*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)
Volvo electric vehicles will soon be able to charge at Starbucks ChargePoint locations. Anders Gustafsson, head of the Americas for Volvo Cars, Michael Kobori, Starbucks chief sustainability officer, and Pasquale Romano, president and CEO of ChargePoint, joined Cheddar News Wrap to talk about their joint effort to provide more accessibility for electric vehicle charging. “When you pull into the Starbucks, you pull into the parking lot and the chargers will be set up right there so you can pull in, plug in your car, walk into the Starbucks," said Kobori. "And it's a safe location to recharge, to connect to the Internet while you're charging."
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell went ahead and stirred the pot this week with a series of public talks signaling a firmer hand from the central bank going forward.
Catching you up on what you Need to Know on Mar 23, 2022, as NATO meets in Brussels to discuss Ukraine, mortgage rates rise, Justin Trudeau is set to lead Canada until 2025, tornadoes sweep through Louisiana, California may do away with SATs, and a Starbucks in Seattle unionizes.
