News

Artificial Intelligence
The Alphabet Soup of Agentic Standards: A Vocab Playbook for Merchants and PSPs
October 01, 2026

The biggest mistake merchants could make in agentic commerce may be waiting for one protocol to win. There probably won’t be one. Get the Full Story Complete the form to unlock this article and enjoy unlimited free access to all PYMNTS content — no additional...

Artificial Intelligence
Anthropic Targets Pre-Thanksgiving IPO at $2 Trillion Valuation
October 01, 2026

Anthropic aims to start the formal marketing for its initial public offering as soon as the week of Nov. 9 and begin trading before the Thanksgiving holiday, Nov. 26, Bloomberg reported Thursday (Oct. 1), citing unnamed sources. Get the Full Story Complete the form to...

Artificial Intelligence
Cars24 Turns Test Drive Chatter Into a 35% Sales Lift
October 01, 2026

A test drive at Cars24 lasts about an hour. Buyers raise loan worries, point out problems with the car and ask questions the salesperson may not answer well. Much of it used to go unnoticed. Get the Full Story Complete the form to unlock this...

Cross-border Payments
Europe’s Payee Checks Set the Pace as US Plans Take Shape
October 01, 2026

A payment moving from one country to another passes through banks, clearing systems and payment networks that operate under different rules. The recipient information used to check the payment and bolster security can be just as fragmented. Get the Full Story Complete the form to...

Artificial Intelligence
OpenAI Cracks Down on Insiders Sharing Data With Safety Watchdog
October 01, 2026

OpenAI has “parted ways” with three employees who allegedly shared company information with an organization focused on artificial intelligence safety, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday (Oct. 1), citing unnamed sources. Get the Full Story Complete the form to unlock this article and enjoy unlimited...

Artificial Intelligence
Microsoft Targets Contact Center Market With Real-Time AI Voice Models
October 01, 2026

Microsoft has launched three new artificial intelligence models that can be used to power customer service agents, multilingual assistants, interactive learning experiences and live captions and voice-driven interfaces, according to a Thursday (Oct. 1) blog post. Get the Full Story Complete the form to unlock...

Delivery
DoorDash Slides Into Your DMs With Dinner
October 01, 2026

DoorDash customers can now order dinner by sending a text. The company’s new artificial intelligence (AI) agent works inside Apple’s Messages, builds the cart and handles checkout without the DoorDash app ever opening. Get the Full Story Complete the form to unlock this article and...

Retail
Amazon and Walmart Race to Become Merchants’ Operating System
October 01, 2026

The retail landscape used to have four primary levers: share of shoppers, share of sellers, share of advertising dollars and share of wallet. Get the Full Story Complete the form to unlock this article and enjoy unlimited free access to all PYMNTS content — no...

Artificial Intelligence
St. Louis Fed Adapts FRED Database for AI Agents
October 01, 2026

Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) has introduced a FRED MCP Connector that uses the Model Context Protocol (MCP) to simplify connecting FRED data with artificial intelligence systems, Federal Reserve Board Governor Christopher J. Waller said Thursday (Oct. 1). Get the Full Story Complete the form...