UPS Exits Volume Race, Bets on Healthcare, Cross-Border and B2B
UPS announced the completion of its strategic reduction of low‑margin Amazon package volume, cutting it by more than 50% as part of a multi‑year margin‑focused plan. The carrier is redirecting growth toward higher‑margin segments such as healthcare, small‑and‑medium‑business, automotive and cross‑border B2B logistics. Automation in its facilities now delivers a 28% lower cost‑per‑piece, while international operations posted a 17.5% operating margin and a 7.1% rise in revenue per piece. UPS forecast 2026 revenue of $89.7 billion, marking its first full‑year guidance in a year.
Velera to Provide Card Processing Services to Ohio-Based Kemba Credit Union
Ohio-based Kemba Credit Union, with 14 branches in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky, has selected Velera to provide debit and credit card processing services beginning in August. Velera, a credit union service organization serving more than 4,000 financial institutions across North...
Visa Urges Banks to Rethink Loyalty Beyond Credit Card Rewards
Visa is urging banks to move beyond credit‑card‑centric loyalty programs toward contextual, data‑driven rewards. Margin pressure on interchange fees and the proliferation of consumer loyalty accounts are forcing banks to seek new funding sources, such as merchant‑backed offers. Visa’s suite...
CFOs Prepare for AI by Modernizing Payments
CFOs are accelerating payment modernization as AI becomes mainstream, according to Boost Payment Solutions founder Dean Leavitt. The COVID‑19 pandemic forced a rapid shift from checks and wires to digital platforms, boosting transaction volumes and highlighting the need for flexible,...
95% of Shoppers Research Influencer Picks Before Buying
A new PYMNTS Intelligence study of 3,196 U.S. consumers finds that influencers act more as discovery catalysts than direct sales drivers. While 56% of shoppers purchase an influencer‑recommended item at least once a year, 95% conduct additional research before checkout,...
British Regulator Fines Bank of Scotland for Violating Sanctions Law
The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation fined Bank of Scotland £160,000 for processing 24 payments linked to a Russian‑designated individual. The breach stemmed from a misspelled name that escaped the bank’s screening system and a manual review error that mis‑identified...
Equifax Offers Verified Employment and Income Data Alongside Credit Reports
Equifax launched Income Confirm, a service that bundles verified employment and income information with its traditional consumer credit reports. The product pulls data from The Work Number and the recently acquired Vault Verify, delivering details such as employee name, Social...
Float Raises $73 Million for Canada-Focused Working Capital Tools
Float Financial, a Canada‑based business finance platform, announced C$100 million (≈US$73 million) in new debt financing from Silicon Valley Bank, First Citizens and a tier‑1 Canadian bank. The facilities allow Float to continue offering up to 4 % interest on business accounts—the highest...
There’s a New Standards War Brewing Around Identity, Data and Payments
The article warns of a brewing standards war as major players roll out new protocols to unify identity, data, and payments. Google’s Agentic Unified Commerce Protocol (UCP) and Agent Payments Protocol (AP2), the industry‑wide ISO 20022 upgrade, and Visa’s Commerce Enablement...
More Data Isn’t Always Better for AI Decisions
MIT researchers challenge the assumption that more data always improves AI decisions. They propose a framework that identifies the minimal dataset needed to guarantee an optimal decision under uncertainty, and an algorithm that tests whether additional data could change the...
Crypto Crime Hits Record Levels as Nation-States Dodge Sanctions
Chainalysis reports illicit crypto transactions reached $154 billion in 2025, a 160% jump from the prior year. The surge stems largely from nation‑state actors, especially Russia, leveraging a ruble‑backed stablecoin (A7A5) to bypass sanctions. Stablecoins now represent roughly 60% of illicit...
Uber and DoorDash Lose Bid to Quash NYC Tipping Law
Uber and DoorDash lost a federal bid to block New York City’s new tipping law, which forces delivery apps to present a tip option and a suggested minimum of 10% at checkout. U.S. District Judge George Daniels rejected the companies’...
The Great Interface Migration: Why Your Jacket Is the New Smartphone
Wearable devices are rapidly becoming the primary human‑computer interface, with IDC reporting 136.5 million units shipped in Q2 2025, a 9.6 % YoY rise. Apple is developing an AI‑enabled wearable pin—featuring cameras, microphones, a speaker and wireless charging—aimed for a 2027 release, signaling...
Justice Department and Live Nation Clash Over Allegations of Illegal Monopoly
The U.S. Justice Department told a federal judge that Live Nation has been pressuring venues to keep Ticketmaster as their ticketing platform, using the threat of withdrawing concerts as leverage. The DOJ cites eight alleged incidents over the past 15...
Saks Global’s eCommerce Units Gets Permission to Hire Liquidator Amid Bankruptcy
Saks Global’s eCommerce arm, Saks OFF 5th Digital, received court approval to hire a liquidator and sell its remaining inventory while the parent company remains in Chapter 11. The liquidation order applies only to the online unit; the company’s brick‑and‑mortar...
KeyBank Taps Conversational AI to Cut Call Center Costs
KeyBank is leveraging conversational AI to dramatically lower call‑center expenses, with AI‑handled interactions costing about $0.25 versus $9 for human agents. The bank reports roughly $100 million in annual savings and has boosted its technology budget to about $1 billion to support...
Equifax Launches AI-Powered Tool to Combat Synthetic Identity Fraud
Equifax unveiled Synthetic Identity Risk, an AI‑driven solution that flags synthetic identity fraud using machine‑learning analysis of identity data, credit histories, and behavioral signals. The tool can be deployed at account opening or continuously for ongoing monitoring, enabling lenders to...
Consumer Sentiment Improves Even as Financial Strains Persist
The University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment index rose to 56.4 in January, up from 52.9 in December, driven mainly by a modest easing of inflation expectations that fell to 4.0%. Despite the monthly gain, sentiment remains over 20% below its...
Gen X Spending Patterns Are Shifting as Costs Rise
Gen X, the 46‑61 age cohort, remains the highest‑spending group, averaging $96,941 in 2024. Rising inflation and living costs have forced 67% to trim grocery budgets and 52% to postpone major purchases such as cars or furniture. Financial strain is...
Eight in 10 Small Businesses Want Credit and on Their Terms
A PYMNTS Intelligence survey of 514 U.S. small‑to‑medium business leaders shows that 83% are confident they will be approved for a new business credit card, shifting the market focus from basic access to product flexibility. More than half of card...
Amazon to Cut 14,000 Corporate Jobs in Second Round of Layoffs
Amazon announced a second round of corporate layoffs, targeting roughly 14,000 employees as early as Jan. 27. This follows an initial cut of 14,000 staff in October and brings the total planned reductions to 30,000, about 10% of its corporate...
Affirm and Esusu to Launch Flexible Payment Option for Renters
Affirm and fintech platform Esusu are piloting a rent‑payment option that splits monthly rent into two interest‑free installments with no late fees. The service will be available to Esusu members, adding to the recently launched Esusu Pay tool. Esusu’s platform...
Procter & Gamble Says Data and Technology Will Support Company’s Reinvention
Procter & Gamble’s new CEO Shailesh Jejurikar announced that data and technology will underpin the company’s near‑term performance boost and long‑term reinvention. The latest quarter showed flat organic sales overall, with beauty up 4% and health care up 3, while grooming,...
Consumers Still Love Their Physical Cards Even as Digital Wallet Use Expands
Physical payment cards continue to dominate despite the rapid expansion of digital wallets, with over 80% of U.S. consumers still preferring cards at the point of sale. Contactless adoption is high—53% of shoppers favor tap‑to‑pay—but cards capture more than double...
Financial Stress Drives a 17-Point Jump in Digital Wallet Use
A PYMNTS Intelligence survey of 2,108 U.S. adults shows financial stress is driving a sharp rise in digital‑wallet usage. High‑stress consumers were more than twice as likely to use a wallet for their last retail purchase (28% vs. 11%) and...
United Airlines Distinguishes Between Loyalty, Rewards Programs
United Airlines reported a 10% year‑over‑year increase in loyalty‑related revenue for Q4 and a 9% rise for the full 2025 fiscal year. Executive vice president Andrew Nocella emphasized the distinction between true loyalty programs and generic rewards, citing low member...
Apple Prepares to Bring Apple Pay to India
Apple is preparing to launch Apple Pay in India later this year, negotiating with Mastercard and Visa while seeking regulatory clearance from the Reserve Bank of India. The initial rollout will focus on card‑based contactless payments, with a later phase...
Shopify Merchants to Pay 4% Fee on Sales Made Through ChatGPT Checkout
Shopify will enable AI‑driven sales through ChatGPT, charging merchants a 4% fee on transactions processed via OpenAI’s checkout, in addition to its own fees. The feature launches Jan. 26, letting sellers opt into or out of AI channels and making products...
Regions and Worldpay Team to Help Businesses Manage Cash Flow
Regions Bank announced a partnership with payments technology firm Worldpay to create an integrated platform that streamlines payment acceptance and cash‑flow management for its business customers. The solution adds omnichannel processing, anti‑fraud tools, dispute and charge‑back handling, and compliance services,...
Visa Launches A2A Payments Partnership With Acquired.com
Visa has partnered with Acquired.com to launch Visa A2A, an account‑to‑account payment solution for recurring and variable payments in the U.K. The service uses Faster Payments to settle transactions in real time while Visa supplies operational governance and a commercial...
TikTok Courts Brands to Become Shop Sellers
TikTok is rolling out Project Horizon, a U.S. initiative that enlists 100 e‑commerce agencies to recruit established brands with at least $10 million in annual sales onto TikTok Shop. Each agency must sign up roughly 30 brands and help them generate...
How Affordability Became America’s Conversation
Affordability has moved from a discretionary budgeting topic to a daily survival issue as rising prices on groceries, housing, healthcare, and transportation strain households across income levels. PYMNTS Intelligence research shows 87% of consumers cite everyday price hikes as a...
Power Users Show Businesses How Agentic AI Goes Mainstream
The January 2026 PYMNTS "Agentic AI Report" finds that power users are rapidly embracing autonomous AI agents, while the broader consumer base remains wary of handing over control. Enthusiasm is strongest for low‑risk, reversible tasks, and drops sharply for financial...
BNPL Becomes a Lifestyle Tool as 53% Use It for Experiences
Buy‑now‑pay‑later (BNPL) is moving beyond retail checkout, becoming a routine tool for experiences, travel, and even essential bills. A PYMNTS Intelligence survey of 4,000 U.S. consumers shows 53% would choose BNPL for event tickets, up from 40% six months earlier....
Fifth Third Says New Banking App Drives Engagement, Originations
Fifth Third Bancorp reported record net interest income and strong operating leverage in Q4, driven by aggressive branch expansion and digital upgrades. The bank added 50 new branches in 2025, including its 200th in Florida and 100th in the Carolinas,...
Retention Is Name of the Game for Netflix’s AI Strategy
Netflix’s Q4 2025 earnings call revealed that the streaming giant is pivoting from pure growth to a retention‑centric model, using artificial intelligence as core infrastructure. With 325 million paid members and $45.2 billion in revenue, the company views churn reduction as the...
Amazon Adds More Payment Options to Latest Smart Shopping Cart
Amazon is rolling out the next‑generation Dash Cart to dozens of Whole Foods stores across the United States by year‑end. The new cart adds credit‑card, mobile‑payment and Amazon‑linked payment options, expanding beyond its original Amazon‑only model. It also features a...
Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser Says Rate Cap Would Restrict Access to Credit
Citigroup Chair and CEO Jane Fraser told CNBC she does not expect Congress to back President Trump’s proposed 10% cap on credit‑card interest rates. Fraser argued that a hard cap would shrink credit availability for lower‑income consumers, contrary to the...
U.S. Bancorp Says Embedded, Interconnected Payments Capabilities Are Key to Gaining Clients
U.S. Bancorp reported a record fourth‑quarter net revenue of roughly $7.4 billion, crediting its payments transformation as a primary driver. CEO Gunjan Kedia emphasized that embedded, interconnected payment capabilities are essential for attracting Gen Z clients and deepening relationships. The bank unveiled...
Walmart’s PhonePe Gets Regulatory OK for Indian IPO
Walmart‑backed PhonePe has secured regulatory clearance for an Indian initial public offering, moving the fintech closer to a market debut. The IPO could raise up to $1.5 billion and value the company near $15 billion, reflecting its 45% share of UPI transaction...
PayPal and April Team on Faster Tax Filing
PayPal has teamed with embedded tax platform april to let U.S. PayPal Debit Mastercard holders file their 2025 federal and state returns for free. april’s service pre‑fills data from uploaded documents and offers AI‑chatbot support, enabling most users to complete...
Unpredictable Pay Cycles Break Financial Stability for America’s Hourly Workers
The PYMNTS podcast highlighted the Wage to Wallet Index, revealing that unpredictable pay cycles destabilize America’s 60 million hourly workers despite strong job security. Payroll’s two‑week lag creates a "Bill Pay Roulette" where fixed expenses outrun earnings, pushing many into high‑cost...
A Nostalgic Look Back to 2016 With a PYMNTS Twist
The article revisits 2016’s payments optimism—mobile wallets, contextual commerce, chatbots, and platform‑centric models—through a PYMNTS lens, noting that adoption lagged the hype. Over the ensuing decade, the industry shifted from front‑end disruption to back‑end orchestration, emphasizing identity, authentication, and data‑driven...
Mastercard Says Embedding Payments Is Key to Commercial Payments Acceptance
Mastercard says the future of commercial payments hinges on embedding payment options directly within corporate workflows. It labels this shift “adaptive commercial acceptance,” where ERP, procure‑to‑pay and vertical SaaS platforms dictate payment methods instead of traditional buyer‑supplier negotiations. The company’s...
Brazilian FinTech Inter Gets Green Light to Begin Banking in US
Brazilian digital bank Inter has secured regulatory clearance from the Federal Reserve and Florida’s Office of Financial Regulation to launch a state‑licensed international banking branch in Miami. The new U.S. presence will allow Inter to offer regulated credit and banking...
Monzo Expands Outgoing CEO’s Role After Investor Pushback
Monzo is broadening the role of departing CEO TS Anil after investors pushed back on his exit. While the bank announced in October that Anil would move to an advisory position and leave the board, the board now plans to...
Sequoia Seeks Part in Anthropic’s $25 Billion Funding Round
Sequoia Capital is poised to join a multibillion‑dollar financing round for Anthropic, the AI startup that recently unveiled its agentic "Cowork" feature for Claude. The round, led by Singapore’s sovereign fund GIC and Coatue, aims to raise at least $25 billion...
PNC Says Automation Added 30 Points of Operating Leverage Since 2022
PNC Financial Services Group reported that automation delivered 30 basis points of operating leverage across its retail and care‑center operations between 2022 and 2025. CEO Bill Demchak said the bank expects another 40 points of leverage from AI between 2025...
Department of Education Delays Involuntary Collections on Federal Student Loans
On Jan. 16, the U.S. Department of Education announced a temporary pause on involuntary collections for federal student loans to allow implementation of repayment reforms under the Working Families Tax Cuts Act. The reforms introduce simplified repayment plans and a...
Pay.com Adds Paysafe as a Recommended Acquirer for Card Transactions
Pay.com has expanded its payment orchestration platform by adding Paysafe as a recommended acquirer for card transactions, alongside the integration of Paysafe’s Skrill, Neteller, and PaysafeCard eCash solutions. The partnership gives merchants access to Paysafe’s extensive network, which processed $152 billion...