Buy now, pay later (BNPL), especially popular with younger users, has seen significant traction. One of the biggest names in the space is Klarna, whose platform allows users to split purchases into installment plans at the point of sale, often with lower fees than credit cards. Following the news that Klarna inked a massive deal with Uber to make the payments platform available to ride-share customers in the U.S., Germany, and Sweden, the natural assumption might be that Klarna would include BNPL functionality for Uber users. Instead, Klarna will be offering its Pay Now functionality to Uber ..read more

Small business owners are increasingly in need of additional capital, with more than 60% indicating a greater demand for financing compared to just 12 months ago. But their reliance on business credit cards has proven insufficient, with more than half resorting to personal credit cards to cover business expenses. Those are among the key findings from WalletHub’s annual small business survey, which showed once again how critical credit cards are to small businesses. A relatively recent factor driving the need for  additional funding is ongoing inflation, with nearly two-thirds of responde ..read more

In the minds of many, blockchain is synonymous with cryptocurrency. However, the technology can be much more than a framework for crypto transactions. B2B blockchain could serve as a powerful solution to the longstanding challenges businesses encounter in sending, receiving, and recording payments. This transformative shift is already underway for the one million businesses that have migrated to the Paystand platform. The company recently acquired Teampay, and the two companies collectively processed over $10 billion in B2B transactions since their inceptions. That’s roughly 2% of a market th ..read more

The commercial banking and payments industry is undergoing a powerful metamorphosis. The onset of new technology has drastically altered corporate and consumer expectations. With so much flux, businesses are constantly working to stay competitive, mitigate risks, and set themselves up for the next wave of transformation. In his new report, Movements in Global Commercial Payments and Banking: 2024 Edition, Albert Bodine, Director of Commercial and Enterprise Payments at Javelin Strategy & Research examines the seismic shifts in banking trends, including instant payments, ePayables, and cro ..read more

This earnings season has been closely scrutinized due to concerns about a slower-than-expected economic recovery. Despite interest rates surpassing 7%, consumers seem inclined to continue traveling and making big-ticket item purchases. That was the key takeaway from Visa’s Q2 earnings report. The company posted a net revenue of $8.8 billion, marking a 10% year-over-year increase. This revenue growth outpaced analysts’ projected $8.62 billion by 1.46%, alleviating concerns of a potential downturn in spending. “Consumer spend across all segments from low-to-high spend has remained relatively st ..read more

The complexity of the bitcoin mining process has been a major drawback for a cryptocurrency that was designed to foster accessibility. Mining rigs are costly and difficult to locate, and there have even been concerns about the continued availability of the Chinese-manufactured chips powering them. Block, the payments company formerly known as Square, announced it commitment to democratizing the bitcoin mining process. Block’s head, Jack Dorsey, said the company plans to produce a three-nanometer chip designed specifically for bitcoin mining. But he made waves when he posted that Block was als ..read more

Accepting payments in a timely and efficient manner is crucial to the success of any business, yet organizations often struggle to define solutions to improve existing procedures. U.S. Bank’s recent survey of 300 U.S.-based finance professionals uncovers several problems with business-to-business payments while also illuminating ways businesses can cut costs in this area. Nearly three-quarters of finance professionals polled said that keeping payment acceptance costs low is highly important to them. These same professionals say it’s hard to demonstrate they can save money with a better approa ..read more

Walmart has introduced buy now, pay later loans through One, its majority-owned fintech startup. The move puts Walmart in competition with a similar offering from Affirm. Last year, Walmart announced its plan to offer BNPL services for self-checkout customers through Affirm at 4,500 of its U.S. stores. Since 2019, Affirm has been the exclusive provider of installment loans for Walmart customers.  Currently, Walmart shoppers at select stores have the option to obtain BNPL loans from either provider for purchases starting at around $100, with annual interest rates ranging from 10 ..read more

Even though the number of checks written continues to decline, mail theft remains on the rise. Beyond the theft of checks directly from mailboxes, there have been instances of stolen mail trucks. The ease of modifying checks allows criminals to simply wash and modify the payee’s name.  Q2’s positive pay system, used by roughly 550 banks across the country, is on track to stop more than $2.5 billion in fraud this year. In a recent PaymentsJournal podcast, Bruce Dragoo, Manager, Solutions Consultant for Q2, and John Byl, SVP Product Development at Mercantile Bank of Michigan—a Q2 ..read more

Should buy now, pay later loans impact your credit score? That’s been an important question ever since Apple announced in February that it would begin reporting loans from its Apple Pay Later service to Experian. Many observers thought that might be a game-changer for the BNPL industry. However, as the New York Times is reporting, there hasn’t been any follow-through. None of the other BNPL services have begun reporting their loans to credit bureaus. Two years ago, Experian created a Buy Now Pay Later Bureau, where the loans would be included on consumers’ credit reports but not incorporated ..read more