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It can help Google build brand loyalty among Gen Alpha and better compete with Apple Wallet

Leading cash-back credit cards need to drive acquisition in a cutthroat segment of the card market. Our exclusive consumer survey data reveals which emerging features issuers should invest in to win over customers.

Almost one-third (31%) of US consumers would prioritize spending on essential items this year if a trade war or tariffs increased the price of products they regularly purchase, according to a January survey from First Insight.

Digital technologies are reshaping customers' in-store payment experience. Here鈥檚 what payment providers must know about in-store payment digitization trends.鈥�

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

Affirm and Afterpay both shut down their rewards this year. And Affirm now boasts that interest-bearing loans鈥攑reviously anathema to the BNPL conceit鈥攎ake up 73% of its product composition. Affirm also hiked its maximum interest rate to 36% last year, well above the 24.7% national average for credit cards. Anti-BNPL pearl-clutching hasn鈥檛 helped.

To view the full user number forecast for each leading BNPL fintech, click Affirm, Afterpay, or Klarna. But growth among leading fintechs will taper in the face of greater BNPL competition. Banks continue to roll out post-purchase payment flexibility features, and Citi even offers a point-of-sale BNPL option in partnership with Amazon.

A lot can happen in a week. Rue21鈥檚 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.

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.

While it still faces hurdles, the company鈥檚 finances have improved markedly鈥攕etting it up for a strong IPO in 2025

Trump's tariff policies fuel uncertainty: How brands and retailers can best prepare amid a perpetually shifting landscape.

Gen Zers are flocking to emerging payment methods, but card-based options, led by debit cards, remain supreme. Payment providers must align offerings with Gen Z鈥檚 preferences now as their spending power grows.