Affirm Launches UK BNPL Partnership With Stripe
Affirm and Stripe announced an expanded partnership that will bring the buy‑now‑pay‑later (BNPL) solution to UK‑based Stripe merchants starting July 2026. The integration lets online retailers add an “Affirm at checkout” option, turning the payment step into a decision moment for shoppers. The deal builds on proven revenue and conversion gains seen in the United States and Canada, and adds a joint focus on AI‑powered commerce and shared payment tokens. Both firms say the collaboration will make flexible, transparent financing more accessible across the British market.
Fiserv Co-President Dhivya Suryadevara Says AI Could Be Banks’ Shortcut to Modernization
Fiserv co‑president Dhivya Suryadevara says artificial intelligence can compress years‑long core‑modernization projects into months, letting banks upgrade individual functions without replacing entire platforms. She highlighted AI‑driven legacy code conversion, workflow rewriting and the new Agent OS that governs AI agents...
Huntington Bank Joins Push to Make Big Payments More Resilient
Huntington Bank has become a new participant in The Clearing House’s CHIPS network, signaling a broader shift among banks toward more resilient high‑value payment infrastructures. CHIPS settles over $2 trillion daily while requiring only about $70 billion in funding, delivering a 26‑to‑1...
When Payment Delays Become Customer-Service Headaches
A new PYMNTS Intelligence and Visa Direct study reveals that while payments are authorized in seconds, payouts often stall on fragmented rails, creating a surge in "where’s my payment?" inquiries. The survey of 360 executives and 2,300 consumers shows 73%...
63% of SMBs See Cards as Their Best Refund Protection
A PYMNTS Intelligence report with Mastercard surveyed 412 U.S. small‑and‑medium‑sized businesses and found strong appetite to move beyond cash and checks. While 45% of SMBs are highly interested in reducing cash use, 68% of Gen Z owners want the same despite...
Alphabet Plans to Raise $80 Billion for AI Infrastructure
Alphabet announced an $80 billion equity raise to expand its AI infrastructure and compute capacity. The plan includes a $30 billion underwritten public offering, a $40 billion at‑the‑market program, and a $10 billion private placement to Berkshire Hathaway. Proceeds will fund capital expenditures—projected at...
FIS’ Jim Johnson: Banks That Don’t Own the Payment Flow Risk Losing the Customer
FIS co‑president Jim Johnson warned that banks treating issuer processing as a back‑office cost center risk being sidelined by modern commerce architecture. Digital wallets, real‑time rails like FedNow, AI‑driven checkout flows and programmable money are moving payment decisions upstream, demanding...
Payroll Moves From Back-Office Function to Embedded Finance Layer
Payroll is shifting from a back‑office task to an embedded finance layer for SMBs. Executives like Kirubha Perumalsamy note that small‑to‑mid‑size firms now expect payroll, banking and payments to live within a single platform, eliminating manual data transfers. Integrated payroll...
77% of CFOs Cite Crypto Compliance Uncertainty
The PYMNTS Intelligence 2026 Certainty Project surveyed 60 U.S. middle‑market CFOs, revealing that 77 percent cite regulatory and compliance uncertainty as the chief barrier to adopting cryptocurrencies, with 67 percent expressing the same concern for stablecoins. Only 13 percent of firms currently use...
Fed Gov. Waller Champions Stablecoins and Dismisses CBDCs
Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller argued that stablecoins can extend U.S. monetary policy abroad, likening their adoption to a fixed‑exchange‑rate system. He praised stablecoins for bolstering the dollar’s reserve‑currency role and called for clear regulatory guidelines. Conversely, Waller dismissed central...
The CEO Job Is Easy. Just Ask a CEO.
Sundar Pichai told The Verge that the CEO role is fundamentally simple: make a few high‑quality, high‑velocity decisions, with AI as a decision‑support tool. He echoed Jeff Bezos’ long‑standing view that leaders should focus on reversible versus one‑way choices. The...
As Cross-Border Payments Become Infrastructure, What Happens Next?
Cross‑border payments are evolving from a costly, fragmented service into a standardized infrastructure. PYMNTS Intelligence and Mastercard report that 57% of U.S. SMBs source overseas, with 43% citing faster settlement as their top priority and 27% considering a provider switch....
AI Tackles the Paperwork Problem Blocking America’s Housing Permits
Denver approved a five‑year, $4.6 million contract with CivCheck, an AI‑enabled plan‑review platform, to automate the early screening of building‑permit applications. The tool flags missing documents and incomplete fields before plans reach human reviewers, aiming to lift first‑try approval rates from...
Airwallex Challenges Legacy Software With New Billing Solution
Airwallex has launched Airwallex Billing, a flexible invoicing, subscription and usage‑based billing suite integrated into its global payments platform. The solution supports digital invoices in over 160 payment methods, settlement in more than 20 currencies and automated reconciliation. It targets...
Stablecoin Settlement Is Here, but Seamless Off-Chain Money Movement Is Not
The stablecoin ecosystem reached a new milestone as Project Agora proved cross‑border blockchain settlement involving seven central banks, while SoFi became the first U.S. national bank to issue a public‑chain stablecoin. Circle expanded its payout infrastructure through a partnership with...