News

Wearables
Meta and EssilorLuxottica Consider Doubling Smart Glasses Production Capacity
January 13, 2026

Meta and eyewear maker EssilorLuxottica are reportedly considering doubling their capacity to produce Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses from 10 million to 20 million by the end of the year. Get the Full Story Complete the form to unlock this article and enjoy unlimited free access...

Artificial Intelligence
Does Google’s Agentic Partnership With Walmart Signal the End of Click-and-Buy Retail?
January 13, 2026

What’s next in commerce and retail changes almost every day. But some days bring bigger changes than others. Get the Full Story Complete the form to unlock this article and enjoy unlimited free access to all PYMNTS content — no additional logins required. yesSubscribe to...

IPO
Kraken-Affiliated KRAKacquisition Plans to Go Public
January 13, 2026

Kraken-affiliated company KRAKacquisition Corp is the latest cryptocurrency firm planning to go public. Get the Full Story Complete the form to unlock this article and enjoy unlimited free access to all PYMNTS content — no additional logins required. yesSubscribe to our daily newsletter, PYMNTS Today....

Artificial Intelligence
Microsoft Turns Retail Into an AI Agent Test Bed
January 13, 2026

With CES wrapping last week and the National Retail Federation event kicking off Monday (Jan. 12) there’s been a renewed focus on The Prompt Economy’s intersection with retail. If there’s a theme to recent announcements in this area it’s about workflows and the workforce. Get...

Retail
Mid-Tier Retailers Caught Between Amazon and Walmart
January 13, 2026

For decades, the retail industry was organized around a familiar axis: price versus experience, scale versus specialization, mass versus premium. Get the Full Story Complete the form to unlock this article and enjoy unlimited free access to all PYMNTS content — no additional logins required....

Banking
HSBC Establishes Asset Management Business in UAE
January 12, 2026

HSBC has launched a United Arab Emirates (UAE) asset management business that it said will play a key role in its Middle East, North Africa and Turkey (MENAT) wealth franchise. Get the Full Story Complete the form to unlock this article and enjoy unlimited free...

Artificial Intelligence
Wayfair Participates in Google’s New Standard for Agentic Commerce
January 12, 2026

Wayfair said Monday (Jan. 12) that it participated in the development of Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) for agentic commerce and will soon enable shoppers to check out directly from Wayfair without leaving Google during their research. Get the Full Story Complete the form to...

Artificial Intelligence
Kroger, Papa Johns Test Gemini AI Agents for Retail
January 12, 2026

Google Cloud introduced Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience, a platform designed to help retailers deploy artificial intelligence (AI) agents that can support shopping, ordering and customer service across digital channels. Get the Full Story Complete the form to unlock this article and enjoy unlimited free...

B2B Payments
B2B Payments Make the Leap to Real Time in Latin America 
January 12, 2026

Digital payments in Latin America are transforming commercial transactions, as faster payment rails originally designed to broaden consumer access increasingly support business-to-business payments and deepen engagement with bank accounts. Get the Full Story Complete the form to unlock this article and enjoy unlimited free access to...