KeyBank Recovers $2 Million in Elder Fraud Scheme
In a rare victory against elder financial fraud, KeyBank has recovered $2 million stolen from some of its oldest customers—a reminder that swift action and oversight can make all the difference. According to the FBI’s Cleveland field office, every victim in the case got their money back. The scheme exploited the most vulnerable: Yue Cao, […]
Seattle Area Transit System Adds Contactless Payments Ahead of World Cup
Public transit systems are critical infrastructure that shuttle commuters and fuel tourism. However, purchasing tickets and reloadable passes is often a complex process that creates long queues and checkout friction. That’s why more cities are moving to contactless payments, as San Francisco did last year with its Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system. Now, the […]
When It Comes to Chatbots, Banks Are Falling Behind Fintechs
Once artificial intelligence achieved conversational capabilities, organizations rushed to deploy AI in customer service use cases like fast-food drive-thrus and online shopping. Financial institutions followed suit, leveraging AI chatbots and virtual assistants to help customers navigate digital and mobile banking experiences. While the effectiveness of these tools varies, one of the glaring issues with many […]
Stablecoins Expand in Payments, Yet Most Activity Remains Internal
While stablecoin usage in payments is expanding quickly, most current activity is still concentrated in internal use cases rather than external payments. Although total stablecoin transaction volume is estimated at roughly $35 trillion annually, the portion tied specifically to payments is closer to $390 billion. That’s according to data from McKinsey, in collaboration with blockchain […]
eBay Adds Pay-by-Bank in the UK and Boosts Open Banking Investments
Secure real-time payments are foundational to the open banking model, enabling users to pay directly from their bank accounts across a wide range of use cases. This capability is largely delivered through APIs provided by third-party fintechs. This is the model that eBay plans to implement in the UK, where the e-commerce giant will tap […]
How Developers Are Driving the Future of Embedded Payments
Every year, billions of dollars vanish at the final step of online shopping, not because consumers change their minds, but because of hurdles within the checkout experience. Despite decades of innovation in payments technology, many shoppers still walk away when checkout feels slow or overly complex, costing businesses an estimated $260 billion annually. The answer […]
Surcharges and Discounts Can’t Overcome Payment Inertia
Merchants can dangle discounts or tack on surcharges, but it rarely changes how consumers pay. Consumers overwhelmingly stick with their preferred payment method, driven more by habit than by small financial incentives. That’s one of the key findings in a new report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Merchant Steering of Consumer Payment Choice. […]
Stripe’s Crypto Segment Bridge Gets Greenlit as National Trust Bank
For years, compliance and security concerns kept many financial institutions on the sidelines of the digital asset market. Now, that hesitation is giving way to cautious optimism—and, increasingly, active participation. That shift is due in part to the passage of the GENIUS Act in the U.S., which established clear ground rules for stablecoin issuers. Since […]
The Gift Card Shift: From Convenience to Core Shopping Strategy
The past holiday season didn’t just test consumer wallets—it revealed how dramatically shopping behavior is evolving. As inflation-weary shoppers searched for flexibility, value, and convenience, gift cards emerged as a central tool in how consumers planned, budgeted, and ultimately gifted. From promotion hunting to increased reliance on AI, the behaviors that defined the season are […]
UK Banks Move Forward with Payment Rail Plans
A UK consortium has put plans for a payment rail to rival Mastercard and Visa on the front burner, with meetings among top British banking officials scheduled for this week. The aim is for the new system to be operational by 2030. Visa and Mastercard currently handle roughly 95% of all card transactions in the […]