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Data Dive: Amex, Ripple, Marriott And Instacart

New Post has been published on https://cryptnus.com/2018/12/data-dive-amex-ripple-marriott-and-instacart/

Data Dive: Amex, Ripple, Marriott And Instacart

With 2018 down to its last two weeks, the world is busy wrapping up the old in order to ring in the new — including the newsmakers in payments. Here are the highs, lows and who-knows of last week.

American Express Is Bullish On Ripple’s Blockchain

Amex was feeling the love for the blockchain this week, with the intimation by Corporate Payments GM Carlos Carriedo that its pilot tests with partner Ripple to enable real-time cross-border corporate payments have been a success.

“Blockchain is absolutely an option we’re looking at,” he said. “Just to give you a sense, we have invested in a FinTech lab based on blockchain technology, just to understand how to leverage this better,” Carriedo said at the Wings of Change Europe conference last week.

Carriedo also specifically cited its strategic partnership with Ripple in particular, which is working with American Express and Santander to test a blockchain-powered, cross-border payments solution.

“We did a test, partnering with Santander locally, and with Ripple to just do cross-border transactions,” he said, according to reports. “And in a matter of seconds, through this test, our clients were able to transfer funds in a very transparent and seamless way, from one part of the world to the other one.”

Last year, American Express joined Ripple’s RippleNet, the blockchain network designed to provide real-time B2B payments. As part of the collaboration, American Express FX International Payments is working with Santander UK to develop a mechanism to move corporate funds between the U.S. and U.K. in real time.

Carreido went on to note that early promise aside, a lot more will have to be done before the solution is ready to roll out to the market at large.

“There is more to come,” he said. “There’s still a lot of things that need to get addressed with blockchain as a technology. But it’s very promising. … The future is definitely digital. Digital is the way payments will continue to be across both the consumer part of the business and the commercial part of the business.”

The Ever-Worsening Marriott Hack Story

The Marriott data breach, which exposed the data on about 500 million guests, was bad news. The reports that the hack was done with the full support of the Chinese government were worse.

And then last week, things got worse again, with reports in The New York Times indicating that the Marriott hack was not a one-off, but instead part of a larger Chinese government-backed data-harvesting effort.

The report, citing two people briefed on the investigation, says China had launched an intelligence-gathering campaign that includes a rather wide array of hacks that also including health insurance companies and security clearance files of millions of people living in the U.S.

The Times reported the hackers are believed to be employed by the Ministry of State Security, China’s spy agency and that revelation that China was behind the Marriott hack comes as the U.S. government is gearing up to launch actions against China’s trade that include indicting Chinese hackers. The Marriott hacking isn’t expected to be part of the indictments.

Reports also indicated that the Trump administration is planning on declassifying intelligence reports that show China had been trying to create a database of American executives and government officials that have security clearances; and mulling an executive order that would make it more difficult for Chinese companies to get access to components that go into telecommunications equipment.

Thus far, Chinese official have denied any involvement with state-sponsored hacking.

“China firmly opposes all forms of cyberattack and cracks down on it in accordance with the law. If offered evidence, the relevant Chinese departments will carry out investigations according to the law,” Geng Shuang, a spokesman for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told The New York Times.

Instacart’s Labor Uncertainty

Instacart is facing a facing a boycott from its shoppers in protest of its new payment structure, which has resulted in a decrease in wages. As a result, the workers are boycotting — and trying to organize the company’s network of independent contractors.

In October, the company announced that by the end of the year it would be fully implementing a new formula to determine how its shoppers would be paid, which would factor in details such as the weight of items purchased. The result, according to workers, has been inconsistent wages and a boost in low-paying orders.

“We’re being mistreated,” Alid Alvarado, a single mom who lives in south suburban Oak Lawn, told the Chicago Tribune.

Since the new wage system launched in the Chicago market Nov. 5, some local shoppers have been boycotting low-paying orders in an attempt to force Instacart to pay them more. Letters are being sent to state attorneys general and members of Congress, requesting that they investigate the treatment of independent contractors.

“The gig companies need to be held accountable to the people who built their businesses,” said Matthew Telles, a shopper in Des Plaines and a chief organizer in the fight for better pay from Instacart. He estimates that anywhere from 1,000 to 15,000 shoppers are actively participating in the boycott, which Instacart claims has not affected its operations.

“We want to be clear that every shopper and every order matters to us, and we take all feedback seriously,” the company said in a statement. “We’re committed to looking into every issue that our shoppers raise to better understand how we can improve our features and create the best possible shopper experience.”

The outcome there remains TBD — and it wasn’t the only big injection of uncertainty Instacart faced last week. The grocery delivery service also announced that it will begin the process of separating from longtime partner Whole Foods, according to a report from Bloomberg.

After working together closely for the last four years, the two firms are parting ways. Instacart customers will soon no longer be able to order from Amazon-owned Whole Foods, which offers its own free delivery service for Amazon Prime members. Reports indicate that Amazon delivery workers have been increasingly displacing Instacart shoppers over the last year.

The company has about 1,415 part-time workers picking and packing groceries in Whole Foods stores. Those workers will be given the option to move to other stores or leave their jobs, Instacart said, with either severance or transfer pay.

The separation between the companies will take about two months, because they were so interconnected. What the new Instacart will look like following the Whole Foods final separation is also a bit of a question mark — Amazon’s entry into grocery has seen a lot of new partners of Instacart popping up as they hope to compete with the eCommerce giant.

We’ll keep you posted as that story unfolds.

So what did we learn this week? The tone of the news varies — good, bad, up in the air — but in payments in commerce there’s never a lack of it.

And since this will be the last Data Dive before the holiday, have a very Merry Christmas.

——————————–

LATEST INSIGHTS:

Our data and analytics team has developed a number of creative methodologies and frameworks that measure and benchmark the innovation that’s reshaping the payments and commerce ecosystem. Check out the latest PYMNTS report on driving gas pump payments to the C-Store

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grudgecollector · 2 years

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late night adventures | paul

Pairing: Paul / Gender neutral Reader - Background poly!tlb / reader

Story Summary: It’s 3am and Paul wakes you up to ask if you would like to go on a ride.

Words: 3k

Tags/Warnings: Everyone lives and is happy AU, Fluff... so much fluff, reader is ticklish, food, Paul's reckless driving, drug use (weed)

A/N: I’d like to give a special thanks to @cherry-vamps for thrusting this story idea into my head, thank you so much.

REQUEST INFO | MY LOST BOYS MASTERLIST

please read my request info and check my bio before sending in any requests!

It was late, you knew that as you were jostled from your dream filled sleep. A whisper of your name floats through the air above you, causing you to bury your head deeper into your pillow, attempting to fall back asleep even as you feel his hand shake your shoulder.

You let out a tired sigh when you feel the bed dip underneath Paul’s weight as he floats down behind you. His breath tickled against the back of your neck as he whispered your name again.

His hand was freezing cold as he slid it across your waist where your shirt had ridden up, causing goosebumps to rise on your arms and legs. You shiver, trying harder to push him away in your sleepy haze, but with his arm now secured around your stomach he hardly budged.

“Come get food with me.” He mutters, his chin laying on your shoulder. “I’m hungry.”

Paul’s constant cold touches helped to keep you from falling back asleep, eventually making you crack your eyes open and send him a halfhearted glare.

“What?” You responded in a whisper, still half asleep.

“Ride with me to McDonald’s, I’m hungry.”

“Wh- Paul it’s like…” You roll closer to the edge of the mattress to reach for your wristwatch that was laying on the nightstand, you squinted at the small red numbers “It’s 3am. No.”

He nods against your shoulder “Yeah. You’ve been asleep for so long and I’m bored.” He pokes your side “Please?” His fingers begin to wiggle against your waist making you flinch with a quiet gasp.

“Oh my god-” You try to push his hand away from you, but your efforts are futile against his strength, “Paul fu- fuck off!” You couldn’t stop the fit of laughter bursting from your mouth. You curl into yourself, flipping more on to your back trying to shield yourself from his hand.

Paul leans over you with a grin plastered to his face as he begins attacking both sides of your ribcage, forcing even more hysterical laughter out of you.

“What?” He laughs, “You seriously can’t hear those hash browns calling your name? Cause I sure can!” Paul’s hands finally come to a stop, allowing you to catch your breath.

He sits up on the mattress and crosses his legs, lightly drumming his hands against his legs as he looks down at you expectantly.

You roll your eyes, not able to hold back your smile as you say “Ugh, fine we can go.”

“Yes!” He pumps his fist triumphantly in front of his face before climbing over you and off the mattress.

Not long after, you’re sitting up and dropping your feet onto one of the many rugs that decorate the floor of your dimly lit nest. Stretching your arms over your head with a strangled groan, rubbing your eyes, and yawning before finally standing up.

Luckily the fire from the barrels outside allowed enough visibility so you could easily find your pants and jacket. They were laying on the back of an old green velvet chair in the corner of your nest that served you well as a catch all for clothes, magazines, and blankets.

A minute or two passed before Paul pushed aside the bead and lace curtains that separated your nest from the rest of the open cave.

“You ready to head out?” He asks, spinning the keys to his bike around on his index finger, clinking pleasantly together.

“You’re evil, you know that right?” You jokingly ask as you slip your arms through the sleeves of your jacket.

Paul chuckles, “Oh you won’t be sayin’ that once we get this McMuffin.” He points at you, watching as you lace up your boots, “Just you wait, you’re gonna be thanking me for this one.” He smirks when you hum sarcastically.

You follow him out into the main room of the cave, and towards the sitting area where the rest of the boys are sitting so he could grab his jacket.

Marko and Dwayne were sitting next to each other on the couch, David was walking on the edge of the fountain while smoking a cigarette, and you could hear Star and Michael talking to each other behind the curtains of her nest, Blondie quietly playing on her radio.

“You crazy kids don’t get into much trouble alright?” Marko jokes, looking up from where he was sewing a new patch onto his jacket. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do and all that shit.”

Dwayne snorts, and David says “There isn’t much you wouldn’t do, Marko.”

“Exactly.” The curly haired vampire smirks.

“You guys have fun.” Dwayne says, grabbing your hand and squeezing it softly before Paul starts pulling you by your other hand towards the entrance of the cave.

“We will. Love you guys!” You wave at them before walking up the steep incline and into the tunnel.

—

The wind whips against your face, bringing a chill to your cheeks as Paul drives a little faster when he turns onto a two lane road. You could hear his laughter travel with the wind over the loud purr of the engine as he weaved past a few cars, barely missing a stop light just as it turned red.

The roads were almost completely illuminated by the fluorescent lights coming from stores and roadside signs. Advertising sketchy motels, empty convenient stores, overpriced gas stations, and diners that are on their last legs. All of it gives you a sense of comfort and nostalgia. Whether it’s the memory of late night drives with your family when you were a kid or with the boys throughout your relationship with them.

A car honked loudly when Paul passed them causing you to look back and wave, unable to mask your amusement.

“You are such an asshole.” You say loud enough for him to hear.

You feel Paul laugh rather than hear it this time “Sorry babe I’m, like, full on tunnel visioned right now!” He glances over his shoulder, grinning at you.

You remember how scared you were the first few times you rode with the boys, especially Paul and Marko. It still amazes you how easily you were able to become used to their recklessness. You assumed it was from trust, and the knowledge that they definitely could not afford to get into a wreck.

Paul turned the corner sharply and in the distance you could see the glowing golden arches of the McDonald’s sign. It was the same one you would all frequently pass if the boys decided to take the roads back to the cave rather than their usual shortcuts.

“Hold on tight!” Paul yells as he turns into an empty shopping center parking lot so he can avoid the cars stopped at a red light.

You squeeze your arms tighter around his middle. Unable to stop the little giggles that slip from your lips when your stomach flips when he drives up a small hill. The bike’s tires lift up off the ground just a bit, landing gracefully just a few feet away from the entrance to your destination’s parking lot.

Paul stops in the parking spot closest to the doors and shuts off the engine, letting you slip off the back before putting down the kickstand.

“God, feels like my stomach is fuckin’ eating itself.” Paul stretches his arms over his head, shifting from one foot to the other. “Let’s go.” He smiles when grabbing your hand and tugs you towards the doors.

The inside was pretty empty, a table by the windows had two people sitting across from each other, and one of the booths was occupied by a group of four. A tired looking employee bopped their head as they swept the floor, adjusting the headphones to their walkman on their head right before they fell off.

Paul and you walked over to the counter where an older looking man stood, you could see a few other employees walking around in the kitchen.

“What'll it be?” The man asked.

Paul drummed his fingers against the counter as he ordered two sausage McMuffins with egg, hotcakes, and two hash browns to go. The man behind the counter nodded along as he typed loudly on the cash register.

“That’ll be $3.99.”

You start going for your wallet, but Paul stopped you just before your hand dipped into your jacket pocket. You furrow your brows, smiling a little as he looks over his shoulder and says,

“Don’t worry babe…” He digs through his front pocket of his pants and pulls out a crumpled five dollar bill, “I got this one.” He winks at you before handing the money to the man.

Luckily the wait wasn’t too long before the bag with your food was being placed on the counter and the man behind it was wishing you both a goodnight. Paul grabs it and does a two finger salute before you’re both walking towards the exit.

The bag was dropped next to the wheel of Paul’s bike as he sat down on the curb, humming the tune of a Van Halen song as he pulled out the two McMuffins. One was handed to you once you sat down next to him. You stretch your legs out in front of you, knocking your boots together as you unwrap it.

Paul takes a bite of his own while leaning back on one hand so he can stare up at the blank sky, the stars washed out by the lights.

There were more cars on the road now that it neared 4am, most people either driving to work, driving home from bars or clubs, or maybe they were doing the same thing Paul and you were doing.

Paul practically moans as he takes another bite, “This shit is so fucking good.” He tilts his head to the side to look at you, a closed lip smile on his face, “It’s good isn’t it?” He smirks while poking your side twice.

You playfully smack his hand away, “Stop it.” You laugh, smiling softly “Yeah it’s pretty good. I *guess* I can forgive you for waking me up.”

“Aww, how sweet of you.” He snorts, taking one last bite of his McMuffin.

“Wait-” You swallow, “I do have a question though.” Paul hums signaling for you to ask, “How did you even get money? I thought you spent the rest of yours on that Ozzy album.”

“Oh, I harassed David for it.” Paul nods, wiping his hands off on his pants, “He was like ‘You better pay me back’, yeah right, man.” He chuckles while fishing through the bag for his hash brown, “I’m kidding, I’ll *probably* pay him back.” He nudges his shoulder against yours while smirking.

The both of you continued to eat your food quietly, listening to the sound of cars passing by. Some of them had their radios up loud enough to hear, and others had their windows down enough to hear the fits of laughter from inside

“Did David ever say anything about going to the boardwalk again tomorrow?” You ask Paul after taking one last bite of your shared hotcakes.

Paul shrugs, “Not sure, Star’s supposed to be watching Laddie tomorrow night. Apparently the kid’s been begging her to take him to the drive-in, so we might go join ‘em.” He smiles, throwing the styrofoam to go plate back in the bag.

“Oh right! They’re doing E.T. tomorrow, I remember Michael saying something about it yesterday.” You said, throwing your napkin into the bag, “Alright I’m ready to go whenever you are.”

Paul stands up from the curb and grabs your hand, tugging you to your feet, landing a quick kiss on your cheek.

You bend down to pick up the bag of trash and throw it into the garbage can near the door with an ashtray sitting atop it.

“Any other adventures you plan to go on tonight, Paul?” You ask as you hold onto his shoulder and swing your leg over the back of his bike and sit down behind him.

He looks back at you, “We could go skinny dipping.” wiggling his brows and smirking.

You snort, shaking your head, “Yeah, not gonna happen. I’m not planning on freezing my ass off tonight.”

Paul holds up his hands in surrender, “Sorry, but you asked, sweetheart.” He chuckles before starting his bike and revving the engine.

With your arms wrapped around his waist, he drives out of the parking lot and down the familiar streets, streets that eventually turn into narrow dirt roads surrounded by a thicket of trees. The smell of the ocean grew stronger, and finally the night sky was revealed to you once he drove into the clearing, allowing you to see the bright twinkling of stars above your head, no longer hidden away by the bright lights.

Once the bike was parked and you were standing in front of Paul, you couldn’t help but smile.

“Thanks for taking me out tonight.” You said, fixing a few unruly strands of hair that stuck themselves to Paul’s forehead and stubble, “It was nice.”

“No problem,” Paul said, tugging you closer by the waist and kissing you, “You still sure you don’t wanna go skinny dipping?” He whispers against your lips making you groan.

“Oh my god, shut up.” You chuckle, shoving his shoulder lightly.

“What?!” Paul laughs, “I just wanted to make sure!” He brings your hand up to his mouth and kisses your knuckles, smiling smugly at you.

“Yeah, yeah.” You hum sarcastically and tug him towards the stairs.

—

“Looks like we missed the party.” Paul says, jumping down from the entrance with you.

Everyone was still sitting in the lounge area passing a joint around, the song Soul Kitchen quietly playing from the rockbox. Star and Dwayne were sitting on the couch talking, while Michael, David, and Marko were playing cards together.

You walk past the three vampires to an empty seat next to the couch, making yourself comfortable and throwing your legs over the arm of the chair, noticing the barely concealed smirk on Marko’s lips.

Paul sauntered over to Dwayne and took the joint as it was offered to him. He takes a hit as he walks over to stand behind Michael and reaches over his shoulder, readjusting his cards for him.

“There you go, bud.” Paul winks when Michael looks up at him from his seat.

“Oh shit…” Michael blows an airy laugh from his mouth, glancing up at the others and triumphantly slapping his cards down on the small side table they were using. “Read it and weep, boys!”

“Paul, you piece of shit.” Marko groans, throwing his own cards down on the table. “I was winning that one.”

“Well, clearly not.” Paul smiles, falling back on the couch between Star and Dwayne, handing the joint off to Star.

David just chuckles deeply while lighting a cigarette and nudging Marko with his boots, making the smaller vampire roll his eyes.

You watch Marko shuffle the cards so they could start a new game, glaring up at Michael as the cards slap together loudly.

“Aw man, don’t get all mad at me.” Michael holds his hands up in defense, grinning.

“I’m not holdin’ back this time, asshole.” Marko jabs a finger in his direction, quickly dealing the cards.

The whole cave echoed with laughter at Marko’s threat.

The game went on silently as Dwayne continued his conversation with Star about classic black and white movies. Going on about which ones were terrible, which ones were decent, and which ones she needed to watch when she gets the chance.

“Old noir films. Now that was the peak of cinema in the 40s.” David chimes into the conversation. “Detour… I remember seeing that with Marko, great flick.”

“Nah man, nothing beats The Gorilla from the 30s.” Paul hums, his back almost completely laying on the cushions of the couch, “That film is the best shit I’ve seen next to Psycho.”

“The fuckin’ Ritz Brother’s movie?” Dwayne asks, laughing.

Paul nods, replying with a giggly “Yeah man. It’s amazing.”

The conversation went on with the boys naming more and more obscure movie titles, arguing over which one was better. Nobody noticed when David laid his cards down with a cocky smirk. Well, until Marko let out a frustrated yell, slapping his cards down on the table and throwing his hands up in the air.

“Poor Marko, always the sore loser.” David clicks his tongue against his teeth, looking at the fuming blonde through his lashes as he ashes his second cigarette.

Marko scoffs, rolling his eyes “Oh shut up, David. You got lucky.”

You look up when Paul enters your line of sight, holding his hand out as he swayed a little from side to side.

“You ready to hit the sack?” He asks, unable to wipe the stoned smile off of his face.

You slip your hand into his, letting him gently pull you from your seat and guide you over towards your nest. He pushes back the curtains and walks you into the small room towards your bed.

You couldn’t deny the drowsiness that was beginning to tug at your eyelids. You guessed an eventful night with only a few hours of sleep would do that to a person.

Paul’s hand moves up from your hand to your cheek, gently cupping it before kissing you softly on the lips.

“Will you actually let me sleep now?” You jokingly ask once he pulls away.

“Mm… Maybe.” He hums, tilting his head.

Paul doesn’t let go of your hand even when you're fully underneath the covers. He leans down and kisses you on the forehead, his hair falling over his shoulder and onto your face.

“Oh oops,” He grins, “You want me to tuck you in and read you a story?” He teases, putting on a baby voice.

“Goodnight Paul.”

“Okay, goodnight.” Paul giggles, finally dropping your hand once he walks far enough away and pulls the curtains aside, leaving you to finally sleep.

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