For much of modern consumer finance, underwriting has relied on static credit files that offer a delayed view of financial behavior. Those bureau-based models, Block Chief Risk Officer Brian Boates told PYMNTS, were designed for a slower economy and struggle to keep pace with how...
Household finances are increasingly shaped by credit use, as more consumers carry balances month to month rather than paying off purchases in full. According to the PYMNTS Intelligence report, “Pay Later Reshapes How America Finances the Holidays,” average monthly credit card balances rose by nearly...
Consumer spending continues to show resilience, even after years of inflation and economic uncertainty, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s latest Survey of Consumer Expectations. But beneath the headline strength, December’s data, which was released on Tuesday (Jan. 20), point to a...
The latest round of tariff threats tied to global trade tensions, lobbed this weekend over Greenland, arrives at a moment when millions of U.S. households are already navigating thin financial margins, limited savings and heightened sensitivity to price changes. For families living paycheck to paycheck...
Block has provided more than $200 billion in credit to customers across its Cash App Borrow, Afterpay and Square Loans products. The company has extended credit to Americans who may be excluded from affordable credit by traditional credit systems, and it has seen strong repayment...
For millions of individuals in the U.S., exclusion from credit markets has less to do with repayment risk than with how creditworthiness has traditionally been measured. PYMNTS reported in 2025 that while the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau revised its estimate of strictly “credit invisible” consumers...
The new year has dawned with consumers in the United States navigating a cooling labor market, elevated borrowing costs and persistent inflation expectations. However, a trio of data reports this week reflects a degree of financial discipline, with households adapting their cross-borrowing behavior and expectations....
Extended households have become a defining feature of U.S. consumer finance, even as they remain underrepresented in traditional financial models. PYMNTS Intelligence research shows that nearly one-third of consumers provide financial support beyond their nuclear family, including parents, siblings and nonfamily dependents, often while living...
Rising costs are no longer just squeezing household budgets. They are reshaping how different generations make financial decisions, from grocery shopping to healthcare use, according to new PYMNTS Intelligence research. The December 2025 PYMNTS Data Book, “Rising Costs and Financial Pressures Push Consumers to Adapt,” draws...