News

Investments
Rain Raises $250 Million to Scale Platform for Launching Stablecoin Cards
January 09, 2026

Rain raised $250 million in a Series C funding round to scale its infrastructure for stablecoin payments and add new capabilities and products. Get the Full Story Complete the form to unlock this article and enjoy unlimited free access to all PYMNTS content — no...

Security & Fraud
Shared Signals Are Helping Banks Stop Fraud Sooner
January 09, 2026

The goal for financial institutions isn’t to keep pace with the artificial intelligence-driven evolution of fraud. It’s to outpace it. Get the Full Story Complete the form to unlock this article and enjoy unlimited free access to all PYMNTS content — no additional logins required....

B2B Payments
Embedded Finance Pays Off for 54% of US B2B Platforms
January 09, 2026

B2B platforms are discovering that embedded finance is becoming less a feature add-on and more a structural lever for how they grow revenue, deepen customer relationships and compete at scale. Get the Full Story Complete the form to unlock this article and enjoy unlimited free...

Delivery
New York Demands Information From Instacart About Algorithmic Pricing Experiments
January 08, 2026

New York State Attorney General Letitia James said Thursday (Jan. 8) that she demanded information from Instacart about its use of algorithmic pricing and price-setting experiments and that she warned the company that it may be violating the state’s law. Get the Full Story Complete...

Wearables
XReal Raises $100 Million and Unveils Latest Smart Glasses
January 08, 2026

Smart glasses maker XReal reportedly raised $100 million and is now valued at over $1 billion. 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...

Retail
Walmart’s Retail Media Scores Wins While Amazon’s AI Goes Ambient
January 08, 2026

The holiday shopping spree has come to a close. And while returns are no doubt occupying a fair amount of time at the world’s two biggest retailers, a relatively quiet (but consumer retail-focused) week at Amazon stood in contrast to some interesting developments around AI...

Fintech Investments
Swap Raises $100 Million to Expand Global Commerce Solutions Platform
January 08, 2026

Swap raised $100 million in a Series C funding round to continue expanding the capabilities and reach of its global commerce solutions platform. Get the Full Story Complete the form to unlock this article and enjoy unlimited free access to all PYMNTS content — no...

Retail
Toast Cooks Up New AI Capabilities for Retailers
January 08, 2026

Hospitality platform Toast is introducing “retail specific” capabilities for its Toast IQ artificial intelligence (AI) assistant. 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...

Regulation
Meta’s $2 Billion Manus Deal Meets Regulatory Scrutiny in China
January 08, 2026

Chinese regulators are investigating Meta’s $2 billion purchase of artificial intelligence startup Manus, CNBC reported Thursday (Jan. 8). 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...