US Retail Sales Jump In June (But It Could Be the Last Increase for Some Time) Retail sales were up in May and June as economies reopened. A better-than-expected 7.5% jump in June, following a record-breaking 18.2% increase in sales in May, surpassed economists’ predictions. The rebound occurred after businesses reopened and pent-up demand for retail goods and services came...

Figg Uses CLO to Help Consumers Brave Recession Augeo, a St. Paul digital engagement company and card-linked technology provider to banks, announced it has acquired Empyr, the San Diego-based company that powers the Yelp card-linked offer program, among other leading publisher platforms. The two Cardlinx members will do business as Figg, with more than 60 million linked cards and $300...

Plaid, the company acquired by Visa for $5.3 billion, was sued in a class action alleging it harvested consumer transaction data without permission. The law suit states “Plaid uses that access to deceptively obtain bank account information from users, accessing information back up to five years, averaging 3,700 transactions per consumer.” CardLinx Insight: The law suit alleges a fear many...