Bad Actors Exploit Apple’s iCloud Calendar for Phishing Attempts
As email fraud filters become more sophisticated, cybercriminals are turning to Apple’s iCloud to bypass safeguards and deliver phishing messages. According to BleepingComputer, bad actors are sending fraudulent calendar invites that claim a victim’s PayPal account has been billed for hundreds of dollars and instruct them to review a purchase receipt. The objective is to […]
From Idea to Swipe: How to Launch a Winning Card Program
Launching a card is a complex process with the potential for long-term financial gains—if executed flawlessly. Yet, it moves quickly, with an average timeline of just six to seven months from concept to launch. Any major player in today’s financial landscape—from legacy banks to fintech apps to fledgling retailers—has at least considered launching a card. […]
Stripe and Fireblocks Launch Competing Stablecoin Rails
Just as stablecoins have proliferated, there will be more networks to support them. Blockchain infrastructure firm Fireblocks unveiled its global stablecoin network, which is designed to connect rails as diverse as foreign exchange companies, domestic payment platforms, and stablecoin issuers. In a news release, Fireblocks likened its network to cross-border payments system Swift and noted […]
Antom Hopes Asian Shoppers Are Ready for Agentic AI
As agentic AI promises to take on the role of a personal shopper, Antom, a division of the Chinese financial giant Ant Group, has launched a new agentic payment solution for the Asia Pacific region. In a partnership with Mastercard and Visa, Antom is introducing tokenized, card-based agentic payments that would enable AI agents to […]
Is There Any Reason for Merchants to Dip Their Toes into Faster Payments?
Faster payments have made a big splash in the payment processing industry, with the Federal Reserve’s FedNow platform rolling out in 2023 to join its older rival, the Clearinghouse’s RTP network. But for merchants, the revolution has not happened yet—and might never happen. The use cases for retailers, to this point, simply do not exist. […]
Amazon Acquires Axio, Expanding Its Financial Services Scope in India
After receiving approval from the Reserve Bank of India in June, Amazon has completed its acquisition of fintech Axio in a deal some have valued at $200 million. Axio had previously facilitated buy now, pay later services in India for Amazon Pay. The fintech will now be a fully owned subsidiary of the world’s largest […]
NFL Affiliation: A Touchdown for Amex
Credit cards and sports are a great connection. When you look at it as a consumer, the price of a nice set of seats is nothing like it was when Mickey Mantle (my boyhood hero, long ago) played for the New York Yankees. Back in 1958, a bleacher ticket in the Bronx was all of […]
Gen Z: The Generation That Chooses—And Chooses the Extra
Gen Z is the consumer cohort every B2C company is fixated on today. But what sets them apart isn’t just their digital fluency—it’s their insistence on choice. From the syrup in their morning coffee to how they consume entertainment—whether binge-watching, scrolling through short-form clips, or tuning into live-streamed gaming—this generation refuses to settle for a […]
PayPal and Venmo Users Can Access Perplexity’s Anticipated AI Browser
Perplexity’s newly launched artificial intelligence web browser, Comet, was previously available only with a $200-per-month subscription or a special invitation, but now PayPal and Venmo users will gain early access. Much like ChatGPT, Perplexity created a chatbot platform that users can query to receive detailed answers along with source links. Comet incorporates this functionality into […]
Stripe Leads Pushback Against JPMorgan’s Data Access Fees
Fintechs are pushing back against JPMorgan Chase’s data access fees, which could reach $300 million a year for some of the largest users. These charges would apply when fintechs access consumer account data via APIs or aggregators, for use in digital wallets and other open-banking services. The charges would start to apply this month. The […]