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Curated industry news and original merchant playbooks.
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technology
Rain CEO Says Merchants Receive Stablecoin Payments Without Knowing It
New integrations allow merchants to accept stablecoin payments through the Visa network without changing their standard settlement process.
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technology
Edge expands score suite
New cashflow-based credit scores could improve approval accuracy and reduce defaults for merchants offering consumer financing.
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regulation
FTC Warns Businesses Against Using Personalized Pricing
The FTC is targeting businesses that use consumer data to charge different prices, signaling a major shift in how retailers can use AI and personal data.
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regulation
White House AI Testing Plans Remain Murky
Vague federal AI testing plans create uncertainty for fintech lenders and the automated credit tools retailers rely on.
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industry-news
Klarna CFO, CMO to leave early next year
Klarna replaces top executives and shifts its focus to New York ahead of a planned U.S. IPO.
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industry-news
Navi secures $100 million investment
Digital lender Navi secures $100M from Prosus to scale its technology-driven consumer credit and financial services platform.
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medical
industry-news
Weave scooped up for $650M
Private equity firm Francisco Partners acquires Weave for $650M, signaling a major shift toward integrated payments and financing in specialty medical sectors.
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technology
Monzo deploys backup bank in face of outage
Monzo’s recent app outage highlights the importance of lender redundancy and its impact on your store's point-of-sale stability.
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Nium launches card issuance in the US
Nium brings its card issuance platform to the U.S., offering retailers new ways to embed branded payments and custom financial tools into their operations.
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Stripe acquisition may bolster its AI strategy
Stripe's potential acquisition of OpenRouter signals a major shift toward dominating AI-driven payment infrastructure and automated billing.
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New anti-deepfake rules ignore a key risk AI creates for banks
As AI regulations focus on content labeling, lenders and retailers remain vulnerable to sophisticated deepfake identity fraud.
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industry-news
Klarna shares dip on revised guidance
BNPL leader Klarna scales back growth expectations as the industry shifts focus from rapid expansion to sustainable profitability.
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lender-updates
Nexo wins approval to launch crypto-backed credit in Australia
Nexo gains regulatory approval in Australia, signaling a shift toward mainstream, crypto-backed consumer credit lines.
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technology
JCB and Digital Garage to run a proof of concept (PoC) for in-store payments using stablecoins.
JCB and Digital Garage launch a retail pilot to test stablecoins for everyday in-store purchases at Lawson convenience stores.
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merchant-playbooks
Emerging Middle Market Growth Needs Credit That Moves With Inventory
Fixed credit lines are holding back scaling merchants; here is why dynamic, inventory-linked financing is becoming the new industry standard.
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merchant-playbooks
What Makes a New Card Win the Wallet?
New data reveals that digital ease of use, rather than just rewards, determines which financing products customers use repeatedly.
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technology
Plaid Study Links Account Checks to Faster Fraud Detection
New research shows 47% of firms lag in real-time fraud detection, highlighting the need for instant account verification in consumer financing.
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industry-news
PointsKash Secures Capital Commitment After Beginning Rollout of Crypto ATMs
PointsKash lands $100M to help consumers turn loyalty rewards and digital assets into purchasing power at the point of sale.
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technology
Tokenized deposits are here. Banks need to manage the risks.
Tokenized deposits are enabling 24/7 settlements, promising retailers faster access to cash from financed sales.
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regulation
Judges seem poised to side with banks on state rate caps
Appellate judges signal support for national banks in a high-stakes legal battle over Colorado’s attempts to cap consumer loan interest rates.
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regulation
How a fraud ring weaponized New Jersey business filings
A multi-million dollar fraud scheme highlights how easily criminals can hijack business identities to exploit lenders and divert merchant payments.
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technology
PicPay rolls out ChatGPT integration
PicPay integrates ChatGPT to give customers instant, AI-driven insights into their spending power and credit availability.
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Rain, Visa, Mastercard form agentic AI standards group
Visa and Mastercard are creating the rules for a future where AI bots, not humans, handle the checkout process.
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Personetics partners Plaid to bring open finance intel to FIs
New AI integration between Personetics and Plaid promises smarter, faster consumer credit approvals using real-time cash flow data.
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India's Razorpay launches AI payments foundation model with AWS
Razorpay and AWS launch an AI model to eliminate payment failures and fraud, ensuring smoother checkout experiences for digital merchants.
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industry-news
Klarna announces exec departures, lowers outlook
Major leadership changes and a cautious financial forecast at Klarna signal a shift in strategy as the BNPL giant eyes a U.S. IPO.
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Noggin HQ raises £2.3m and secures credit referencing authorisation
New funding for alternative credit scoring means retailers could soon see higher approval rates for shoppers with limited credit histories.
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Personetics Partners Plaid to Give Banks Deeper Customer Insights
Personetics and Plaid team up to give lenders a 360-degree view of consumer finances, promising smarter credit decisions and faster approvals.
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Visa and Mastercard Join Rain’s Agentic Commerce Coalition
Visa and Mastercard join a new alliance to standardize how AI agents make purchases and handle consumer payments.
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regulation
Appeals court hears landmark interstate banking suit
A landmark court case in Colorado threatens the federal protections that allow lenders to offer consistent interest rates across state lines.
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Visa and Mastercard back new Agentic Payments Alliance
Visa and Mastercard lead a new coalition to standardize how AI agents handle payments and credit transactions.
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PPRO partners with Blik to enable agentic commerce for local payments in Poland
PPRO and BLIK partner to bring AI-driven 'agentic commerce' to the Polish payment market, automating how consumers pay and shop.
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How Banks and PSPs Can Ensure Innovation Without Excluding Vulnerable Adults
New payment innovations must balance speed with accessibility to ensure vulnerable customers aren't locked out of the checkout process.
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regulation
Doxo to pay $2.1M settlement
The FTC’s $2.1M settlement with Doxo warns merchants against using deceptive third-party bill-pay platforms that hide fees from consumers.
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industry-news
Klarna’s growth hits speed bump
BNPL giant Klarna faces a growth slowdown, signaling a potential shift toward stricter credit approvals and a more cautious lending environment for retailers.
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technology
From connectivity to intelligence: How Plaid is teaching AI to understand financial behavior
Plaid’s new AI models aim to improve loan approvals by analyzing deep financial behaviors rather than just basic credit scores.
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regulation
Not every company that wants a bank charter ought to get one
Regulators weigh the risks of letting tech firms and retailers act as banks, potentially reshaping the consumer lending landscape.
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industry-news
Would I lie to you? ANZ warns of troubling ‘scam-coaching’ trend
New 'scam-coaching' trends show criminals training customers to lie to retailers and banks to bypass fraud security.
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Seco brings KarL4 contactless payment terminal to the US market
SECO launches its KarL4 contactless terminal in the U.S., offering retailers a new rugged option for fast, tap-to-pay transactions.
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61% of Consumers Would Consider AI-Recommended Financing
A majority of shoppers are now open to AI-driven financing suggestions, shifting how retailers must present BNPL and credit options at checkout.
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Stripe agrees $7bn takeover of AI firm OpenRouter - Bloomberg
Stripe’s $7 billion acquisition of OpenRouter signals a new era of AI-driven payment and financing tools for everyday retailers.
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X Money Wants to Make the Feed a Financial Front Door
X Money aims to transform the social media platform into a full-scale digital wallet and payment hub for consumers and merchants.
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Square Accelerates Push to Integrate Small Business Finance
Square streamlines retail operations by merging point-of-sale payments with instant credit access and automated cash flow management.
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general
regulation
New York bank regulator says vendor flaw hit its firms
New York regulators confirm that a third-party software flaw successfully breached financial firms, highlighting critical risks for merchant-vendor partnerships.
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technology
With industry consolidation looming, Block refreshes business payments
Square updates its credit card and payment rails to give merchants faster access to capital as payment industry competition intensifies.
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industry-news
Citi scoops up card rewards firm
Citigroup acquires rewards fintech Kard to strengthen its merchant-funded loyalty offers and compete for consumer spend.
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industry-news
Ebanx Expands Leadership Team to Put Execs Closer to Merchants
Global payment platform Ebanx decentralizes leadership to improve merchant support and localized payment strategies in high-growth markets.
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regulation
Treasury Seeks Public Comment on GENIUS Act Licensing Rules
New Treasury rules for stablecoins could pave the way for faster, cheaper digital payment and financing options for U.S. retailers.
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Treasury stablecoin proposal casts broad compliance net
New Treasury rules for stablecoins could increase compliance costs and change how retailers handle digital wallet payments.
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technology
AI Labs Stop Competing on Smarts and Start Competing on Price
AI technology costs have plummeted 280-fold, making advanced automation and financing tools more accessible for retailers of all sizes.
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medical
industry-news
Patient Financing Becomes Part of the Healthcare Checkout
High-cost healthcare providers are finding that flexible payment options at checkout are essential for increasing treatment acceptance rates.
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Why Banks Should Invest in More Orchestration for Better Security
Lenders are shifting toward unified 'orchestration' platforms to streamline security and improve the customer financing experience.
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industry-news
Citi scoops up rewards fintech Kard
Citi's acquisition of Kard signals a major push to blend consumer credit with real-time merchant rewards and loyalty tools.
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Thunes to support payouts for Fiserv's merchant ecosystem
Fiserv partners with Thunes to enable real-time global payouts for marketplaces and multi-vendor retail platforms.
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Lithic and Monavate team to build card programmes using fiat and digital services
Lithic and Monavate partner to streamline how businesses launch custom card programs using both traditional and digital currencies.
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Flagstar Bank selects Fixact from Fiserv for core upgrade
Flagstar Bank upgrades to a cloud-native core platform, paving the way for faster, more flexible consumer financing solutions for retail partners.
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regulation
Trump-linked World Liberty Financial gets conditional bank charter approval
A Trump-linked crypto venture secures a conditional federal bank charter, signaling a potential shift in how consumer lending and digital assets intersect.
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Is it time for AI to enter the payback period and show its ROI?
The financial industry is moving past AI hype to focus on whether the tech actually improves credit outcomes and lender profitability.
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Some problems are more easily solved when banks work together
Midsize banks are pooling technology resources, which could lead to faster financing approvals and better security for your retail business.
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Alipay launches full stack agentic commerce platform in China
Alipay's new AI-driven platform automates the commerce lifecycle, signaling a shift toward autonomous consumer financing and sales.
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home-improvement
merchant-playbooks
Insurance Restoration: Discipline Over Volume
Learn why financial discipline and upfront financing are essential to surviving the 'sudden demand and delayed payment' cycle of insurance restoration.
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general
regulation
Amid deregulation, US BNPL firms look to Europe for guidance
Stricter oversight is forcing BNPL lenders to tighten their belts, opening the door for bank-backed financing options at the point of sale.
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Asic warns of surge in deepfake scams
ASIC warns of a surge in AI-driven deepfake scams, signaling a new era of identity fraud risks for consumer finance and digital lending.
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industry-news
Ingenico secures €150 million in fresh capital
Ingenico's €150M capital boost signals a faster shift toward smart terminals that make offering BNPL at the register easier for retailers.
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industry-news
Ebanx expands leadership team
EBANX bolsters its leadership team to enhance global payment infrastructure and localized financing options for international retailers.
Original
industry-news
This Week in Consumer Financing: The Race for Frictionless Checkout
Retailers face a changing landscape as payment giants consolidate, stablecoins enter the mainstream, and regulators simplify the rules of engagement.
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technology
5 things every bank should know about AI before making their next technology investment
AI is transforming how lenders approve customers, offering retailers higher conversion rates through better data and faster decision-making.
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42% of Stablecoin Holders Want Crypto for Major Purchases
New data shows 42% of stablecoin holders want to use crypto for big-ticket retail items, signaling a shift in how high-value customers pay.
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industry-news
Visa Says Payment Choice Keeps High-Value Shoppers at Checkout
Visa warns that modern shoppers will abandon merchants at the final step if their preferred payment and financing options are missing.
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Polygon joins BofE's Digital Pound Lab to test cross-border settlement
The Bank of England is testing blockchain-based digital currency to enable instant cross-border payments and lower merchant transaction costs.
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industry-news
Mastercard Offers Brazilian Acquirers 50% Payout and Services in Will Bank Dispute
Mastercard proposes partial settlements for merchants impacted by the Will Bank collapse, highlighting systemic risks in payment processing.
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industry-news
PayPal Discussing Sale to Stripe After Rejecting First Offer
A potential merger between PayPal and Stripe could redefine the digital checkout and consumer financing landscape for millions of retailers.
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industry-news
Platforms Use Payments Data to Push Deeper Into Merchant Credit
Major payment processors are leveraging real-time transaction data to become primary lenders for small businesses and retailers.
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industry-news
Nubank's quarterly income hits $1 billion for the first time
The world's largest neobank hits $1 billion in profit as it eyes a U.S. launch, potentially shaking up the domestic consumer credit market.
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What Citi gets from its Kard acquisition
Citi's acquisition of Kard signals a shift toward real-time, merchant-specific rewards to drive consumer spending.
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industry-news
BNY elects McKinsey partner Malhotra to join board
Big banks shift strategies as Bank of America expands credit reach and JPMorgan cuts ties with high-risk platforms.
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regulation
CFPB's open-banking plan likely to ignite new legal battle
A looming legal showdown over the CFPB’s open-banking rule could dictate the future cost and speed of consumer credit approvals.
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regulation
CFPB will no longer publish consumer complaint narratives
The CFPB scales back its public complaint database, removing written narratives to address concerns over one-sided and unverified claims.
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technology
Chime considering adding stablecoin features to app
Digital banking giant Chime explores stablecoin integration, signaling a shift toward mainstream crypto payments for everyday consumers.
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regulation
How state payments oversight skids
A growing maze of state-level privacy and AI laws is driving up compliance costs and complicating the consumer financing landscape for retailers.
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industry-news
Citigroup's Consumer Cards to acquire fintech Kard
Citigroup acquires rewards platform Kard to integrate personalized merchant offers directly into its consumer credit card ecosystem.
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SoFi Teaches Its AI Coach to Read the Financial Room
SoFi’s new AI-powered coaching aims to provide personalized financial guidance, helping consumers better manage credit and purchasing power.
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Merchants Find Revenue Hiding Behind the Decline Button
New payment technologies help retailers recover lost sales by intelligently routing transactions and offering alternative financing at the point of decline.
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Nearly 4 in 10 CFOs See Gen AI Paying Off Within Two Years
CFOs are pivoting toward practical AI applications that promise faster returns on investment and streamlined financial operations.
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Before AI Runs the Bank, It Can Replace the Card
AI is evolving from a chatbot assistant into a transaction agent that could soon automate how your customers choose and use financing.
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industry-news
Figure: Business Loan Brokers Increasingly Arranging Deals Using Home Equity
Small business owners are bypassing traditional commercial loans by tapping into their home equity to fund business growth and inventory.
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general
regulation
The CFPB to Cease Discretionary Publication of Complaint Narratives and Visualizations
The CFPB is scaling back its public database by removing consumer narratives and visualizations, reducing public visibility of specific lender grievances.
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technology
Figure’s Blockchain Marketplace Tops $1 Billion Weekly Loan Applications After Record Q2
Figure’s blockchain marketplace hits record volumes, signaling a faster and more efficient future for consumer credit liquidity.
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technology
Citi Plans to Acquire Kard to Deliver More Personalized Rewards
Citi’s acquisition of Kard Financial aims to turn credit cards into powerful marketing tools for merchants through personalized, real-time rewards.
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industry-news
BofA to buy 49.9% stake in Indian digital lender Jio Credit
Bank of America’s $1.9 billion investment in Jio Credit signals a global banking shift toward seamless, digital-first consumer financing.
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technology
New Zealand’s Sterling lands funding to run finance on autopilot
NZ startup Sterling raises $3.8M to automate back-office financial workflows and accounts receivable using AI.
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lender-updates
Airwallex partners Affirm for US BNPL roll out
Airwallex integrates Affirm to give global merchants an easy way to offer BNPL to U.S. consumers at checkout.
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regulation
New York puts bank boards on the hook for vendor tech
New York regulators are forcing bank boards to take direct responsibility for third-party tech risks, potentially tightening the consumer lending market.
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technology
Airwallex Adds Affirm Pay-Over-Time Options for US Shoppers
Airwallex merchants can now offer Affirm at checkout to boost conversion rates and average order values without extra coding.
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Consumers warm up to agentic AI purchases
As shoppers delegate buying tasks to AI agents, retailers must ensure financing options are integrated into autonomous shopping journeys.
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industry-news
Bank of America to buy up to 49.9% stake in Jio Credit for $1.9B
Bank of America’s $1.9B investment in digital lending signals a global shift toward mobile-first consumer credit and embedded finance.
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regulation
FDIC tweaks de novo application process
The FDIC is streamlining how new banks are approved, potentially opening the door for more competition and diversity in the consumer lending market.
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lender-updates
Klarna Launches New Membership Tiers With Fee Cuts and Higher Cash-Back Rewards
Klarna revamps its membership tiers to eliminate fees and boost rewards, signaling a shift toward long-term consumer loyalty over one-off transactions.
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industry-news
Sezzle pivots to national bank charter
Sezzle pursues a national bank charter to bypass a complex web of state-level BNPL regulations and stabilize its lending platform.
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industry-news
Sezzle pivots to national bank charter
Sezzle seeks a federal bank charter to bypass a growing patchwork of state-level BNPL regulations and ensure long-term stability for its merchant partners.