Vertical SaaS Is Cashing in on Payments
A plumbing company and a quick-serve restaurant have little in common operationally, but both now rely on specialized software platforms designed specifically for their industries. During the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) renaissance, solutions emerged to serve distinct verticals, such as Toast for restaurants, Mindbody for fitness studios, and ServiceTitan for contractors. Although these platforms were built for […]
Study Finds That AI Is Organizations’ Top Cybersecurity Fear
More than half of organizations now rank generative artificial intelligence as their biggest security threat, surpassing stolen credentials. The rise of AI-driven attacks—from deepfakes to hyper-personalized phishing—is upending cybersecurity, with speed and scale overwhelming traditional defenses. According to The State of Passwordless Identity Assurance, a study from HYPR, generative AI and agentic AI are enabling […]
FSB Chair Calls for a Consortium to Tackle Cross-Border Payments Woes
Six years after the Group of 20 (G20) introduced an ambitious roadmap to address long-standing inefficiencies in cross-border payments, global regulators say progress has been made—but many of the most persistent problems remain unsolved. In a recent keynote address, Financial Stability Board (FSB) chair Andrew Bailey assessed how far the effort has come and where […]
A Year of Tariffs: Looking Back at the Global Impact
One of the biggest financial stories of the past year was the tariff war initiated by the United States. Despite shocks to global supply chains and economies, many nations weathered the storm surprisingly well. A new report, One Year On: Tariff Impacts on U.S. Imports and What They Mean for Treasury and Payments, examines the […]
Publix Is Shutting Down Its Payment App
As some merchants continue pushing customers to pay through their apps, one major retailer is moving in the opposite direction. The Florida-based grocery chain Publix recently notified customers by email that its payment app will be discontinued starting March 19. The Publix Pay app allowed shoppers to store payment methods—including debit cards, credit cards and […]
Agentic Commerce Traffic on Coinbase’s Protocol Has Yet to Accelerate
The capabilities of artificial intelligence have improved exponentially, and AI agents are being delegated increasingly complex tasks every day. However, data from Coinbase’s protocol suggests consumers may not be on board with agentic commerce yet. The crypto giant launched the x402 protocol last year, designed to use the existing HTTP “402 Payment Required” status code […]
Bilt 2.0: All Dressed Up and Nowhere to Go
The original Bilt card, sponsored by Wells Fargo, was a good effort, but the revenue dynamics didn’t work. It is not the first failed co-brand to step outside the realm of successful airline and travel partnerships. The opportunity looked promising—about a third of American households rent—but the known obstacle remained: landlords willing to part with a portion […]
Crypto Gateways Offer Access at an Inflection Point for Digital Assets
Consumers expect to pay seamlessly across any experience—from social media platforms to small business e-commerce checkouts. They also want choices, including buy now, pay later services, real-time payments, and digital assets. Supporting these options requires payment gateways capable of bridging the gaps between payments processors and merchants. But a crypto gateway can do far more […]
Cashless Payments Gain Ground at Self-Serve Laundries
The great American coin-op laundromat may be nearing the end of its lifespan. A new poll finds that more than half of self-serve laundries in the U.S. now generate the majority of their revenue from cashless payments. The survey underscores the shift: slightly more than half of respondents say that much of their self-service machine […]
Government Backing and Cross-Border Payments Fuel Digital Yuan
Just a few years ago, more than one hundred countries were exploring central bank digital currency (CBDC) projects. Many of those initiatives were later shelved as privately issued stablecoins rose to prominence. However, there are signs that CBDCs are gaining momentum again. One of the most notable examples is China’s digital yuan (e-CNY), which has […]