News and Buzz

• Adobe Launches AI-Powered Mobile App for Creating Content

  April 18, 2024
  Adobe has launched a new Adobe Express mobile app that uses Adobe Firefly generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) to facilitate content creation. The new mobile app enables users to design and share ...

• Airports Accelerate Digital Transformation to Enhance Passenger Experiences

  April 18, 2024
  In an era marked by rapid technological advancements, the aviation industry continues to adapt, seeking ways to streamline processes and enhance passenger experiences. Recent developments at various international airports underscore this trend, ...

• Mercury Expands Into Consumer Banking With Mercury Personal

  April 17, 2024
  Startup-focused banking FinTech Mercury is getting into the consumer banking business. The company has launched Mercury Personal, designed to help builders in the tech sector optimize their money, according to a Wednesday (April 17) ...

• Payments Execs View Data as the Compass for Navigating Uncertain Times

  April 16, 2024
  “The only thing we can count on is uncertainty,” Albert Einstein once observed. And while the statement is universal, and applies to pretty much any endeavor in life, uncertainty is an ...

• What Generation Z Wants From Their Bank

  April 15, 2024
  There are 69 million consumers in the U.S. who are between the ages of 12 and 27. They are described as the first digitally-native generation — a generation that has ...

• Apple Dethroned by Samsung as Smartphone Market Recovers

  April 15, 2024
  Apple’s reign as the world’s top smartphone maker was short-lived. The iPhone maker supplanted Samsung late last year as the number-one seller of the devices, though Samsung regained the crown during ...

• CE 100 Index Slips 2% as Bank Earnings Spark Decline

  April 15, 2024
  Earnings season has begun, and at least initially, investors seemed nonplussed. Despite resilient consumer spending, inflation’s sticky too — and pressures are evident in the CE 100 Index, especially on ...

• 35% of US Consumers Would Welcome ‘Super App’ to Manage Finances

  April 12, 2024
  According to PYMNTS Intelligence, 95 million consumers would welcome a single mobile app to help manage their banking and shopping activities. This is one key finding in the report “Consumer Interest ...

• Epic Games Asks Judge to Require Google to Allow Competition

  April 12, 2024
  Epic Games proposed Thursday (April 11) that a federal judge require Google to allow greater competition in the distribution of apps for the Android mobile platform. This proposal, which was put ...

• Will Virtual Card Numbers Spark a Rush to Spend Apple Cash?

  April 10, 2024
  For Apple — and as been seen already with Block (formerly Square) — the drive is to get consumers to spend the cash, rather than just bank it. Apple, of course, ...

• Brands Use Mobile Data to Deepen Loyalty Connections With Customers

  April 10, 2024
  Loyalty programs have long served as a cornerstone for businesses seeking to cultivate lasting relationships with their customers. With the ongoing evolution of mobile technology and advancements in payment innovations, these ...

• Trustly and Light & Wonder Team on Cashless Casino Deposits

  April 10, 2024
  Trustly launched a payments partnership with games company Light & Wonder. The collaboration is designed to bring cashless, in-person deposits to casino floors using Light & Wonder’s RAPIDPLAY solution, according to a Wednesday ...

• Automattic Acquires Messaging App Beeper, Plans to Combine With Texts

  April 9, 2024
  Automattic, the company behind WordPress and WooCommerce, has acquired Beeper, a “universal messaging app” that combines 14 chat networks in one inbox. The company will combine Beeper with Texts, a messaging app that Automattic acquired in ...

• Apple Cash Adds Virtual Card Numbers, Enabling Spending at More Merchants

  April 9, 2024
  Apple Cash cards now have virtual card numbers, enabling users to securely spend their Apple Cash at merchants that don’t accept Apple Pay. This change was included among updates to Apple Cash terms ...

• Sunrate Adds Apple Pay to Payment and Treasury Management Platform

  April 8, 2024
  Sunrate has added Apple Pay to its global payment and treasury management platform. This new option offers the company’s commercial credit card customers a safer, more secure and private way to pay, Sunrate said ...

• Consumers Want to Buy Retail Products via a Super App

  April 8, 2024
  The majority of consumers in the United States and Australia want the option to buy retail products online from a single, unified platform that spans a range of their day-to-day ...

• New US Passport App Removes Friction Amid Business-Leisure Travel Shifts

  April 7, 2024
  The cost of skipping long airport queues is set to increase due a hike in fees for expedited security programs, according to a recent press release by the U.S. Customs and ...

• All-In-One Apps Ease Home-Buying Pain Points Even Post-Deal

  April 5, 2024
  Beyond the financial cost, purchasing a home can be an extremely complex and time-consuming process. From researching listings to seeking financing and appraisals, buyers find themselves juggling and coordinating multiple ...

• Apple Accused of Limiting Russian Users’ Banking Options

  April 4, 2024
  Russia says the country’s Apple users don’t have full access to payments and banking services. As Reuters reported Thursday (April 4), Russia’s antitrust regulator, the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS), has written to Apple about ...

• Chase Shows Super App Ambitions With Media Platform Launch

  April 3, 2024
  J.P. Morgan Chase unveiled its latest venture, a retail media network called Chase Media Solutions, Wednesday (April 3), marking a move toward personalized advertising within the banking sector. Retail media networks have become ...

• Got Leather? Almost a Third of Consumers Prefer Carrying Physical Wallet

  April 3, 2024
  Digital wallets — Apple Pay, Google Wallet, PayPal and more — give consumers a secure, convenient and contactless way to pay for purchases online and in person. Because they store credit- and debit-card ...

• How Apps, Smart Devices Are Streamlining Connected Home Living

  April 2, 2024
  Many homeowners can relate to the perpetual cycle of having do-it-yourself (DIY) projects and home improvements linger indefinitely on their to-do lists. However, amid this common struggle, digital tools  are ...

• Yum Brands Doubles Tech Spending, Expands Use of Generative AI

  April 1, 2024
  Fast food company Yum Brands aims to deploy artificial intelligence (AI) across the operations of its restaurants. The parent company of Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC and The Habit Burger Grill ...

• Instacart Taps Third-Party Integrations to Grow Its Presence in Consumers’ Lives

  March 29, 2024
  Instacart is taking a tip from eCommerce giants such as Amazon, expanding its reach into more parts of consumers’ day-to-day routines with its new Instacart Developer Platform (IDP). The grocery technology company announced Wednesday (March ...

• Social Commerce Holdouts Skeptical of Cross-Pollination

  March 28, 2024
  Many consumers are put off by social commerce, not wanting to have their social connection interrupted by product promotion. By the Numbers For the report “Tracking the Digital Payments Takeover: Monetizing Social ...

• Bloxcross, GoDirectPay Partner on Cross-Border Payments App

  March 28, 2024
  Bloxcross and GoDirectPay have partnered to launch a mobile app for global payments. The new app enables payments in any currency from institutions to vendors and from individuals to friends, the companies said ...

• Mobile Apps Transform Connected Homes Into Energy-Saving Havens

  March 28, 2024
  Amid global efforts aimed at decarbonization and energy efficiency, the demand for smarter, more environmentally conscious solutions is intensifying. The imperative extends to the traditional heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) ...

• Digital Shift Helps Banks Tailor Credit Offers to Consumers

  March 28, 2024
  For decades, consumer expectations around the convenience and always-on capabilities of their financial services could not be met. The typical Monday-through-Friday banking hours and 4 p.m. branch closings have made ...

• Robinhood Debuts Credit Card for Its Gold Members

  March 27, 2024
  Robinhood launched a credit card as it continues expanding into financial services. “At Robinhood, we recognize the need for change,” the company, known largely for its trading platform, wrote in a blog post Tuesday ...

• Banks Need to Copy eCommerce’s ‘Friction-Free’ Experiences

  March 27, 2024
  Eric Foust, VP of Banking Partnerships, North America at Trustly, said that in the wake of the pandemic, consumers are looking toward banks to deliver the same ease of use and ...

• Intellicheck CEO: Digital Banking’s Future Will Be Defined by Security

  March 26, 2024
  Did the mobile device kill the bank branch? Not quite, but as the world moves increasingly toward digital rather than physical banking channels, the banking sector may have already crossed a ...

• Biometric Ticketing Drives Stadiums’ Digital Makeover

  March 25, 2024
  Baseball season officially kicks off March 28, and fans are set to experience a shift in their stadium visits across the country. One such change is taking place at Citizens Bank Park, home ...

• The Innovation Imperative for Banks Starts With Personalized Digital Experiences

  March 25, 2024
  The traditional banking model and business roadmap for financial institutions needs future-proofing. Across today’s financial services landscape, digital increasingly rules the roost — making prioritizing innovation important for long-term success. Staying relevant ...

• From Crypto to Coffee, Digital Wallets Signal Shifting Financial Landscape

  March 22, 2024
  With Thursday’s (March 21) Department of Justice (DOJ) antitrust suit against Apple, digital wallets are top of mind. And moving over to the Web3 space, on Wednesday (March 20) Bitget Wallet, ...

• Bank of America Consolidates Banking, Investing, Retiring Into One App

  March 21, 2024
  Bank of America has launched a “massive update” to its mobile banking app, combining banking, investing and retiring into one unified app.  This new, unified digital platform consolidates into one mobile app ...

• Epic Games Reportedly Planning Online Stores for iOS, Android Users

  March 20, 2024
  Epic Games is planning to roll out mobile online stores for iPhone and Android users later this year. The company, which produces games like Fortnite, plans to take a 12% commission for ...

• Money Mobility and Embedded Payments Recast the Concept of Banking

  March 20, 2024
  Ingo Payments CEO Drew Edwards told PYMNTS’ Karen Webster that the very definition of what a bank is — what it does and what it can do — is changing. Ask anyone working for ...

• Instant Financial Debuts App for Faster Earned Wage Access

  March 19, 2024
  Earned wage access firm Instant Financial released a new mobile app and updated mobile wallet. “Understanding that over 50% of Americans would likely avoid major financial pitfalls if they could instantly access a ...

• The Apple Pay Threat Facing Banks

  March 18, 2024
  A friend was preparing for a once-in-a-lifetime yoga retreat to a fancy resort in Malaysia. The trip was a long one with stopovers in Qatar and two days in Kuala ...

• Customer Is Still King and Queen of Banking Innovation

  March 15, 2024
  In a world where change is constant, digitization has become one of life’s certainties. This advancement is coming to even traditionally staid sectors like financial services and banking, spurring profound ...