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Payment providers are taking note: Affirm just partnered with Amazon Business, while fintech Capchase launched a BNPL product for long-term business contracts. FedNow is a looming disruptor. Adoption has been low since the government-run real-time payments service’s July 2023 rollout. Higher-than-expected pricing must first be worked out, but FedNow can still transform the US payments system.

We may have been a little too early with some of our predictions—rollouts for Paze and FedNow took longer than we expected

Chase’s newly launched financial media network has opened the floodgates for other financial institutions. While lucrative on paper, securing advertiser and customer buy-in isn’t guaranteed.

Affirm and Zip’s buy now, pay later (BNPL) options will be available at more merchant sites and Android apps across the US following a December pilot. Consumers can link their BNPL accounts to Google Pay or sign up with either provider within Google Pay’s checkout. How it can help: Not offering a customer’s preferred payment method at checkout can hurt conversion rates.

It will launch in the US this summer through a partnership with Affirm. Why it can work: More than half of cardholders are interested in accessing multiple accounts through a single credential, per a Visa study. Making the payments process more convenient and seamless, removes key friction points that come with switching between payments tools. Pay by Bank.

A lot can happen in a week. Rue21’s customer overlap with TikTok Shop could position the brand to benefit from a potential TikTok ban. Meanwhile, Gen Z consumers are increasingly choosing alcohol-free lifestyles, reflecting health-conscious preferences. Cost-consciousness drives brand switching, but convenience remains key in purchase decisions. Here are five stats that caught our eye this week.

In addition to BNPL fintechs rolling out BNPL-integrated debit cards like the Affirm card, other payment players are also getting in on the action. Chase offers Chase Pay in 4 to its debit card holders. Unlike its credit card-linked Pay Over Time, Pay in 4 charges no fees to turn a transaction into installments. Suffolk Credit Union has a BNPL product for its debit cards.

The bigger picture: Stripe’s slowing growth mirrors competitors like PayPal and Affirm, both of which have pivoted to trimming costs and focusing on more lucrative business areas. Stripe is similarly changing tack: Expanding its Amazon partnership should bolster processing volume, and diversifying could grow customer numbers and build new revenue streams.

Affirm users can even upload virtual cards into Apple Pay and Google Pay to pay in-store—a workaround for when Affirm is not accepted at checkout.

Affirm said SVB was neither a funding partner nor an originating bank partner, and that large banks held the majority of its operating accounts. While it initially paused disbursements to merchants that had SVB accounts, it later resumed those transactions. Marqeta admitted that it did have some exposure to SVB—it used the bank as its primary account.

This will solidify Walmart’s role as a major payments player and can be a large revenue generator for the retailer

Digital wallets are gaining share of retail transactions in the UK. Retailers that don’t accept them risk losing sales.

BNPL providers like Affirm and Klarna, which are already popular with Gen Z, have also launched debit cards to capture more spending volume.

The final word: Flare’s analysis affirms a few key points we have previously made. While health systems have an enormous need for AI-driven efficiency, they’re very methodical in how they vet and choose which products to purchase.

Samba TV’s data affirms insurers’ TV ads are more likely to reach older consumers than Gen Zers. By comparison, Gen Zers tend to spend about three hours per day on social media alone, while baby boomers typically spend one hour or less doing the same, per McKinsey. Interested in seeing more finserv advertising benchmarks?

Its own data affirms the efficacy of this approach: Diverse panels consistently outperform their less diverse counterparts. It's clear that inclusivity isn’t just ethically right—it's commercially smart. Yes, but: Amid economic pressures, some companies have retracted their DEI commitments, leading to reduced diversity in ads and DEI job listings, potentially jeopardizing their brand images.

Steep discounts drove shoppers to spend on Cyber Monday: The Monday after Thanksgiving is poised to be the biggest online shopping day in US history.

The company used its two-sided network to capitalize on the holiday weekend

Despite intensified payment competition and rocky economic factors, private label credit cards will maintain their importance in the payments industry in 2023. Retailers should not discount the value they can bring in terms of revenues and loyalty.

While it still faces hurdles, the company’s finances have improved markedly—setting it up for a strong IPO in 2025

Big names like Affirm and Afterpay have started pushing their presence in the market. Among converts are credit card holders, 17% of whom would consider using BNPL instead of their card for a large purchase, per a 2022 J.D. Power survey. In response, more merchants may start accepting the payment method. The demographics: Younger consumers are driving the uptick in volume.