Credit Cards

The potentially lucrative bill-payment market has a new entrant to help banks and fintechs capture some of these transactions. Dubbed PayNow, the new service from Atomic FI Inc. can help banks and fintechs drive engagement and loyalty with their customers, it says. Launching initially with a mobile and Internet provider, …

InFlow, a startup aimed at enabling payments via agentic commerce, announced its launch with technology that allows agents to complete payments as instructed without pausing for human intervention. Digital-identity platform Socure Inc. has acquired Qlarifi Ltd., a U.K.-based consumer credit database specializing in buy now, pay later activity. Terms were not disclosed. …

Seeking to provide an alternative to rewards credit cards, Klarna AB has expanded its Premium and Max membership programs in the United States. Klarna’s membership program is a monthly fee-based service that offers consumers such rewards as cashback, exclusive deals, and lifestyle rewards, as well as airport lounge access and …

The Clearing House Payments Co. LLC said its RTP instant payments network topped $1.3 trillion in total payments in 2025 through November, up 428% from 2024. TCH said RTP transactions account for 98% of all bank-to-bank instant payments. PAR Technology Corp. announced Abelardo’s Mexican Fresh, a restaurant chain with more than 50 …

While credit cards are the most common way small businesses pay for a purchase, a growing number are embracing buy now, pay later loans as a payment option. At the same time, many small businesses are opting not to pay by card in order to avoid a surcharge, finds J.D. …

Fraud and scams have grown into a “pressing concern” for users of digital payments in the Caribbean and Latin America, according to a regional survey report released by Mastercard Inc. The research effort queried 3,577 adults in 12 countries in October. Mastercard has launched Mastercard Access Pass, aimed at allowing card issuers to …

Fraudsters are becoming better organized and building industrial-strength infrastructures to commit fraud, making their actions harder to detect and prevent, says Visa Inc.’s Fall 2025 Biannual Threats Report. The report, which pulls data from the Visa’s global network, identifies the five biggest fraud threats facing the payments ecosystem: the industrialization …

As artificial intelligence continues to weave itself into payments, organizations are adding new AI-enabled services and considering options for its use. Two of the latest are Hawk AI GmbH with a check-fraud prevention tool for U.S. financial institutions and EMVCo as it begins work on a global specification for its …

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 …

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 …