached 1.5 million, with about 70% occurring on the Converge telehealth platform.

“We’re very focused on making sure Converge becomes a reliable asset in the market,” Amwell CEO Ido Schoenberg said during the earnings call.

In mid-June, Amwell announced that co-founder Roy Schoenberg stepped down from his position as president and co-CEO to become executive vice chairman of the board. Ido Schoenberg became the sole CEO. Roy Schoenberg, who co-founded the company in 2006, has been instrumental in advancing digital healthcare, shaping its integration into modern patient and clinician experiences.

“In Q2, we advanced on all fronts,” Ido Schoenberg said. “Our focus remains sharp as we implement key strategies supporting our growth trajectory for 2025, aiming for adjusted EBITDA breakeven in 2026.” He highlighted ongoing efforts in cost alignment and strategic deployments, including for the U.S. Military Health System.

The company’s revenue and visit projections for the year remain unchanged, with expected revenue between $259 million and $269 million and AMG visits between 1.6 and 1.7 million.

Ido Schoenberg noted that Amwell’s digital-first approach is “resonating. We offer an end-to-end comprehensive solution that’s dependable, safe and secure with a proven track record at scale. We believe our deep integrations and vast deployments form long-term bonds with healthcare organizations.”

Despite the progress, ongoing net losses reflect the challenges in achieving profitability within the competitive telehealth sector. But Amwell leaders remained optimistic.

“We are executing well and are energized by our results,” Ido Schoenberg said. “Converge is rapidly becoming a clear best of breed in the market with 70% of our volume. We are pleased to see people are using this platform across the board for multiple programs.”

Providers are looking for efficiency and growth and better ways to serve their patients, he added.

“What’s resonating is the peace of mind” users receive when using the Converge system, he said. “We believe that trend will become stronger and stronger as more people begin their interactions with digital health online. We’re enabling technology that allows them to do well and achieve their business goals through what we created.”

Ido Schoenberg addressed a question about AI: “AI is enormously important in our industry. There are many areas AI will influence our roadmap in the coming years. The promise of AI has an impact on pretty much every activity of our operation, and we’re thrilled about the opportunity.”

The post Amwell Beats Q2 Expectations on Subscription Revenue Strength appeared first on PYMNTS.com.

“Investors and analysts often ask about the practical impact of our investments in building our own tech-based insurance tech. I believe our recent quarterly results clearly demonstrate that,” Lemonade Co-founder and Co-CEO Shai Wininger said on a Wednesday (July 31) earnings call.

“With large parts of our business running on code rather than people, I believe our tech obsession is paying off in a big way and help separate us from incumbents in visible, measurable, and impactful ways.”

For example, management said on the call, AI has become increasingly good at identifying customers with “unhealthy lifetime value,” said Chief Financial Officer Tim Bixby, especially certain policy holders with catastrophic risk exposure.

Wininger added that Lemonade’s underwriting customer service and claims management, employee management, administration, engineering and product operations all use AI heavily.

“As an example, in just over a year, we went from a standing start to having comprehensively rolled out generative AI platform to handle incoming customer communications,” he said. “We handle email and text communications coming in. We’re now handling more than 30% of these interactions with absolutely no human intervention.”

In addition, Lemonade is working on a new tech program — code-named “L2” — designed to enhance things like underwriting, insurance, operations, compliance, and product development, Wininger added.

The earnings report showed Lemonade’s revenues increasing 17%, while the company’s loss ratio came to 79%, a 15-point improvement over the second quarter of last year.

Lemonade’s efforts to streamline its tech come as an increasing number of consumers are receiving insurance claim payouts instantly, as recent PYMNTS Intelligence research shows.

In fact, the percentage of consumers using instant payments as their chief method for receiving insurance claims of all kinds has been on the increase for the last seven years and reached an all-time high of 33% as of January 2024.

“Even as most insurance claim disbursements are sent instantly more often, healthcare disbursements are an exception,” a recent PYMNTS report notes.

“After a relative plateau from 2021 to 2023, the share of consumers receiving healthcare claim payouts via instant payments dropped from a high of 31% in January 2023 to 28% in January 2024. This decline could be attributed to heightened consumer security concerns.”

The post Lemonade’s ‘Tech Obsession’ Sees AI Handling 30% of Interactions appeared first on PYMNTS.com.

In the company’s Wednesday (July 31) earnings report, Fiverr also announced its acquisition of AutoDS, a subscription-based drop-shipping platform. AutoDS, known for its product research, inventory management and automated fulfillment services, is set to enhance Fiverr’s eCommerce capabilities and introduce a new subscription-based revenue stream.

In addition to the acquisition, Fiverr launched a new profession-based catalog and hourly contracts, broadening its market reach and aligning with its strategy to evolve from a marketplace to a comprehensive platform offering talent access and software solutions.

Fiverr also completed a $100 million share buyback program, focusing on optimizing capital allocation to drive steady growth in free cash flow.

“We delivered solid results for Q2 and reiterated our full-year guidance,” Fiverr founder and CEO Micha Kaufman said during the company’s Wednesday earnings call. “While the SMB and freelancer hiring space remain volatile, we continue to execute with consistency and efficiency. At the same time, we are expanding our product portfolio through both organic and inorganic investments to create additional growth catalysts.”

The company’s active buyers dropped 8% during the quarter, from 4.2 million to 3.9 million. Spending per buyer, however, increased 10%, from $265 to $290.

Kaufman said the acquisition of AutoDS, which manages over 150 million products and serves tens of thousands of subscribers, supports Fiverr’s transition from a marketplace to a platform offering talent and software solutions. As the global drop-shipping market is projected to grow from $285 billion to over $2 trillion by 2033, AutoDS’s automation tools and extensive network will bolster Fiverr’s growth and digital service capabilities.

“Drop-shipping is a category that we’ve been seeing growth,” Kaufman said. “We had a very sizable community of people who either are offering drop-shipping or offer services related to drop-shipping. It allows us to double down and accelerate.”

One of Fiverr’s summer product releases is Neo, an advanced artificial intelligence-driven tool designed to assist customers in accurately defining their projects and matching with freelance talent. It combines technology and algorithms to offer a personalized recruiting experience, providing an alternative to traditional human recruiters.

“For new customers, Neo provides the guidance you need to navigate Fiverr’s massive catalog of services and talent,” a Fiverr shareholder letter said. “For long-time loyalists, Neo is trained to understand your preferences and provide you the most relevant recommendations for your next project.”

“Having Neo is like having a strategist by your side when it comes to product briefing,” the letter added. “It transforms customers’ ideas into a structured brief that not only looks good, but also delivers better business results.”

Kaufman said during the call, “We are in the early innings of releasing the full potential of AI in our marketplace.”

Fiverr experienced a traffic pullback in June and July, particularly in programming and tech, reflecting broader macroeconomic challenges and persistent weakness in small- to medium-sized business (SMB) sentiment. Despite a 7% year-over-year decline in U.S. job openings and a 17% drop in the information sector, AI continues to drive growth for Fiverr, particularly in complex services, and is expected to be a growth driver moving forward, Kaufman said on the call.

“The hiring space is not seeing its brightest moment right now,” Kaufman said, but cautioned, “what we’re seeing is something we can’t call a steady trend.”

The post Fiverr Sees 6% Revenue Rise in Q2 Despite ‘Volatile’ Market for Freelancers appeared first on PYMNTS.com.

“The macroeconomic environment remains mixed, and we continue to monitor the positives and negatives,” Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach told the company’s earnings call audience. “Strength in consumer spending continues to be supported by a solid labor market and wage growth. While there are some signs of labor market growth moderating, this is off very strong levels of job creation. Also, inflation and interest rates remain in focus. We’ve seen inflation cool, but to varying degrees across carded and non-carded categories.”

Mastercard reported a strong performance in the second quarter, with net revenue increasing by 14% year-over-year to $6.3 billion. This growth was driven by a significant rise in gross dollar volume (GDV), which saw a 12% increase to $2.1 trillion. Cross-border payment volumes also surged, growing by 24% as global travel and eCommerce transactions continued to recover from the pandemic.

Additionally, revenue from value-added services and data saw a substantial uptick, contributing to the overall positive financial results. This segment experienced 19% growth, underpinned by the growing demand for cybersecurity solutions, data analytics, and other advisory services, leading Miebach to comment: “These results reflect how payments and services enable each other to create differentiated value for our customers and help us realize even more of the shift to digital.

Miebach highlighted several key achievements and initiatives following the Q2 earnings announcement. Mastercard won new deals, including a significant conversion of neobank Varo Bank’s debit and credit portfolios to Mastercard, and an extension of its enterprise agreement with Wells Fargo. Additionally, Mastercard renewed partnerships with major U.S. prepaid partners and extended its collaboration with the National Bank of Canada and Postapay. In Africa, Mastercard expanded its footprint with new co-brand deals with Ethiopian Airlines and other regional banks, enhancing digital and mobile money acceptance.

Miebach emphasized new payment flows, such as the virtual card issuance solution with Checkout.com for online travel agencies and a multi-year agreement with Wells Fargo and Expedia. He noted Mastercard’s commitment to security and tokenization, with 22 billion tokenized transactions in the first half of 2024, reducing fraud and improving approval rates. Mastercard’s efforts in enhancing the checkout experience include scaling biometric checkout programs and migrating Maestro cards to debit Mastercard to capture cross-border and online spend more effectively.

Mastercard’s initiatives in Africa are part of a broader strategy to drive digital transformation in regions with high cash transaction rates. Miebach pointed out Mastercard’s investments in partnerships with large telcos and mobile network operators, tripling acceptance locations in Africa over five years. He also mentioned significant progress in open banking, with partners like Klarna, PayPal, and Jack Henry leveraging Mastercard’s open banking capabilities for account opening, linking and balance checks.

The quarterly call gave analysts a chance to ask Miebach about the late-June rejection of Visa and Mastercard’s $30 billion swipe fee settlement with merchants. In that ruling, U.S. District Judge Margo Brodie stated that the two companies seem to be able to pay for a “substantially” bigger settlement. She also argued that the proposed deal would have “disproportionately and inequitably” benefited small, local merchants over larger retailers like Walmart and Target.

“We’re disappointed where this has landed for now,” Miebach told the call. “And I would describe it as we respectfully disagree with the court’s ruling to reject the settlement. This has been negotiated over many years across many parties, I think with best intentions, and it would have produced a lot of benefits for consumers, for merchants, and across all parties. So, this is now not happening. We are obviously ready, and we will take all effort to ensure that a solution is found before this goes to trial. Engage all parties. We’ve done this in previous scenarios before. It’s difficult to speculate about outcomes at this point, but I think this intention to lean in and see how we can provide more security predictability to merchants and banks and all parties here is what’s driving us. So, there’s a number of codefendants in this, and everybody will obviously take their own decisions here. But across the board, obviously there has to be a dialogue and find the best outcome of this.”

The post New Deals and Digital Expansion Drive Mastercard’s Q2 Revenue Surge appeared first on PYMNTS.com.

CEO Scott Sanborn noted on the conference call with analysts that originations were up 10% to more than $1.8 billion.

“We have calibrated the business to the current operating environment,” he said on the call, as “strong credit performance” was a hallmark of the quarter, and said that delinquency rates were 40% better than peer firms, due in part to the platform model that he said allows the firm to “rapidly respond to changing macro conditions.”

Credit losses across all loan vintages have been stable to improving, he said.

The structure certificate program, he said, continues to offer investors “an attractive” alternative to warehouse loans and securitizations.

He noted that consumers are gravitating to the company’s platform to help pay off their credit card balances, where interest rates stand at historic highs, and said that the company’s 5 million members are “highly sought after” customers with high FICO scoreds and high incomes.

“They are digitally savvy and eager to take steps to improve their financial outcomes,” Sanborn said.

One way the company plans to keep engagement at high levels is through the mobile app, said Sanborn, who added that LendingClub has been building “lifetime lending relationships” that are illustrated in the second quarter results, which underscore that strategy.

Digital servicing tools available on the site have lowered the operational costs of originating a personal loan by one-third over the past year, Sanborn said.

“Our mobile app provides a powerful platform for engaging members after acquisition,” said Sanborn, who added that following a limited release earlier in the year, the company began marketing the app to customers more broadly this quarter, as first-time downloads doubled during the quarter, and there was a 20% month-over-month increase in app users in June.

“They’re logging in about 25% more often than web-only users,” Sanborn said, offering up an engaged audience to which LendingClub can communicate new offers and services.

Repeat Business

About half of the company’s members return for a second loan, he said — and they return at near-zero acquisition costs. The credit performance is up to 20% better than new borrowers, Sanborn said.  These repeat customers have also been embracing offerings such as TopUp, which allows members to access cash while swapping out of their existing LendingClub personal loans at the same or better rate.  Those innovations, underpinned by the company’s digital bank, he said, help deepen relationships with consumers.

CFO Drew LaBenne said that the originations were above the high end of the company’s guidance. Company supplementals reveal that 30-day delinquencies were better than competitors across all FICO scores, where the data show, for example, that in the 660-719 FICO range, the competition figure was 45%, and LendingClub’s was 2.4%.

The company is guiding to current quarter loan originations of $1.8 billion to $1.9 billion.

LendingClub shares were up 1% after hours.

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The outage, affecting several major U.S. cities, left patrons dealing with long lines and forced to place orders in person, just as the company was gearing up for a major “buy one, get one free” promotion.

This latest technological glitch compounded Starbucks’ recent challenges, as the company reported mixed financial results for its fiscal third quarter ending June 30. Global comparable store sales dipped 3%, driven by a 5% decrease in transactions despite a 2% rise in average ticket size. North American comparable store sales fell 2%, while international comparable sales saw a 7% decline, with China experiencing a sharp 14% drop.

Despite these hurdles, Starbucks continued its expansion, opening 526 new stores and ending the quarter with a total of 39,477 locations.

Consolidated net revenue declined 1% to $9.1 billion. Net revenue for the North America segment increased 1% over Q3 FY23, to $6.8 billion, mainly driven by net new company-operated store growth of 5% over the past 12 months. This increase was partially offset by a 2% decline in comparable store sales, driven by a 6% decline in comparable transactions, partially offset by a 3% increase in average ticket. Overall foot traffic fell 5%.

Amid the company’s various challenges, Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan remained positive during a conference call accompanying third-quarter results, announced Tuesday (July 30).

“We’re not satisfied with the results,” Narasimhan said. “Our three-part action plan is beginning to work and driving operational improvements that we expect to improve financial performance. Our growing culture of focused innovation and relentless execution continues to enhance our capabilities, while helping return the business to sustainable growth. Our runway for improvement is long.”

On the positive side, the Starbucks Rewards loyalty program saw an increase in 90-day active members in the U.S., reaching totaling 33.8 million in Q3, representing a 7% year-over-year growth.

“Our efficiency efforts, which are tracking ahead of expectations, partially offset investments associated with the cautious consumer environment,” Chief Financial Officer Rachel Ruggeri said. “Collectively, our disciplined approach enables us to preserve both balance sheet strength and flexibility, positioning us to successfully navigate through the current macroeconomic environment.”

Narasimhan noted the company’s best offers are in the app, noting 60% of revenue comes from its loyalty program. Improvements were made to the app, including wait time enhancements and order accuracy. He said data shows one in four non-loyalty members want the ability to use mobile order.

As a result, “we opened MOP (mobile ordering & pay) for all,” he said. “We believe enhanced customer experience, coupled with more frictionless ordering, will increase loyalty program membership.”

Narasimhan said company officials continue to see weaknesses in some international markets. China remains a challenge, he noted, but Starbucks Rewards membership rose to 22 million.

“We see higher growth and opportunities in China in a business more digital, innovative, and locally relevant,” he explained. “We’re in the early stages of exploring strategic partnerships to accelerate our growth in China. The long-term opportunity for us is significant.”

The post Starbucks’ Mobile Outage Compounds Financial Woes as Q3 Sales Decline appeared first on PYMNTS.com.

As CEO Devin McGranahan told the company’s earnings call, the digital growth was a major contributor to the period’s milestone of four straight quarters of double-digit transaction growth, which hasn’t been seen since 2018. That growth was adjusted due to sanctions placed on 14 Iraqi banks, which took revenue from that region alone from $118 million in Q2 2023 to just $30 million in 2024.

“We continue to believe that the consistent and sustainable transaction growth is the best indicator of the future health of our business,” McGranahan said.

The Iraqi headwinds and flat in-person retail transactions led to Western Union reporting an overall decrease in second-quarter revenue for 2024, totaling $1.07 billion, reflecting a 9% decline on a reported basis and a 7% decline on an adjusted basis. Despite this, the company saw a 4% increase in consumer money transfer (CMT) transactions, driven by a 13% growth in branded digital transactions. Consumer services revenue — which includes transaction fees from wire transfers as well as its other products like prepaid cards — also showed robust growth, increasing by 21% on a reported basis and 14% on an adjusted basis, lifted by strong performance in the retail money order business.

In terms of earnings, Western Union’s GAAP earnings per share (EPS) for the second quarter was $0.41, down from $0.47 in the same period last year, while adjusted EPS was $0.44, compared to $0.51 previously. The decrease in EPS was attributed to lower operating profit due to decreased revenue from Iraq, though this was somewhat offset by a reduced share count.

The GAAP operating margin for the quarter was 17.9%, down from 20.7% in the prior year, with the adjusted operating margin at 19%, compared to 21.8% previously. Branded digital revenue increased by 5% on a reported basis and 7% on an adjusted basis, with branded digital transactions contributing 24% of total CMT revenues and 31% of total CMT transactions.

Despite the challenges, McGranahan said that the company is beginning to see positive adjusted revenue growth, excluding Iraq, and is optimistic about achieving sustainable positive revenue growth in 2025 and beyond.

He pointed several times to a recent report from The World Bank, which found that “remittances to LMICs (low- to middle-income countries) are expected to grow at a faster rate of 2.3% in 2024, although this growth will be uneven across regions. Potential downside risks to these projections include weaker than expected economic growth in high-income migrant-hosting countries and volatility in oil prices and currency exchange rates.”

But the biggest part of the company’s Evolve 2025 strategy is to encourage digital growth. McGranahan told the call that over the past year it has been improving the effectiveness of digital marketing by cost effectively increasing top of funnel traffic in its digital properties around the globe. During June, he said Western Union saw visits to its U.S. websites up 20% year over year.

“In addition to driving traffic at the top of the funnel, we’ve also made meaningful progress in simplifying the customer journey and improving our funnel conversion rates,” he said.

“As part of that process, we have simplified the branded digital customer profile creation. We have reduced the steps required for a customer to complete a transaction and have modernized our user interface and moved from a multipage transaction funnel to a single page modular view.”

In addition to taking friction out of the process, the company is betting that its mobile apps will deliver in a similar fashion to Australia, where the first Western Union app was launched in 2022. Since that time digital transactions in the country have spiked 30%.

The post Western Union’s Digital Surge Offsets In-Store Decline appeared first on PYMNTS.com.

The Cincinnati-based consumer packaged goods (CPG) company reported net income of $3.14 billion for the fiscal fourth quarter. P&G CEO Jon Moeller highlighted the company’s ability to meet or exceed its growth targets despite a challenging economic and geopolitical landscape.

“Fiscal year 2024 was another year of strong results for P&G,” Moeller said during the Q4 and full-year earnings call on Tuesday (July 30). “The team met or exceeded our going-in plans for organic sales growth, core EPS growth, cash generation and cash returned to shareowners in a challenging economic and geopolitical environment.”

Moeller said P&G remains committed to its integrated strategy of “a focused product portfolio of daily use categories where performance drives brand choice, superiority (of product performance, packaging, brand communication, retail execution and consumer and customer value), productivity, constructive disruption and an agile and accountable organization — all aimed at delivering sustainable, balanced growth and value creation.”

For the April-June quarter, net sales were flat at $20.5 billion, with a 1% rise in volume and pricing offset by foreign exchange headwinds. The company is restructuring operations in select markets like Nigeria and Argentina, incurring significant restructuring costs. It recorded a $216 million charge for currency losses related to these markets and anticipates additional charges as it exits Argentina.

P&G’s Beauty segment saw a 3% increase in organic sales year-over-year. Skin and Personal Care sales remained flat, as higher prices offset declines in premium SK-II brand sales and challenges in China. Hair Care, however, experienced high single-digit growth, driven by elevated pricing and a shift toward premium products.

The Grooming segment delivered 7% organic sales growth, primarily due to higher prices in Latin America and successful new product innovations.

In Health Care, organic sales grew 4%. Oral Care posted high single-digit growth, fueled by a premium product mix and strong performance in North America and Europe. Conversely, Personal Health Care sales were flat, as pricing and volume gains were balanced by decreased cough and cold occurrences.

The Fabric and Home Care segment saw a 2% increase in organic sales. Fabric Care sales were stable, with North American and European volume growth offset by lower pricing due to increased promotions. Meanwhile, Home Care recorded high single-digit growth, attributed to innovation and product mix.

The Baby, Feminine and Family Care segment faced a 1% decline in organic sales. Baby Care sales fell by mid-single digits due to volume losses. Feminine Care grew modestly through higher pricing, while Family Care sales were flat.

Moeller noted the 4% organic sales growth was achieved amid a “very volatile environment,” and said, “To be very clear, there’s more work to do to continue driving areas in our control. Our strategy is dynamic and sustainable. It adapts to the changing needs of consumers, customers, and societies.”

He also cited the company’s digital acumen, improving its ad copy and media buying through the development of proprietary digital tools to digitize more of the company’s back-office work processes.

Chief Financial Officer Andre Schulten said 85% of the company’s business is performing in line with expectations, particularly in North American and Europe, and “our growth margin is at record levels.” But he noted those “headwinds from December will still be with us in Q1 2025,” largely dependent on the pace of economic recovery in China.

Moeller remains confident of P&G’s future, saying it “holds great promise. We have an opportunity to grow markets and our business and we’ll double down on our strategy. The fundamentals of our business are in very strong shape.”

Looking ahead to fiscal 2025, Moeller expects the company to “deliver strong organic sales growth, EPS growth and free cash flow productivity — each in-line with our long-term growth algorithm.”

The post Procter & Gamble Records 4% Organic Sales Growth appeared first on PYMNTS.com.

The airline released quarterly earnings Tuesday (July 30) showing a $25 million profit, and said it plans to emphasize flights in and out of New York, Puerto Rico and New England, where it is adding new routes from Manchester, N.H.

“Our network sits in some of the most valuable geographies in the world,” said JetBlue CEO Joanna Geraghty.

“We have a leading position and three of the five largest markets on the East Coast, including New York City, which is the highest GDP producing metro area in the United States.”

She added that many of the changes JetBlue made to its network have been “driven by the stronger recovery and quicker ramp of leisure travel,” leading the airline to shift “capacity out of corporate focused routes and into leisure.”

During the question-and-answer session of the call, airline President Marty St. George clarified that shifting capacity away from business travel does not mean ignoring that market.

“When we said we’re pivoting away from corporate, you know, we will continue to carry corporate customers. There’s no walking away from the corporate market,” he said.

“I think the better way to describe it is we’re not really designing the network for corporations like we once did. If you look at some of the changes we’ve made in New York, some of the routes we’ve pulled, I think it’s very consistent with what we’ve seen as far as a slower recovery of corporate travel in New York.”

JetBlue scaled back routes earlier this year, while increasing its capacity in Latin America. The company said Tuesday it is also deferring $3 billion in aircraft spending over the next five years to improve cash flow.

The company’s focus on leisure travel comes as many budget-strapped consumers are seeking discounts on their summer trips, as PYMNTS reported earlier this month.

“Paycheck-to-paycheck consumers want to get out of Dodge,” that report said, citing data from PYMNTS Intelligence’s “Summer Travel Special Report,” showing 65% of those who live paycheck to paycheck with no issues paying their bills and 44% of paycheck-to-paycheck individuals who do have issues planned to take at least one trip this summer.

JetBlue was among the companies courting these consumers, recently offering 25% off flights for the fall — those between Sept. 7 and Nov. 20 — to keep travel spending momentum up in the slower period that after the summer spike but before the holidays.

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“We are continuing to innovate and create high converting experiences on both desktop and mobile and across platforms and devices,” CEO Alex Chriss said on the company’s earnings call. “We also continue engaging consumers post purchase with smart receipts, package tracking, push notifications and more, adding increased value and driving the PayPal engagement flywheel. In fact, we drove almost 20 million app logins from our post purchase experiences in June 11, growing more than 70% from a year ago.”

By the numbers, PayPal reported a total transaction volume of $403.9 billion in Q2 2024, marking an 11% year-over-year increase. PayPal’s overall net revenues rose by 8% to $7.9 billion. Venmo processed over $73 billion in total payment volume, up 8% from the previous year, with monthly active users growing by 5% to nearly 62 million. Additionally, PayPal highlighted the progress of Fastlane, now available to merchants in the U.S., which promises to enhance checkout experiences and drive higher conversion rates. Payment processor Braintree also showed increased integration with Fastlane, contributing to the company’s positive outlook. In fact, both Chriss and CFO Jamie Miller namechecked Braintree and Fastlane several times during the call, showing the importance of enabling technologies to the company’s ability to attract and retain key partners.

Those partners also took their share of the spotlight during the earnings call. For example, Chriss noted that PayPal is working closely with Meta to optimize PayPal experiences and will announce deeper commitments with it as well as Salesforce, Door Dash and others. During the second quarter PayPal launched in-app offers with Best Buy, Priceline, Lyft, Instacart, Ticketmaster, Walmart and Nordstrom.

“We continue to execute with high velocity to enhance customer experiences and value for our large enterprises, SMBs and consumers,” Chriss said. “We are building the foundation for our next phase of growth for large enterprises. We continue to have a productive conversation to help merchants understand the additional value they can unlock by strengthening their relationship with us to take advantage of our full platform capabilities.”

Chriss also addressed PayPal’s relationships with SMBs and competition with other digital wallets and payments solutions, including Apple Pay.

“We are the number one branded experience across all platforms and devices,” Chriss said during the Q&A portion of the call with Wall Street analysts. “If we narrow down into desktop web, which is still 40% to 50% of all checkout, we see no degradation in our share over the past four years. So let me say that again. We’ve held share despite competition. Second, if we look across browsers, there’s actually no difference in our selection rate across different browsers. So certain buttons moving from one platform to the other just isn’t material to us. That’s where we are today. Let’s focus around our ability to continue to improve and make this a better experience for our consumers going forward. And for merchants, they’re looking for an end-to-end solution. They want to get customers, they want to convert customers, and they want to engage and have a return experience with customers.”

Chriss made several points regarding its small business suite, PPCP. In early April, it enhanced its Complete Payments Solution for small businesses by adding new features. These include the ability to accept Apple Pay, save payment methods with PayPal Vault, and use a real-time account updater to keep card details current. Additionally, businesses can now access interchange plus plus (IC++) pricing and gross settlement options. These features aim to streamline payment processes, reduce cart abandonment, and offer transparent pricing, ultimately helping small businesses improve sales and manage cash flow.

The post PayPal Boosts Revenue Forecasts With New Small Business Features and Apple Pay Integration appeared first on PYMNTS.com.