Competitive Strategies

As more consumers consider how artificial-intelligence services can help with the shopping experience, payments and commerce providers are preparing. Minty, an AI shopping app, is now available to merchants on the Shopify Inc. platform. And, Pie Tech Inc. has received more funding, this time from Amex Ventures, to help merchants …

The Western Union Co. and payments-technology developer Rain have launched a digital wallet and credit card that can enable money transfers using stablecoins from a card-linked account. Called Stablecard, the product works with the stablecoin USDPT, also introduced Tuesday. Stablecard is going live in 37 markets, according to Western Union, …

Online merchants have built their e-commerce sites for human interaction, but the expected increase in artificial-intelligence shopping agents will require a new focus on data, says an IDC report commissioned by WooCommerce. Released Monday, the report forecasts that AI use will move $500 billion in digital spending to AI agents …

Visa Inc. agreed to acquire BioCatch, a fraud-detection service, for $2.4 billion in cash. The deal is expected to close by the end of March 2027. More than 350 financial institutions use BioCatch technology, according to the company. Deluxe Corp. has closed on its $625-million acquisition of Celero Commerce. With the deal, which …

More evidence has emerged that consumers are wholeheartedly embracing payment apps and digital wallets as these two payment methods are used by most consumers, finds the WSFS Bank 2026 Money Trends Survey. Among the 1,022 respondents, 73% regularly use a payment app in 2026, up from 67% in 2023, and …

Pressure on Fiserv Inc. has mounted in recent weeks, and now an activist investor is calling on the big Milwaukee-based processor to divest assets that lie well beyond its two debit networks. In an open letter to Fiserv’s board on Thursday, Jana Partners Management LP urges Fiserv’s board “to take …

Same-day automated clearing house transactions continue to surge, reaching $1.3 trillion in value in the second quarter, says Nacha. That’s up from $980 billion in value in the year-ago quarter. That value came on 435.7 million transactions, a 29.3% increase from 337 million same-day ACH transactions in the 2025 second …

As payments executives wrestle with fast-moving trends in AI-driven commerce and in cryptocurrency, particularly stablecoins, card networks are gearing up to win more business in both markets. And network executives see those trends accelerating, creating opportunities to grab market share if they act fast. “Agentic commerce is the next evolution …

Point-of-sale platform Lightspeed Commerce Inc. narrowed its first-quarter loss to $2.4 million from $49.6 million a year prior. Lightspeed reported its fiscal first quarter earnings ended June 30 with $322.7 million in revenue, up 5.8% from $305 million a year ago. In 2025, Lightspeed embarked on a two-pronged POS-based plan to improve its performance. …