Tuesday , July 7, 2026

John Stewart

Starting as an editor on Bank Network News at Faulkner & Gray, John ultimately played a key role in starting, editing, and publishing many of F&G's flagship publications, including Credit Card Management, Card Technology, Card Marketing, and Collections & Credit Risk. Before co-founding Boland Hill Media, John was a group publisher at Thomson Media responsible for a $10 million division embracing magazines, newsletters, and Web sites.

A Big-Bank Consortium Looks to Buy a Debit Network From Fiserv

The economics of proprietary debit networks appears to be asserting itself as a consortium of big banks is reportedly looking to acquire a debit card system from Fiserv Inc. The banking group, which includes JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and PNC Financial Services Group, has had “tentative discussions” …

Read More »

Klarna Applies to Start a Utah-Based Bank

The buy now, pay later specialist Klarna AB said early Monday it has submitted applications with U.S. regulators to start an industrial bank called Klarna Bank USA. The company’s applications, filed with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. as well as the Utah Department of Financial Institutions, follow its move toward banking in …

Read More »

Square Enlists ChatGPT And Claude for Its AI Push

Square, the point-of-sale unit of the payments provider Block Inc., said early Wednesday it is plunging head-first into AI in an effort to build business for its client merchants. The company said it has adopted an app for OpenAI Group’s ChatGPT and a plugin for Anthropic’s Claude technology to help …

Read More »

How Payment Friction Puts a Damper on Travel As Summer Sets in

The summer travel season has arrived, promising big volume uplifts for payments processors. But wonky payments, checkout letdowns, and fraud fears could lead to less volume than travel companies expect, according to a pair of travel reports released Tuesday. So far, demand looks strong. Some 91% of consumers are planning …

Read More »

A Survey Shows a Need to Bolster Trust in Agentic Commerce

No sooner has agentic commerce entered the domain of digital payments than questions have sprung up regarding issues of trust and identity. The trust issue in particular came to the fore early Monday with survey results indicating that just 19% of adult consumers in the U.K. trust that AI agents …

Read More »

Tech Firms Begin to Tackle the AI Fraud Question

The growing prominence of agentic commerce has raised questions about the potential for fraud in these transactions, and in particular the problem of verifying who is behind the agents. Now, technology is emerging to address that question. In one example, Boston-based Notarize Inc., which does business as Proof, introduced on …

Read More »

Bluefin Works With Landi to Streamline Processor Links

Bluefin Payment Systems Inc. said Wednesday it is working with the point-of-sale technology company Landi Global to launch security gear that communicates directly with processors. With the new design, other participants in a transaction—including merchants, gateways, and independent software vendors—will not be required to rework their payment flows, the companies …

Read More »

Growth in AI for Shopping Will Depend on Trust

The idea of using AI agents to shop online on the consumer’s behalf intrigues payments providers and consumers alike, but the full rollout of this technology is going to depend on how much buyers and processors can trust the technology, according to survey results released early Tuesday. That need for …

Read More »
Digital Transactions