PYMNTS Intelligence

BNPL Becomes a Lifestyle Tool as 53% Use It for Experiences
BNPL Becomes a Lifestyle Tool as 53% Use It for Experiences
January 21, 2026  |  BNPL

Americans are no longer just spreading payments over time. They are spreading risk, timing and lifestyle choices as rising costs reshape how discretionary spending actually...

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Study Finds Most Paycheck-to-Paycheck Households Expect Tariffs to Worsen Financial Strain
Study Finds Most Paycheck-to-Paycheck Households Expect Tariffs to Worsen Financial Strain
January 20, 2026  |  Consumer Finance

The latest round of tariff threats tied to global trade tensions, lobbed this weekend over Greenland, arrives at a moment when millions of U.S. households...

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Banking, Retail and Tech Leaders Align on AI Agents’ High-Impact Use Cases
Banking, Retail and Tech Leaders Align on AI Agents’ High-Impact Use Cases
January 20, 2026  |  artificial intelligence

At first guess, one might think the agentic AI boom would splinter into a thousand use cases. Retailers automating inventory. Banks unleashing robo-analysts. Manufacturers fine-tuning...

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82% of Merchants Plan to Expand Digital Wallet Adoption
82% of Merchants Plan to Expand Digital Wallet Adoption
January 20, 2026  |  Digital Payments

Back-office payments are starting to look a lot more like consumer checkout, and that shift could determine which firms see their cash position clearly and...

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Credit Unions See AI’s Promise, but Readiness Lags Adoption
Credit Unions See AI’s Promise, but Readiness Lags Adoption
January 20, 2026  |  artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to help credit unions scale personalization, improve fraud detection and streamline operations, but only if the foundations beneath those...

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SRC Gives Agentic Commerce a New Guest Checkout Playbook
SRC Gives Agentic Commerce a New Guest Checkout Playbook
January 19, 2026  |  artificial intelligence

Agentic commerce promises a world in which transactions happen with less human intervention, fewer screens and fewer keystrokes. The shift may benefit guest checkout. Get...

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7 in 10 Banks Increase Fraud Spending as Losses and Complexity Grow
7 in 10 Banks Increase Fraud Spending as Losses and Complexity Grow
January 19, 2026  |  Fraud Prevention

Fraud is no longer just a cost line item for banks and payment firms. It is increasingly a force that shapes how institutions invest, modernize...

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Banks Overestimate Their Identity Defenses to the Tune of $34B a Year
Banks Overestimate Their Identity Defenses to the Tune of $34B a Year
January 16, 2026  |  Digital Identity

As financial services firms push deeper into digital channels, identity verification has quietly become one of the most consequential—and most underestimated—forces shaping growth, risk and...

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Insurance Policyholders Now Rate Insurers by How Fast They Pay
Insurance Policyholders Now Rate Insurers by How Fast They Pay
January 15, 2026  |  Insurance

With policyholders facing more choices, more transparency and fewer switching barriers, insurers are discovering that retention is no longer protected by inertia but earned through...

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