蘑菇AV

With seamless in-app purchases coming, PayPal could turn Perplexity into a trusted, AI-driven checkout hub鈥攅specially for younger, AI-hungry consumers.

The news: Walmart鈥檚 OnePay and Synchrony will issue a new co-brand Mastercard and a private-label card. Our take: The massive retailer鈥檚 connectivity between its customer base, supplier relationships, and financing apparatus positions OnePay to be a disruptor on the scene.

US ad spend with financial media will reach over $600 millions this year, according to 蘑菇AV forecasts, but still represent a small fraction of the commerce media landscape. "This is a really nascent space. There aren't many players that make up this cohort of financial media networks (FMNs), and they represent a really diverse array of types of financial companies," said our analyst Sarah Marzano during a recent episode of "Behind the Numbers."

A new credit card is a smart way to contend with incumbents and fintech competitors, but a confusing product line could dampen its adoption.

Earlier this month, Affirm entered the market with its interest-free and interest-bearing buy now, pay later (BNPL) options. American Express also launched its 鈥淧lan It鈥� card-linked installment offering in the UK this year. And other more established BNPL players in the country have also been expanding their operations.

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.

The newly rebranded 鈥淐ash App Afterpay鈥� will help Block more tightly integrate its products into one ecosystem

This could further propel BNPL volume this holiday season as well as catapult merchants鈥� holiday volume.

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.

The CFPB will reportedly ask a federal court to vacate the rule鈥攕ide-stepping the lengthy rescinding process and setting back open banking indefinitely.

Apple Pay has also integrated Affirm, Klarna, and other BNPL players into its wallet. Our take: Marqeta Flex can help speed up this trend, making it easier for wallets and cards to integrate BNPL options. Eliminating the need for BNPL providers to work with merchants will expand where BNPL can be used and accelerate adoption.

BNPL fintechs like Affirm and Klarna have also been rolling out plans with differing lengths: In June, Affirm added Pay in 2 and Pay in 30, for example. How to handle periodic statements. Providers must mail or deliver a periodic statement for every billing cycle in which the consumer has a debt or credit balance of more than $1.

Gen Z is feeling squeezed: High living costs are driving Gen Zers to spend nearly twice as much as they save, which is leading them to prioritize essentials.

In the US, Amazon offers some card-linked installment options, along with Affirm. Walmart also offers Affirm and is building out a BNPL solution with its majority-owned fintech One.

Examples include Affirm, Afterpay, Klarna, Zip, and PayPal's BNPL service. Some short-term, no-interest loans can be accessed only at retailers. Examples include Bread Pay and SetPay. Services that provide a revolving line of credit, retailer-branded financing options, closed-loop marketplace financing services, and card-linked installment services are excluded.Less.

Reports swirled in September that Affirm is readying to launch its own service called Affirm Plus. The bigger picture: Klarna is preparing for an IPO in the US. The BNPL fintech has been on a profitability push ahead of a potential IPO. And it鈥檚 working: Globally, Klarna achieved its first quarterly profit since 2019 in Q3 2023, bringing in SEK 130 million ($11.89 million).

Affirm recently partnered with an eyewear retailer, for example, and Klarna partnered with a B2B car-rental company. Greater acceptance. BNPL debit cards and partnerships like Affirm鈥檚 with Walmart have made it easier to use BNPL in stores. What鈥檚 next? All of these drivers will boost BNPL鈥檚 growth throughout 2024.

The BNPL provider has been prepping for this for years. Its profitability push and cost-cutting initiatives should set it up for a strong listing

Conference panelists discussed changes in the maturing industry as it ripples across the payments space

Consumers are turning to the payment method to mitigate financial pressures this holiday season, but overextension concerns persist