X Global Affairs Head Nick Pickles Resigns 

The "X" logo is seen on the top of the headquarters of the messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter, in downtown San Francisco, California, US, July 30, 2023. (Reuters)
The "X" logo is seen on the top of the headquarters of the messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter, in downtown San Francisco, California, US, July 30, 2023. (Reuters)
TT

X Global Affairs Head Nick Pickles Resigns 

The "X" logo is seen on the top of the headquarters of the messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter, in downtown San Francisco, California, US, July 30, 2023. (Reuters)
The "X" logo is seen on the top of the headquarters of the messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter, in downtown San Francisco, California, US, July 30, 2023. (Reuters)

X's global affairs head Nick Pickles said on Thursday he is quitting after a decade with the social media company formerly called Twitter.

Pickles, who joined the company in 2014, said he had decided to leave X several months ago and was working with the Chief Executive Linda Yaccarino through the transition.

"After more than ten years, tomorrow will be my last day at X. It's been an incredible journey," he said.

It was not immediately clear what his next plans were, or why he made the decision to quit.

Elon Musk-owned X and Nick Pickles did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment outside of regular business hours.

In June, X's head of business operations, Joe Benarroch left the company, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Pickles had started at X as a senior manager in their London office and was appointed the Vice President of Global Affairs for X in 2023 after serving in multiple roles, his LinkedIn profile showed.

The Financial Times reported that he was the company's spokesperson in battles with multiple governments, including in Brazil, which said last week it was suspending access to the social network in the country.

The popular social media platform missed a court-imposed deadline to name a legal representative in Brazil, triggering the suspension.

Musk has argued that Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes was trying to enforce unjustified censorship, while the judge has insisted that X needs hate speech regulations.



PayPal Pushes into In-person Payments with Cashback Rewards, Apple Integration

The PayPal logo is seen at a high-tech park in Beersheba, southern Israel August 28, 2017. (Reuters)
The PayPal logo is seen at a high-tech park in Beersheba, southern Israel August 28, 2017. (Reuters)
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PayPal Pushes into In-person Payments with Cashback Rewards, Apple Integration

The PayPal logo is seen at a high-tech park in Beersheba, southern Israel August 28, 2017. (Reuters)
The PayPal logo is seen at a high-tech park in Beersheba, southern Israel August 28, 2017. (Reuters)

PayPal is expanding into US point-of-sale payments by integrating its debit card with Apple's mobile wallet and offering cashback rewards, as the global online payments giant seeks direct competition with tech companies and banks.

The bid to grab a slice of in-person purchases at stores, cafes and restaurants is part of an ambitious turnaround strategy by new CEO Alex Chriss who joined the company from Intuit last year.

While PayPal has long dominated online payments and peer-to-peer payments via its Venmo app, it has not pushed consumers to use its products in person, Reuters reported.

"E-commerce has obviously been one of the fastest growing areas where people are spending their dollars... but it's not everything," Chriss said. "Now consumers can use PayPal for every purchase, everywhere, every time."

The push into point-of-sales includes 5% cash back for certain products up to $1,000 per month and additional rewards from brands like DoorDash and Sephora.

The value of US debit card payments has jumped in recent years, reaching $4.55 trillion in 2021 up from $2.47 trillion in 2015, according to recent US Federal Reserve data.

Chriss said consumers are becoming increasingly cost-conscious and moving towards debit cards, which allow them to keep within their spending limits.

PayPal will also allow customers to use debit cards with Apple Pay, as users take advantage of mobile wallets and "tap to pay" options.

That makes it among the more competitive debit card cash-back products with only 24% of debit cardholders reporting earning cash-back rewards in 2023, compared with 74% of credit cardholders, a report from purchase rewards firm Valuedynamx showed.

While PayPal has enjoyed a long-held first mover advantage, increasing competition from Apple and Google have taken some share in mobile payments, according to analysts.

As part of the push, the company is making its largest-ever marketing investment to promote using PayPal in person. PayPal declined to disclose amount of that investment, but flagged in its quarterly earnings that marketing and brand campaigns would push up expenses in the second half of the year.

Chriss has called 2024 a "transition year" for PayPal, and has promised to grow revenues beyond transaction-related volume. In January, PayPal launched artificial intelligence-driven products and a one-click checkout feature.

PayPal's stock price is up more than 17% since the beginning of the year, but still trails benchmark S&P 500 index's 22% gain.