Competitive Strategies

Worldpay LLC has launched an open-source standard to help developers create artificial intelligence-based commerce agents and connect AI apps to external systems. The standard, known as the Model Context Protocol, enables such AI apps as ChatGPT to connect to databases, search engines, and workflows, or specialized prompts, to access information …

The combined effect of five payments trends is chipping away at cash reliance, finds a new report from Deloitte. Increasing adoption of stablecoin payments, especially for cross-border payments, increased speed of transactions, using data standards to one’s advantage, agentic artificial-intelligence commerce, and employing AI to counter fraud are all shaping …

Bluwhale AI Inc. has launched its AI Stablecoin Agent, aimed at helping individuals automate their management of dollar-denominated digital-currency assets. American Express Co. announced it is working with the International Downtown Association to award more than $1.4 million in grants to 97 small and independently owned restaurants in 14 cities outside the …

FICO (Fair Isaac Corp.) has partnered with open-banking platform Plaid Inc. to develop the UltraFICO score, a credit score that includes real-time cash-flow data from Plaid. The new scoring model is intended to give lenders a more comprehensive view of a consumer’s credit readiness. The UltraFICO score will weigh a …

Afterpay, the buy now, pay later option from Block Inc., will soon test a new way to use the payment method at the point of sale with a Visa debit card. Meanwhile, rival BNPL provider Klarna AB is expanding the locations where consumers can use Klarna to make gift card …

President Trump nominated Stuart Levenbach to be the new permanent director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Levenbach is a senior official at the Office of Management and Budget. Acting director Russell Vought’s term is set to expire in December under the Vacancies Act.  Toast Inc. said it will grant $10,000 to …

Shift4 Payments Inc. continues to stack up wins in the highly competitive stadium-pay market. The company announced early Wednesday it will process stadium-concessions payments for the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League at the team’s home arena, Canadian Tire Centre. The deal, which comes hard on the heels of Shift4’s …

PayPal Holdings Inc. said it is an official digital payments partner with U.K.-based soccer club Liverpool FC. Already an option in the club’s digital payments platforms, PayPal will be featured more prominently on checkout and payment screens in the club’s e-commerce and All Red services. All Red is a membership program …

Fiserv Inc.’s Clover point-of-sale technology unit has signed a deal with the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League to provide its Clover Sport point-of-sale hardware and software at the Wild’s home stadium, Grand Casino Arena. Fiserv will deploy about 300 Clover devices at concession stands throughout the arena. Fiserv’s Clover unit …

Klarna AB early Tuesday reported a 26% jump in revenue for its September quarter, to $903 million, the highest revenue number in its 20-year history. The Sweden-based company, which maintains major operations in the U.S. market and internationally, said it processed $32.7 billion in transactions for the quarter, up 23%. …