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Curated industry news and original merchant playbooks.
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Card Issuers Speed Upgrades as Fraud Threats Grow
Lenders are overhauling legacy systems to fight fraud and speed up digital approvals, promising a smoother checkout for your customers.
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Banks Turn Card Replacement Into a Single AI Workflow
New AI workflows are helping banks automate card replacements and backend tasks to keep consumer credit lines active and ready for use.
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technology
Backbase embeds Mastercard toolkit into Bank OS
Mastercard and Backbase partner to modernize bank lending tech, promising faster approvals and better digital experiences for consumers.
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industry-news
Chime Inks $590 Million Deal to Buy Longtime Bank Partner Stride
Fintech leader Chime acquires Stride Bank for $590M, signaling a new era of direct consumer lending and integrated retail financing.
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Visa CEO Says AI Shopping Has Arrived but Agentic Payments Haven’t
Visa CEO Ryan McInerney highlights that while AI is driving consumer product discovery, autonomous payment bots aren't ready for prime time yet.
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Block Pursues National Trust Bank Charter to Custody Bitcoin and Stablecoins
Block's move for a national bank charter signals a future where digital assets and retail financing are deeply integrated.
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technology
Visa makes onchain lending move
Visa integrates blockchain settlement data to automate working capital loans, signaling a shift toward real-time, data-driven credit for businesses.
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Visa and Revolut carry out passkey-based agentic payment in France
Visa and Revolut pilot AI-driven 'agentic' payments, allowing customers to authorize automated purchases via biometrics.
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lender-updates
Chime to buy longtime partner Stride Bank for $590 million
Chime’s $590 million acquisition of Stride Bank turns the fintech giant into a direct lender, paving the way for expanded consumer credit products.
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lender-updates
Huntington's new president looks like its CEO-in-waiting
Huntington Bank signals leadership continuity by promoting consumer banking chief Brant Standridge to President.
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industry-news
Chime to buy Stride Bank for $590M
Chime’s $590M acquisition of Stride Bank marks a shift toward 'full-stack' fintech ownership, promising more stable and integrated consumer financing tools.
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regulation
Compliance burden key barrier to cannabis banking, GAO finds
A GAO report finds that heavy compliance costs and SAR filing requirements are keeping traditional banks away from the cannabis industry.
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Do banks need a nutrition label for their AI model data?
New industry standards for AI data transparency could lead to more reliable and compliant consumer financing approvals for retailers.
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medical
regulation
Congress Returns With Sweeping AI Bills Targeting Superintelligence, Health Insurance
New congressional bills targeting AI decision-making could reshape health insurance approvals and consumer credit transparency.
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general
lender-updates
EverBank, WaFd say merger would address each firm's issues
EverBank and WaFd’s merger aims to stabilize funding costs, potentially leading to more consistent consumer lending terms for retail partners.
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regulation
Former FTC commissioner in Supreme Court battle joins NYU
Former FTC commissioner's move signals continued focus on consumer protection and retail financing oversight.
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Aeon unveils agentic checkout
AEON launches a new payment layer allowing AI agents to autonomously shop and pay on major e-commerce platforms.
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industry-news
Fifth Third Completes Comerica Integration to Become 9th Largest US Bank
Fifth Third’s finalized merger with Comerica creates a new top-10 banking powerhouse with increased resources for consumer and merchant financing.
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ITSS and Feedzai join forces in fight agant fraud
A new AI-driven partnership aims to slash digital fraud and improve transaction security for lenders and their retail partners.
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RTP, Fed race on fast payments
The competition between FedNow and RTP is accelerating real-time payment adoption, promising instant cash flow for retailers and faster customer refunds.
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regulation
Nuvei pays $4.9M to settle FTC case
Nuvei’s $4.9M FTC settlement signals a new era of strict oversight for payment processors and the merchants they support.
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general
lender-updates
Huntington elevates Standridge to president
Huntington Bank promotes Brant Standridge to President, centralizing business and consumer units to accelerate its digital-first retail strategy.
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IDscan's breach shines light on vendor risk in the age of AI
A massive data breach at a top identity verification provider signals a rising fraud threat for merchants offering digital consumer financing.
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industry-news
UniCredit acquires stake in German fintech VC Trade
UniCredit's investment in VC Trade signals a shift toward digitizing the debt infrastructure that powers consumer lending programs.
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UAE-based fintech Sav raises $3.5 million
UAE-based Sav secures $3.5 million to scale its AI-driven platform that automates how consumers save, spend, and manage credit.
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SIX and Twint join Swiss bank stablecoin project
Switzerland’s top banks and payment apps are building a stablecoin to modernize digital payments and streamline merchant settlements.
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Barclays switches on fast-track remortgages going from appliation to offfer within 24 hours
Barclays sets a new speed benchmark in lending with a fast-track service that delivers mortgage offers in less than one day.
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regulation
How Regulation Helped Lift Infrastructure and Interoperability to the Next Level
Discover how evolving financial regulations are streamlining backend technology to create more flexible and secure consumer financing options for merchants.
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industry-news
EverBank, WaFd to merge in $3.9B deal
A $3.9 billion merger between EverBank and WaFd Bank is set to create a $75 billion powerhouse, impacting regional lending and retail credit capacity.
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home-improvement
regulation
Pulte, FHFA fraud crackdown heightens counterparty vetting risks
Federal regulators are blacklisting record numbers of individuals for fraud, signaling a new era of aggressive vetting for consumer finance partners.
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general
regulation
Safety and soundness rule puts nonmaterial risk onus on banks
New FDIC and OCC rules put banks under a microscope, potentially leading to tighter credit boxes for consumer financing programs.
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Preparing your platform for agentic commerce: How to authenticate AI buying agents vs. synthetic bots
Retailers must evolve their fraud systems to welcome AI buying agents while still blocking malicious bots to capture the next wave of automated sales.
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Real-Time Payments Put Bank Infrastructure on the Clock
Banks are racing to modernize legacy systems to support instant payments, promising faster funding and better cash flow for retail operators.
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Study Finds Bad Billing Experiences Delay $330 Billion in Consumer Payments Each Year
New research shows that clunky billing processes delay $330 billion in payments annually, highlighting the urgent need for frictionless merchant payment tech.
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41% of Millennials Use ChatGPT for Product Discovery
New data shows 41% of Millennials use AI for product discovery, shifting how retailers must market their financing and payment options.
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Merchants Put AI to Work Without Handing Over the Customer
Retailers weigh the benefits of AI-driven automation against the risk of losing direct customer relationships and upselling opportunities.
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Mastercard predicts that over the next four years one-in-ten will use AI agents for online shopping
Mastercard warns that 10% of shoppers will use AI agents by 2030, forcing merchants to rethink how they present financing and checkout options.
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merchant-playbooks
A Journey Through Collections With Erica Gilerman
Expert insights into the collections process reveal why strategic recovery is vital for maintaining merchant credit availability and healthy cash flow.
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industry-news
Six Flags Lets Guests Use BNPL to Buy Season Passes
Six Flags partners with Upgrade to launch Flex Pay, allowing families to finance season passes through monthly installments.
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Mastercard and Flowcart Team to Promote Social Commerce in Africa
Mastercard and Flowcart’s new partnership highlights the growing shift toward seamless, in-app checkout for social media and conversational commerce.
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merchant-playbooks
Why brands are prepping new return policies for Q4
Retailers are tightening return policies for the holiday season to protect margins and simplify the management of financed purchases.
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industry-news
PayTabs to acquire Amazon Payments Mena operations
PayTabs acquires Amazon's MENA payment operations, signaling a major shift in regional digital financing and checkout options for global retailers.
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Can AI write better PR? Hyundai Card puts it to the test
Hyundai Card's AI experiment signals a new era of high-speed, personalized marketing for consumer finance and credit products.
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Concryt deploys agentic AI to monitor live payment operations
CONCRYT integrates proactive AI monitoring to catch payment gateway errors before they impact merchant sales and customer checkouts.
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lender-updates
DNA Payments links up with iwoca
DNA Payments integrates iwoca Flexi Loans, giving merchants direct access to business funding up to £1 million through their payment app.
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Xpate releases API-based tool for embedded money management
Xpate Pro launches an API-driven hub to help businesses automate banking and money management within their own platforms.
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Tokenizing assets opens up vast new opportunities for banks
Tokenization is shifting from a tech experiment to a revenue driver that could streamline how consumer loans are funded and managed.
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industry-news
This Week in Consumer Financing: The Rise of the 'Always-On' Lender
Tech giants eye U.S. banking charters, AI moves from novelty to revenue driver, and the push for 24/7 liquidity heats up.
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61% of Firms Put Payroll Benefits Next in the Embedded Finance Queue
Businesses are doubling down on embedded finance technology despite technical hurdles, moving toward deeper integration in both sales and payroll.
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industry-news
TD Bank COO leaves after less than a year in the job
A leadership shuffle at TD Bank, including the departure of its COO, could signal new technological and operational directions for the major consumer lender.
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industry-news
PayPal Pauses Venture Capital Portfolio Sale After Lowball Offers
PayPal halts the sale of its venture portfolio, including BNPL firm Tabby, after bidders offer just 60 cents on the dollar.
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Yuno Fast-Tracks Merchant Access to Revolut Payment Stack
Yuno and Revolut Business partner to offer merchants biometric one-click checkout and streamlined global payment processing.
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ECB explores link between Tips and Brazil's Pix
The ECB and Brazil explore interlinking instant payment systems, promising faster and cheaper cross-border transactions for global merchants.
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PicPay Launches Anthropic Claude Integration for Banking Inquiries
PicPay integrates Anthropic’s Claude to give customers conversational access to their financial data and credit information.
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home-improvement
technology
Williams-Sonoma’s AI Assistant Triples Shopper Purchases
Williams-Sonoma sees a 620% revenue spike tied to its AI assistant, signaling a new standard for high-ticket retail conversion.
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Bank ID vendor traced to a dark web license sale
A massive leak of driver’s license data puts retail financing programs at high risk for identity fraud and account takeovers.
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industry-news
Int'l banks plan stablecoin, OpenPayd enters US market
International banks eye stablecoin payments while fintech OpenPayd brings new embedded finance options to the U.S. market.
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24/7 Money Means Treasury Needs to Figure Out Its Weekend Plans
The banking industry is moving toward 24/7 transaction processing, promising a future of instant merchant settlements and better weekend cash flow.
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ECB Explores Instant Payment Link With Brazil’s Pix
The ECB and Brazil are testing a bridge between instant payment systems, promising faster and cheaper cross-border transactions for global merchants.
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industry-news
Ant International Secures Payment Institution License to Expand Capabilities in Brazil
Ant International secures a Brazilian license, clearing the path for advanced cross-border payment tools and merchant digital suites in the region.
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home-improvement
regulation
Pulte: 'cartel-like' bureaus should cut costs, eyes bi-merge
High-ticket retailers could see lower financing overhead as industry leaders push to end the three-bureau credit report monopoly.
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automotive
technology
Walmart-linked fintech's banking incursion reaches autos
Walmart-backed fintech One launches 'My Garage' to centralize auto payments and financial tracking for consumers.
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industry-news
MoneyLion alums take OpenReserve ‘out of stealth’
Former MoneyLion execs secure a national bank charter for OpenReserve, promising a real-time 'continuous' banking model for the fintech age.
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industry-news
Revolut nabs conditional OCC charter
Revolut secures a conditional U.S. banking charter, paving the way for direct consumer lending and new merchant financing competition.
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77% of Merchants Are Ready to Share Data for Smarter Checkout
New research shows merchants are trading data for personalized checkout experiences that prioritize the right financing options for every customer.
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OpenAI Subsidizes $1 Billion in Cybersecurity to Protect Community Banks and Essential Services
OpenAI's $1 billion security subsidy helps protect the community banks that power regional consumer financing programs.
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regulation
Banks without holding companies need better disclosure rules: GAO
Federal watchdogs call for stricter transparency rules for thousands of banks currently exempt from SEC oversight.
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pet
merchant-playbooks
Petco loses millions due to loyalty program
Petco's loyalty program backfires as high redemption rates lead to millions in losses, offering a vital lesson in margin protection for retailers.
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industry-news
Paymentology powers Maxim’s UK launch, expanding access to credit for the African diaspora
Maxim and Paymentology partner to launch a borderless credit card for the African diaspora in the UK, targeting underserved global citizens.
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Freedom Credit Union taps Salus to help attract Gen Z and millennial members
Freedom Credit Union adopts Salus technology to offer automated microloans, helping local lenders compete with national BNPL providers.
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Ant International secures payment institution licence from the Central Bank of Brazil
Ant International lands a Brazilian payment license, signaling a major expansion of AI-driven payment and financing tools into Latin America.
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Anthropic launches AI commerce agents with Visa and Mastercard
Anthropic teams up with Visa and Mastercard to turn AI chatbots into fully functional sales agents that handle payments and checkouts.
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home-improvement
lender-updates
Gatehouse Bank launches refinance products for UK residents with no product or application fees
Gatehouse Bank slashes upfront costs by launching fee-free Shariah-compliant home refinance products for UK residents.
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Bottomline Taps Chainlink to Bring 600 Banks On-Chain
A new partnership between Bottomline and Chainlink aims to modernize global banking for 600 institutions using blockchain tech.
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nCino Expands Buyback as AI Demand Supports Growth
nCino’s growth in AI-driven banking tech points toward faster, more automated financing experiences for retail customers.
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ACI Worldwide to Add Microservices Card Switching Through Cranium Acquisition
ACI Worldwide acquires Cranium Ventures to modernize card processing with cloud-native microservices for improved retail transaction stability.
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Payment Networks Hold the Key to Stablecoin Scale
Stablecoins move toward mainstream commerce as major payment networks and banks build the infrastructure for instant retail settlements.
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lender-updates
Revolut wins US charter with limits on four products
Fintech giant Revolut gains a conditional U.S. banking charter, signaling a new era of competition in consumer lending and digital payments.
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M&T upgrades as banks seek closer ties to corporate clients
M&T Bank partners with FIS to embed payment and banking tools directly into the software platforms retailers use to run their daily operations.
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industry-news
OpenReserve Gets Nod to Launch ‘Bank That Never Closes’
A new digital-first national bank charter could lead to faster, frictionless consumer financing and 24/7 credit processing for merchants.
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regulation
Colorado AG takes on EWA provider EarnIn
Colorado's lawsuit against EarnIn signals a major regulatory shift that could redefine Earned Wage Access as traditional consumer lending.
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industry-news
Revolut Gets Conditional OCC OK for US Banking Charter
U.K. fintech giant Revolut secures conditional approval for a U.S. bank charter, signaling more competition for consumer credit and BNPL.
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FIS Debuts Embedded Finance Platform Geared Toward Banks
FIS launches a new embedded finance platform, signaling a shift toward integrated banking tools inside the software retailers use every day.
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home-improvement
industry-news
GSE changes, Boxabl pact spur mortgage lending opportunities
New GSE guidelines and modular housing partnerships are making it easier for homeowners to finance ADUs and factory-built units through mortgages.
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industry-news
Revolut achieves conditional OCC approval for US national bank status
Fintech giant Revolut secures conditional U.S. banking charter, paving the way for expanded consumer credit and merchant financing options.
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Banks can question customer activity without disclosing SARs
New federal guidance allows lenders to investigate suspicious activity through direct communication without breaking confidentiality laws.
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Finzly debuts AI assurance layer
Finzly’s new AI security layer aims to make bank-led financing faster and more reliable by preventing automated errors and security breaches.
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FIS rolls out embedded banking platform
FIS launches a bridge for banks to offer point-of-sale financing and digital credit directly through merchant apps and websites.
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Fiserv explores divestitures
Payment giant Fiserv weighs selling off business units, potentially impacting merchant processing and debit network stability.
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industry-news
TabaPay eyes bank charter
Payment platform TabaPay acquires Transact Bank to provide direct banking services and faster funding for merchant partners.
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OpenPayd secures 43 money transmitter licences across the US
Global banking infrastructure provider OpenPayd enters the US market, promising more seamless embedded finance and payment options for businesses.
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RateZip launches live US bank rate and mortgage rate app on ChatGPT
RateZip brings real-time mortgage and HELOC rate data to ChatGPT, changing how consumers research financing for major purchases.
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Stripe taps new stablecoin executive
Stripe hires crypto veteran to lead stablecoin integration, signaling a push for digital currency cards in everyday retail.
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industry-news
TabaPay is seeking to buy a community bank for its charter
Fintech firm TabaPay moves to acquire a community bank, aiming to streamline payment processing and financing for merchants.
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Incore Bank trials AI for customer onboarding with automated risk assessment
Incore Bank's successful AI trial signals a future of faster, automated credit approvals and reduced friction for consumer financing.
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Financial firms are building new businesses from the layers beneath their products
Big lenders are turning their internal tech into plug-and-play tools, making it easier for merchants to offer sophisticated financing at the point of sale.
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regulation
For-profit settlement is the wrong answer for troubled borrowers
Retailers should beware of for-profit debt settlement services that encourage customers to default on financing to force negotiations.
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RBA concludes no case for retail CBDC in Australia
Australia halts plans for a consumer digital dollar, opting to stick with existing electronic payment systems for the foreseeable future.
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regulation
As feds retreat, California boosts fair-lending enforcement
California's new fair-lending bill means stricter scrutiny for consumer financing programs and credit algorithms.
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Nasdaq Verafin Takes the Fraud Fight to the Dark Web
Nasdaq Verafin’s new dark web monitoring tool helps lenders stop identity theft and application fraud before the transaction occurs.