1. Say Goodbye to Credit Card Signatures
Today marks the end of credit card signatures. The four major US credit card companies— American Express, Mastercard, Visa, and Discover— have removed the in-store signature requirement for purchases. American Express, Mastercard, and Discover have formally done away with the requirement as of today, and Visa is set to follow later this month. This is just in time since many Millennials never learned cursive.
(Source: The Verge)
2. ESPN Launches Streaming Service ESPN+
Yesterday, ESPN launched their highly anticipated subscription streaming service, ESPN+. The service costs $4.99/month. This week only, you can sign up for a free 30-day trial courtesy of American Express. Surprisingly, big games featured on ESPN channels will not be available through the app. Instead, ESPN+ has original content. ESPN+ will include a daily Major League Baseball game, more than 180 National Hockey League games, more than 250 Major League Soccer games, college sports, golf, cricket, rugby, and 3 matches of the tennis Grand Slams. The app will also feature content such as Detail, a basketball analysis by Kobe Bryant.
(Source: TechCrunch)
3. Spotify Fights to Stay on Top
On Wednesday, Apple Music reached 40M subscribers. While Spotify is still 30M subscribers ahead of Apple Music, Spotify isn’t willing to take any chances. Spotify announced a discounted bundle offer with Hulu. Users who take advantage of the deal can pay $12.99/month for access to Spotify Premium and Hulu’s limited commercial plan. Additionally, Spotify is set to release a software update for their free mobile service to make the app similar to the paid version.
(Source: The Hustle)
