*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)
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Amazon employees in 20 countries will strike or protest on Black Friday for better working conditions as part of global 'Make Amazon Pay' campaign. Áine Cain, Senior Retail Reporter, Insider, joins Cheddar News to discuss workers' demands, the impact the strike is having on Amazon, and plans for the retail giant to respond.
At least 31 percent of shoppers said they would be shopping on Black Friday in 2021 compared to 24 percent in 2020, according to a survey by professional services company Deloitte. Jenna Pogorzelski, Deloitte retail leader, joined Cheddar to break down the numbers and discuss the optimism expressed by the survey results despite ongoing retail hurdles such as the pandemic, inflation, and supply chain constraints. "We have updated data that consumers are a little less concerned than last year heading into stores," she said.
Supply and shipping challenges are creating concerns for retailers this holiday season, but Cheddar's Michelle Castillo found shoppers spending anyway this Black Friday. She reports from the American Dream mall in East Rutherford, N.J.
