*By Michael Teich*
Amazon inked a new partnership with American Express, but don't expect the financial industry to be the next area the tech giant jumps into.
"The thing that people misunderstand is that tech companies don't want to manufacture financial products," said Lex Sokolin, Global Director of Fintech Strategy at Autonomous Research. "It's about making the ecosystem and the platform more powerful, and finance is just a feature inside of that."
American Express announced Tuesday it will launch a co-branded Amazon credit card for small businesses. The move accelerates Amazon's foray into financial products and strengthens its position as a lender. The goal, Sokolin said, is to enable small businesses to finance their activities, getting more products on Amazon's platform, and ultimately driving more commerce.
Plus, the opportunity costs of devoting itself to the financial industry are too high.
"Amazon has tremendous high-growth, super interesting, blue oceans to explore,” he said. "They could be investing in building a mortgage business, or they can build artificial intelligence business."
For the full segment, [click here.](https://cheddar.com/videos/amazon-bolsters-financial-prowess-with-new-credit-card)
New supervisors leading Disney World’s revamped governing body say they had good intentions about collaborating with the company after they were appointed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Legendary skateboarder Tony Hawk is the new spokesman for Citizen's new smart watch. Cheddar News spoke with Hawk to discuss his new partnership and how the watch helps him with his wellness routine.
Higher prices due to inflation combined with higher interest rates are creating a perfect storm for consumers who use credit cards, according to a Bankrate.com report. Ted Rossman, senior industry analyst at Bankrate.com, joined Cheddar News to discuss the latest report and what consumers can do to avoid any potential issues.
Elon Musk claimed that artificial intelligence has the potential to cause 'civilization destruction.' The billionaire is currently planning to come out with an AI platform, TruthGPT.
