Новости за 10.05.2024

McDonald’s is reportedly encouraging franchisees to vote to implement a $5 meal deal to bring back consumers who have left because of high prices. Franchisees — which can weigh in on major marketing campaigns — rejected the fast-food giant’s proposal earlier this year, but the issue has come up again, Bloomberg reported Friday (May 10). McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski said during […]

There might be as many opinions about crypto as there are cryptocurrency tokens. And with tens of thousands of digital assets populating the crypto market, that’s certainly a lot of opinions. That sheer scale of noise is in part why it can be so challenging to get a clear view of the Web3 landscape — […]

FinTechs must make money mobility a top priority if they want to woo consumers away from traditional banks. While PYMNTS Intelligence’s data confirms FinTechs have made progress in meeting consumer expectations around instant payments, there is still room for improvement. In “FinTechs’ Instant Payment Mismatch,” a collaboration with Ingo Payments, we found that 47% of […]

Duolingo reportedly credits generative artificial intelligence (AI)-powered features for the 54% leap in paid subscribers it recorded in the first quarter. “What we’re seeing is that people are willing to pay even more to learn a language through generative AI,” Matt Skaruppa, chief financial officer at Duolingo, told the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) in an interview posted Friday (May 10). Duolingo, […]

This week in artificial intelligence (AI) news, a company is developing AI agents that could enable more lifelike interactions between businesses and customers, and quantum computing could boost AI by applying quantum principles, potentially transforming areas like medicine and cryptography. Neuroscience Meets AI: Altera’s New Digital Agents A new breed of AI agents is rapidly […]

Wells Fargo has launched a business credit card designed to provide easy-to-understand cash rewards. The new Signify Business Cash Worldwide Elite Mastercard offers unlimited 2% cash rewards on business purchases, with no annual fee and no caps or categories to track, the financial services company said in a Thursday (May 9) press release. “Business owners told us that cash […]

As middle- and high-income consumers return to treating themselves to nice-to-haves, such as new personal care products and services, Sally Beauty is seeing low-income shoppers continuing to cut back amid ongoing economic pressures. On a call with analysts Thursday (May 9) discussing the retailer’s second-quarter fiscal 2024 earnings results, Sally Beauty Holdings President and CEO Denise Paulonis discussed the disparities between […]

Hong Kong-based global payment platform PhotonPay and Discover Global Network have partnered to launch a new commercial card designed for cross-border businesses. With this collaboration, the new PhotonPay Commercial Card can be used on the Discover Global Network, providing cardholders with seamless B2B and B2C payment solutions, the companies said in a Thursday (May 9) […]

Innovation across the payments sector has taken off over the last decade. Driven by automation, speed, security and convenience, electronic payments advances are reshaping back-office workflows and transforming processes historically viewed as static administrative functions. And with the news this week that digital banking startup Mercury is layering software onto its bank accounts, giving its […]

Sift Healthcare has raised $20 million in a Series B funding round to grow its artificial intelligence (AI)-powered Payments Intelligence Platform for the healthcare industry. The company will use the new funding from this round, which was led by B Capital, to expand its team and invest in its AI, Sift Healthcare said in a Thursday (May […]

Consumers are souring about the near-term outlook — on inflation, job prospects and interest rates. Where there’s worry, there’s possibly some saving for a rainy day at the expense of spending now. The latest Index of Consumer Sentiment published Friday (May 10) by the University of Michigan declined about 13% in May, measured month over month. The university noted […]

Paymerang said the planned acquisition of the company by Corpay will help Paymerang continue its mission and create new jobs. The provider of accounts payable (AP) automation solutions shared the news in a Thursday (May 9) post on LinkedIn after Corpay announced the deal in a Wednesday (May 8) press release. “We are thrilled to share that we are joining the Corpay team,” […]

Tech giants and startups are investing billions in AI infrastructure, training and development, with Microsoft planning a $3.3 billion AI data center in Wisconsin, startup Atlan raising $105 million for its AI-ready data stack, and Mistral AI seeking funds at a $6 billion valuation for open-source language models, underscoring the high stakes in the race […]

Porch Group, a U.S. homeowners insurance and home inspection software company, reportedly sued China Construction Bank (CCB), alleging reinsurance fraud. In its complaint, Porch alleged that the Chinese lender conspired with employees of Vesttoo, a now-bankrupt Israeli insurance firm, to issue fake reinsurance letters of credit, Reuters reported Friday (May 10). CCB did not immediately reply to PYMNTS’ request […]

In biology, a synapse is essentially a conduit, a place in the brain where neurons connect and communicate. In financial services, the recent news that TabaPay would be ending its planned acquisition of the FinTech Synapse Financial Technologies brings to mind a different type of connectivity: The links woven between FinTechs, sponsor banks, their efforts […]

As digital becomes an operational imperative, so too does enterprise cybersecurity. Progress must be protected. With the news Thursday (May 9) that Dell suffered a security breach earlier this year that resulted in the theft of sensitive data impacting 49 million customers, prioritizing robust cybersecurity and risk management practices is increasingly top of mind for businesses large and small. The data […]

The nonprofit group Stand With Crypto reportedly formed a political action committee (PAC) to support candidates who are friendly to cryptocurrency and blockchain. The new PAC aims to raise money from Stand With Crypto’s 440,000 members, Reuters reported Friday (May 10). “The goal is to endorse candidates and support candidates that are protecting the rights of our advocates of Stand With […]

OpenAI, the artificial intelligence company backed by Microsoft, is reportedly planning to announce its own search product to compete with Google, according to sources familiar with the matter. The announcement is expected to be made on Monday, just a day before Google’s annual I/O conference. OpenAI’s new product is an extension of its flagship ChatGPT […]

As the primary transporters of goods in the U.S., truck drivers play a crucial role in the country’s supply chain. Even so, the turnover rate among this group is high, and keeping them on the road is difficult. The result could be transportation shortages. One reason for the high turnover is that truck drivers often […]

Financial institutions (FIs) looking to get a piece of the action in the buy now, pay later (BNPL) space might be wise to investigate their timing. As FIs have struggled to unlock flexible payment options to their customers during the purchase journey, their more agile competitors have made it their value proposition. In contrast, FIs’ offerings […]

As retail behemoths Amazon and Walmart compete for consumers’ spending, both are turning to video streaming ads to open up new sales opportunities and drive conversion. On Wednesday (May 8), Disney Advertising announced a partnership with Walmart Connect, the superstore chain’s retail media platform, to enable targeted advertising using the retailer’s data. “Combining Walmart’s unique […]

Earnings were everywhere this past week, driving the FinTech IPO Index 4% higher through a volatile week of trading.  Buy Now, Pay Later Momentum Sezzle shares soared 52%. The company’s latest results detailed that  income growth was 35.5% year over year (YoY), while total subscribers surged to 371,000 from 142,000 a year ago. Quarterly purchase […]

Digital transformation continues to fundamentally reshape the financial industry, promising unparalleled convenience through advancements such as artificial intelligence (AI), open banking and real-time payments. It also opens doors to both emerging and evolving types of fraud. Indeed, delivering the seamless, innovative digital banking experiences consumers demand is challenging enough, but banks and financial institutions (FIs) […]

Priority Technology Holdings is seeing widespread demand for its suite of services that include both software-as-a-service (SaaS) payments and banking. The company recorded strong performance in each of its three business segments, Tom Priore, chairman and CEO of Priority Technology Holdings, said Thursday (May 9) during the company’s quarterly earnings call. “Maintaining the momentum we established […]

TabaPay has reportedly ended its planned acquisition of bankrupt FinTech company Synapse. A TabaPay spokesperson told TechCrunch on Thursday (May 9) that the company had “pulled out” of the deal and had sent “termination notice of the purchase agreement this morning based on failure to meet the purchase agreement closing conditions,” the publication reported Thursday. Synapse Co-Founder and […]