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American Express is expanding Amex Offers, which allows advertisers to serve card holders tailored deals. The expansion comes on the heels of Chase and PayPal launching financial media networks (FMNs), a trend we expect will continue.

PayPal, for example, recently revamped its debit card to boost adoption, upgrading its rewards proposition and making it compatible with Apple Pay. And Block has been marketing Cash App鈥檚 direct deposit features more aggressively across email, push notification, and in-app messages.

PayPal USD (PYUSD) brings stablecoins to everyday transactions. Customers can transfer PYUSD between PayPal and external wallets, send peer-to-peer (P2P) payments, use it for purchases at checkout, and convert supported cryptocurrencies seamlessly. This move also strengthens PYUSD鈥檚 role in cross-border transactions by enabling faster, cheaper, and more stable global transactions.

Last week alone, Visa, Mastercard, Affirm, and PayPal all launched agentic AI solutions.

For example, PayPal-owned Venmo launched Venmo Groups in 2023, and Apple Wallet began offering Tap to Cash last fall to make it easier to split payments. Our take: This feature can help Monzo keep its current customers more engaged, giving them additional reasons to visit the Monzo app鈥攚hich could boost loyalty.

PayPal gave its debit card rewards program a makeover in the fall to boost the card鈥檚 adoption and usage. It now offers 5% cash back on up to $1,000 in spending in a category of the cardholder's choosing each month. Hilton rolled out hotel loyalty debit cards in the UK in October.

PayPal also secured partnerships with large brands to drive Fastlane volume. It won tie-ups with NBCUniversal, Roku, and StockX during the quarter. Fastlane is growing PayPal鈥檚 user base: 75% of Fastlane consumers are new or dormant PayPal users. PayPal rolled out the PayPal Everywhere campaign in late Q3 to boost in-store volume.

PayPal. Cash App. Visa. Apple Pay. Venmo. Key takeaways: Gen Alpha鈥檚 preference for digital competitors likely means these payment apps provide the banking basics Gen Alpha needs at this stage. And that includes the ability to buy what they want, pay and receive money from friends and family, and save some money. They may not be interested in more complex banking services at this time in their lives.

JPMorgan Chase made headlines in April by announcing its new ad business, followed by PayPal in May. They were the most high-profile FIs to do so yet鈥攕ignaling that FMNs could be a meaningful new revenue stream for the financial services industry. FMNs will remain a niche鈥攜et massively growing鈥攕pace.

The FTA鈥攚hich includes BNPL providers like Block, Klarna, PayPal, and Zip鈥攕ued the CFPB in October. It argued the rule was 鈥渁rbitrary and capricious鈥� and failed to consider how BNPL products function at a base level.

But Klarna still faces strong competition from Affirm and other major players like Afterpay and PayPal, which could limit its future growth. Current market volatility could also delay its market debut.

To that end, it also upgraded the PayPal Debit Card and brought PPCP to new markets. Our take: This partnership with Bold Commerce helps PayPal make progress towards these goals. The Canada-based checkout platform boasts a customer base of 90,000 brands across 170 countries.

That momentum also ramps up competition with rival buy buttons like PayPal and Apple Pay, which will have to work harder to keep their share of the ecommerce pie.

This widespread adoption of digital remittances stems partly from greater availability as digital providers like PayPal-owned Xoom, Revolut, Wise, and Remitly have grown. Remittance providers can win over prospects through lower costs and faster speeds. Half of US remittance users would consider switching to a new provider if it offered lower fees, per a June 2024 MoneyGram survey.

It could also partner with a fintech-linked card like the PayPal Debit Card. Overall, this digital credential can deliver value to Mastercard鈥檚 customers and bring in more volume for the network. The credentials ensure that transactions鈥攏o matter which type鈥攈appen on the Mastercard network. We forecast Mastercard鈥檚 consumer card network transaction value will grow 12% between 2024 and 2026.

The FTA鈥攚hich counts BNPL firms like Block, Klarna, PayPal, and Zip among its members鈥攕ued in response, calling the CFPB鈥檚 reinterpretation 鈥渁rbitrary and capricious.鈥�. What this means: BNPL providers notch a win with the reversal. Fintechs have argued that their services are distinct from credit card and loan issuers and warrant bespoke regulations.

Fintechs like Block-owned Cash App, PayPal, and Stripe benefit from freely shared financial information, which helps them grow their platforms. With fintechs angling to expand into new arenas like auto loans and mortgages, this rule鈥檚 reversal stands to stymy the free flow of information. Our take: Whatever the CFPB decides, one thing is certain鈥攃hange will likely be slow.

Chase made headlines in April by announcing its new ad business, followed by PayPal in May. They鈥檙e the most high-profile FIs to do so yet, signaling that FMNs could be a meaningful new revenue stream for the financial services industry. FMNs will remain a niche but massively growing space.

PayPal. PYMNTS.com. Stripe. Target. Trustly. Visa. Walmart. Worldpay.

It wants to be a one-stop shop for payments and commerce and to better compete with other digital wallets like PayPal and Cash App, which both also have crypto integrations. This move may also foreshadow a larger push into crypto from payment providers as they ready for the asset class to take off under President Donald Trump.

Between buy now, pay later (BNPL) players like Affirm and mobile wallets like Cash App and PayPal, the number of fintech cards on the market is growing. Affirm Card gross merchandise volume (GMV) jumped 113% YoY in the quarter ending December 31, 2024. And the number of active Cash App cardholders increased by 1 million in 2024.

The bigger picture: PayPal launched PYUSD in August 2023. Customers can use the stablecoin for P2P payments between PayPal, Venmo, and third-party wallets and for fee-free remittances via Xoom. While PayPal has not released any of its own data on the stablecoin, so far, adoption seems to be minimal. PYUSD鈥檚 market cap is $503.23 million, per CoinMarketCap, making it the seventh-largest stablecoin.