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Keeping Your Customers by Refusing Their Cash

  • Survey finds that a large share of small businesses have stopped accepting cash and transitioned to contactless payments during the COVID-19 pandemic
  • Younger customers are more likely to accept cashless transactions and favor companies that require no direct interaction for payment
  • Two-thirds of businesses try a new approach during the pandemic, primarily involving a pivot to digital
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Small Business Owners Show Cautious Optimism In COVID-19 Impact Poll

  • Jessica Moser visits the Small Business Radio Show to discuss the latest results of a Met Life/U.S. Chamber of Commerce poll on COVID-19 impact
  • Most small businesses said they had fully or partially reopened at the time of the survey
  • Small businesses show more optimism about future revenues and ability to rehire employees
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School Reopening Decisions Poised to Impact Small Business Workforce

  • Employees at small businesses may be eligible to seek leave if schools offer virtual classes for all or part of the fall semester
  • Parents may struggle with child care options if they have already used up available FFCRA leave
  • In Connecticut, reopening decisions are being left up to individual districts
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Connecticut Eases Restaurant Restrictions As Reopening Advances

  • Connecticut DECD eases some restrictions on reopening restaurants
  • Additional guidelines presented for offices, retail, and other venues
  • Phase 3 of Connecticut reopening remains on hold
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Small Business Employment Recovery Falters In States With Rising COVID-19 Numbers

  • Job recovery at small- and medium-sized businesses has slowed or reversed in states that have seen a recent surge in COVID-19 cases
  • Employment at these companies is down 23 percent on an annual basis
  • Effect largely concentrated in Sun Belt states, where shutdown orders have been reinstated
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Layoffs Stuck at High Level as 1.3 Million Seek Jobless Aid

  • More than 1.3 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week
  • Resurgence in COVID-19 cases forces reversal or pause of reopening plans in several states
  • Companies warn of potential need for further layoffs as economy regains only about one-third of jobs lost in March and April
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Businesses in These Cities Haven’t Felt the COVID Pandemic Too Hard

  • LendingTree analyzed survey data from the U.S. Census Bureau to see which cities have felt the least impact on their businesses due to COVID-19
  • Cities in Kentucky, Virginia, and Arizona top the list
  • Recent reopening and local grants help ease the burden
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Economists Push For Additional Direct Cash Payments to Aid Economy

  • A group of 153 economists calls for additional direct cash payments to Americans to help stimulate the economy
  • Payments under the CARES Act helped boost spending among lower income households, mostly for essentials
  • Supplemental unemployment funds set to expire at end of July
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Restaurant Owner Warns That Opening and Closing Cycle Could Devastate Food Service Industry

  • Junior’s Cheesecake owner Alan Rosen told CNBC that restaurants forced to shut down a second time may not be able to reopen
  • Restaurants take huge financial hit when they purchase food and are unable to sell it
  • Some states roll back eat-in service as COVID-19 counts rise
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