WSJ Tech News Briefing — "Would You Add A Car to Your Amazon Cart?"

Date: December 2, 2025
Host: Patrick Coffey, with segments hosted by Katie Dayton
Featured Experts: Imani Moise (WSJ Personal Economics reporter), Sean McClain (WSJ reporter)

Episode Overview

This episode explores two major tech stories:

1. Block’s New Credit Score: The fintech company Block (parent of Cash App and Afterpay) is launching a transparent, internal credit scoring system for its users, signaling a move away from traditional credit bureaus and models.
2. Amazon’s Big-Big-Ticket Ambitions: Amazon is expanding into the sale of high-end items—most notably, cars—allowing shoppers to add automobiles to their Amazon carts, and examining what this means for the future of ecommerce and brick-and-mortar retail.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Block’s Transparent Credit Score

(Segment: 01:23–05:29)

What is Block?

• Block owns several major fintech products:
  • Cash App (peer-to-peer payments, Bitcoin purchases, savings, debit cards)
  • Afterpay (buy now, pay later platform; competitor to Affirm, Klarna)
• These platforms operate mainly outside the traditional banking system.

Why Introduce an Internal Credit Score?

• Traditionally, Block has been vocal against integrating fintech-powered loans (like Buy Now, Pay Later) into mainstream credit reporting, fearing users would be negatively affected.
  • Quote: "If you guys aren’t going to move fast enough to build a system that can accommodate us, we’re going to build our own system." —Imani Moise (02:34)
• Their new, internal score is a response—essentially saying they don’t need to depend on Experian, Equifax, or FICO.

What Makes Block’s Credit Score Different?

• Traditional Credit Score: Based on broad credit history—credit cards, mortgages, payment timeliness.

• Block’s Score:

  • Uses only internal data (Cash App balance, history of repaying block-issued loans).
  • May integrate deposit-level data (how much is in your bank, not just what you borrow).
  • Potentially fairer for “thin file” customers (young people, immigrants) overlooked by traditional scoring.

  Quote: "The Cash App score is based on things like how much money you have in your Cash App account, do you carry a balance, and what is your track record with paying back Cash App loans or Block loans specifically." —Imani Moise (03:12)

Implications for Consumers

• Today, these loans do not appear on regular credit reports, but if mainstream banks start to monitor them, there may be challenges:

  • Banks may see frequent use of small-dollar loans as risky.
  • Consumers could eventually juggle multiple credit scores.
  • Fintech credit appealing to “thin credit file” people—young, immigrants, or those with lower income.
  • The majority of fast-growing consumer loans are outside traditional credit systems ("buy now, pay later," earned wage access).

  Quote: "The fastest growing kinds of consumer credit right now are happening outside the traditional credit scoring system." —Imani Moise (04:49)

2. Amazon’s Foray Into Selling Cars

(Segment: 06:36–12:08)

Why Sell Big-Ticket Items on Amazon?

• Historically, Amazon hasn't attracted many shoppers for luxury goods or cars—most buy “everyday essentials.”

  • Yet some high-end brands (Hyundai, Rolex, Chanel) are signing on.

• Pandemic fundamentally shifted consumer shopping habits:

  • Online shopping comfort increased and has largely stuck, even as consumers return to physical stores.
  • Brands realized online sales can be additive rather than cannibalistic.

  Quote: "A lot has changed in the past couple years to make brands more willing to sell on Amazon… a lot of those online shopping habits have stuck around." —Sean McClain (07:29)

Emerging Statistics

• E-commerce’s slice of retail grew from 9% (2018) to 15.5% (2025).
• Even 1% of Amazon shoppers making $10,000+ purchases is millions of people.

Why Expand Now?

• Amazon has long pursued this play, but more brands are finally open to it.

  • Brick-and-mortar is still 85% of retail sales, but digital is steadily growing.
  • Even for large purchases, people are now more open to at least initiating those purchases online.
  • Example: Hyundai finds that 9 in 10 Amazon car browsers are new to the brand, about half are first-time buyers.

  Quote: "There is something about the halo of Amazon's marketplace as a place of easy, reliable returns and easy delivery that makes people more likely to buy a brand they're unfamiliar with." —Sean McClain (09:39)

Details on Car Purchasing

• Cars must still be picked up at physical dealers (US law); Amazon is more of a digital storefront and lead generator.

  • You buy online, but pickup/financial paperwork happens at the dealership.

  Quote: "You still have to purchase a car from a physical dealership...you're still going to see the car and drive it off the lot from there." —Sean McClain (10:11)

The Marketplace Battle: Amazon vs. Walmart

• Amazon’s scale and all-in-one approach remain unmatched, but:

  • Rising competition with Walmart (especially Walmart+ membership, fast delivery).
  • The battle is shifting to “outer fringes” of retail: luxury goods, cars, specialty products, not just toilet paper and groceries.
  • Questions loom about dominance in the used car/auto market, especially as AI reshapes commerce.

  Quote: "Clearly Prime has been an amazing engine for a place like Walmart to get us to shop there more regularly...building that loyalty and then offering everything to everybody, like clearly there’s a competition there." —Sean McClain (11:10)

Memorable Quotes & Timestamps

• "If you guys aren’t going to move fast enough to build a system that can accommodate us, we’re going to build our own system."
  —Imani Moise, on fintech credit innovation (02:34)

• "The Cash App score is based on things like how much money you have in your Cash App account...it's a much narrower score, but...it could also integrate deposit level data."
  —Imani Moise, on Block’s approach (03:12)

• "The fastest growing kinds of consumer credit right now are happening outside the traditional credit scoring system."
  —Imani Moise (04:49)

• "A lot has changed...brands more willing to sell on Amazon...a lot of those online shopping habits have stuck around."
  —Sean McClain, on pandemic effects and luxury e-commerce (07:29)

• "There is something about the halo of Amazon's marketplace ... that makes people more likely to buy a brand they're unfamiliar with."
  —Sean McClain, on Amazon’s trust factor (09:39)

• "You still have to purchase a car from a physical dealership...you're still going to see the car and drive it off the lot from there."
  —Sean McClain, on car buying logistics (10:11)

• "Prime has been an amazing engine...building that loyalty and then offering everything to everybody, like clearly there’s a competition there."
  —Sean McClain, on Amazon vs. Walmart (11:10)

Important Timestamps

• 01:23 — Katie Dayton introduces the Block credit score segment with Imani Moise.
• 02:13 — Explanation for Block’s move to launch its own credit scoring system.
• 03:06 — Comparison between Block’s and traditional credit scores.
• 04:01 — Discussion about implications for consumers and traditional banking.
• 04:49 — Importance of “thin file” consumers and alternative credit systems.
• 06:36 — Patrick Coffey and Sean McClain begin discussion on Amazon’s high-end sales strategy.
• 07:29 — Why luxury brands are now willing to list on Amazon.
• 08:52 — Significance and timing of Amazon’s move into big-ticket retail.
• 09:39 — Data on Amazon shoppers and the 'halo effect'.
• 10:07 — Questions about logistics of returning/picking up cars bought online.
• 10:41 — Discussion on Amazon vs. Walmart and the evolving online marketplace.

Summary in Brief

• Fintech Evolution: Block is embracing transparency by launching an internal credit score based on its ecosystem, sidestepping traditional credit reporting disruptively.
• Retail Reinvention: Amazon is stretching the bounds of "the everything store" by enabling the purchase of cars and luxury goods, fueled by shifts in consumer comfort post-pandemic.
• Marketplace Tensions: The arms race between Amazon and Walmart intensifies, especially at the edges of traditional ecommerce boundaries.

This episode takes listeners inside the changing dynamics of how we borrow and buy, and how tech-driven convenience is upending old assumptions—even when it comes to your next car.