Новости за 26.03.2026

For most executives, quantum computing still sits comfortably in the category of future disruption. Q-day, the moment when traditional encryption methods are rendered useless by quantum advances, is something important and inevitable, but still relatively distant. A Wednesday (March 25) report from Google is throwing those assumptions out the window. The tech giant is […]

The upcoming changes driven by artificial intelligence (AI) played a role in the decision of Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey to step down from his role, Quincey told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” Thursday (March 26). “My job is also to think who’s the best team to put on the field to get the next wave done,” […]

Apple plans to allow other companies’ artificial intelligence (AI) assistants to be accessed from within its Siri voice assistant, so users can choose which service to query, Bloomberg reported Thursday (March 26), citing unnamed sources. This feature, dubbed “Extensions,” will be part of the updated Siri that is set to be part of Apple’s upcoming iOS 27 […]

Miami-based, GLP-1-focused digital healthcare startup eMed is now a $2 billion-plus company. The company announced that valuation Thursday (March 26) as it completed a $200 million Series A funding round. Led by AON Consulting, the round’s investors included retired NFL star Tom Brady, who became the company’s chief wellness officer earlier this year, and […]

The FTC has written four payment companies warning them not to deny service to customers based on political/religious beliefs. The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) “warning letters” were sent to Visa, Mastercard, PayPal and Stripe on Thursday (March 26), citing “publicly reported” instances of customers being blocked from these companies’ services due to their views. […]

Retailers are cautioning that a lengthy war in Iran could mean higher prices in stores. As CNBC reported Thursday (March 25), among the companies sounding this warning is British clothing seller Next, which has accounted for $20 million in added costs that could materialize due to the conflict, like fuel and air freight, assuming […]

The traditional eCommerce funnel ended at checkout. Once a consumer clicked “buy,” the retailer’s job was to deliver the product quickly and accurately. That framework pushed retail competition toward a familiar script: win on price, expand selection and deliver faster than everyone else. But this week’s developments from both Walmart and Amazon suggest this […]

Reddit on Thursday (March 26) began rolling out human verification requirements targeting accounts that display suspicious behavior, denoting a significant change in how major platforms respond to the accelerating infiltration of artificial intelligence (AI)-generated content. According to a Thursday (March 25)  report by TechCrunch, accounts flagged by automated signals, including posting speed and activity […]

U.S. Bank has introduced longer-term home improvement loans for its Avvance point-of-sale lending platform. The new loan options, announced Wednesday (March 25), include six-year and and seven-year terms and are designed to help finance higher-cost home improvement projects. “These extended terms provide homeowners with greater payment flexibility while helping contractors and service providers improve […]

Public listings have long been the preferred exit for FinTechs seeking new avenues to raise capital and, arguably, to enhance their visibility and reputations. And especially for payments firms, trading platforms and digital financial services providers, an initial public offering (IPO) offers more than funding. It establishes a benchmark valuation and creates a currency […]

The United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) plans to encourage innovation in payments this year by supporting the expansion of open banking, modernizing payments regulation, and exploring stablecoins and other tokenized payment instruments. “We expect the payments sector to continue developing, driven by innovations that have the potential to boost growth and competition,” the […]

Uber is teaming with autonomous mobility companies Pony.ai and Verne to launch Europe’s first commercial robotaxi service. The project is slated to get underway soon in the Croatian capital of Zagreb soon, with initial development work already happening, Pony.ai announced Thursday (March 26). “The three companies plan to collaborate on the deployment of a […]

The collapse of default trust on the internet is becoming operational, measurable, and increasingly expensive. Businesses have the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) to thank for that. But for mid-market and B2B firms that spent the last decade digitizing workflows, onboarding customers and building confidence in self-service channels, the timing could not be worse. […]

Coinbase and Better have partnered to enable borrowers to pledge their bitcoin or USDC holdings as collateral for a loan used to cover the down payment on a house. With a crypto-backed mortgage originated and serviced by Better, borrowers get a standard Fannie Mae mortgage on the home as well as a second loan […]

The modern consumer economy increasingly runs on autopay. From streaming services and cloud storage to artificial intelligence tools and fitness apps, subscriptions have become ubiquitous in the background of everyday financial life. And as the global total races toward a projected 12 billion subscriptions by 2030, the friction isn’t just financial; it’s becoming cognitive. […]

Watch more: Virtual Roundtable With Trulioo’s Kiran Kumar and Mastercard’s Kurt Weiss Trust in both financial services and public consciousness has traditionally been treated as a checkpoint. A customer opened an account, submitted documents, cleared know-your-customer (KYC) reviews and, in effect, crossed the threshold. Once inside, they were largely treated as trusted unless something […]

Agentic commerce has been framed as the payment industry’s next leap forward. But the central insight emerging from “How Acquirers Prepare for Agentic Commerce,” a new PYMNTS Intelligence report commissioned by Visa Acceptance Solutions, reveals that agentic commerce is not a new stack. Rather, it represents a new channel running on an existing one. That distinction matters because […]

Small businesses may be sending a clear signal to card issuers: stop selling access and start selling usefulness. A new PYMNTS Intelligence report suggests many small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) already feel confident they can get credit. What they want now are cards that work harder for the way they actually run their businesses. […]

Embedded finance is increasingly central to how B2B companies buy and sell, but it only works as well as the bank or FinTech behind it. New PYMNTS Intelligence research finds that trust and security are the deciding factors in who a B2B firm chooses to work with, and by open water over pricing and how […]

Bank of America has formed a new team within its investment bank that is focused on helping private equity firms exit their investments, Bloomberg reported Wednesday (March 25). The new Private Capital M&A Group will use a variety of the bank’s resources to help private equity firms monetize their portfolio companies, according to the […]

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has proposed adding a surcharge for fuel and other transportation costs to some of its products for shipping packages. The proposed price change would add 8% to the base postage prices on Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail, USPS Ground Advantage and Parcel Select, the organization said in a Wednesday […]

The European Court of Auditors (ECA) said Wednesday (March 25) that the European Commission needs to do more to enable European Union (EU) businesses to provide services in other EU countries. Currently, while services account for 70% of EU countries’ gross domestic product (GDP), only 20% of services are provided cross-border, the ECA said […]

The traditional framing around stablecoins has been one centered on infrastructure. Reserves, regulation and the mechanics of maintaining a one-to-one peg with fiat currency have been the name of the game. But as the U.S. moves forward with the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act, or GENIUS Act, the center of […]

Major enterprise software platforms are moving to block or limit how outside artificial intelligence agents interact with their systems, setting up a structural conflict at the center of the broader push toward AI-powered automation. As reported by The Information, platforms including Slack, Workday and LinkedIn have started restricting what customer-deployed agents can access and […]

Amazon has acquired Fauna Robotics, a firm that designs and assembles humanoid robots that can be used around people and are likely to be marketed to consumers. The acquisition was announced in posts on LinkedIn by Fauna Robotics Co-founder and CEO Rob Cochran and Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Josh Merel. “When we launched in NYC back in […]