Connected Economy

The innovations in technology, connected devices, software, payments and cellular technology make it possible for people and businesses to connect with each other and do business via any device, an in any digital or physical location safely, securely, and in real time. This integration of the digital and physical worlds will transform the economy across the ten pillars that today represent its key cornerstones – pillars that are already experiencing the impact of disruptive innovation as new blended, digital-first experience-driven ecosystems are now taking shape.

Why Building AI Agents Is No Longer the Hardest Part of Agentic Commerce

Why Building AI Agents Is No Longer the Hardest Part of Agentic Commerce
Why Building AI Agents Is No Longer the Hardest Part of Agentic Commerce
September 25, 2026  |  eCommerce

Watch more: The Agentic Experience With Mastercard’s Sabrina Therani Agentic commerce is becoming an infrastructure race. The biggest agentic constraint today is not whether AI...

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Best Buy Uses AI to Stop Passing Customers Around
Best Buy Uses AI to Stop Passing Customers Around
September 24, 2026  |  Artificial Intelligence

A customer seeking help with a malfunctioning laptop might call Best Buy, explain the problem, get sent to a second department and explain it again....

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5 Things to Know as Banks Connect Tokenized Deposits
5 Things to Know as Banks Connect Tokenized Deposits
September 24, 2026  |  Cryptocurrency

Tokenized deposits have reached the point where banks can begin finding out what works and what needs work. Seven banks in the United Kingdom participated...

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Stablecoins Changed the Rails but Haven’t Captured the Economics
Stablecoins Changed the Rails but Haven’t Captured the Economics
September 24, 2026  |  Cryptocurrency

Stablecoins spent years trying to prove they could move money better than banks, and they have succeeded. Announcements this week from banks, card networks, cryptocurrency...

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OpenAI, Google and Anthropic Join Forces to Set AI Safety Standards
OpenAI, Google and Anthropic Join Forces to Set AI Safety Standards
September 24, 2026  |  Artificial Intelligence

Anthropic, Google and OpenAI aim to launch a standards body focused on artificial intelligence (AI) by the end of this year or early next year, The Information reported...

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OpenAI Brings in Patreon’s Founders to Build a Creator Business
OpenAI Brings in Patreon’s Founders to Build a Creator Business
September 24, 2026  |  Artificial Intelligence

OpenAI has hired the people who built the largest membership business in the creator economy. Patreon Co-Founder Sam Yam is joining to lead a new...

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AI-Generated Medical Coding Adds Nearly $1 Billion to Blue Cross Costs
AI-Generated Medical Coding Adds Nearly $1 Billion to Blue Cross Costs
September 24, 2026  |  Healthcare

Artificial intelligence (AI) tools used by healthcare providers to identify patients’ secondary medical conditions contributed nearly $1 billion in additional costs for Blue Cross Blue...

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Amazon Brings Walmart Orders Into Seller Central
Amazon Brings Walmart Orders Into Seller Central
September 24, 2026  |  Retail

Maybe that Amazon-Walmart rivalry isn’t so fierce after all. Amazon announced Thursday morning (Sept. 24) that it will let marketplace sellers manage orders and shipment...

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