NotFinancialAdvice

Not long ago, payments meant paper, ink, and a trip to the mailbox. Today, consumers expect the opposite—transactions that are contactless, mobile-friendly, and processed in real time. With countless digital payment methods now operating smoothly and instantly, it’s

A bank’s public website no longer has the luxury of serving as a passive storefront. AI-powered overviews, social media influencers, and other personal finance sites increasingly shape how consumers discover and evaluate financial products, making it harder for fina

The rise of Software as a Service (SaaS), AI technologies, financial services APIs, and embedded finance has reshaped the payments ecosystem, creating value beyond simple transactions. These shifts mean traditional payment models now compete directly with

As one of the three major credit bureaus in the United States, Equifax has broad visibility into consumer credit behavior. In recent years, one notable trend has been the rise of first-party fraud, in which consumers knowingly exploit organizational policies for

The long-rumored BRICS payment system may finally be moving toward reality. A payment rail built on interoperable central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) has appeared on

Digital banking has trained consumers to expect speed, simplicity, and instant results. Yet, when those same expectations reach the commercial side of the house, many financial institutions fall short—leaving business clients stuck in slow, manual onboarding

On one hand, digital banking technologies have made it possible for financial institutions to offer more services than ever before. On the other, this shift has often made it harder for banks and credit unions to differentiate themselves. That challenge is likely to

Germany is bidding farewell to the paper check. Once a staple of everyday payments, checks are now all but obsolete, and the government plans to eliminate them completely by the end of 2027—a glimpse of a check-free world that’s unfolding in the U.S.
A report

The store most known for home décor could soon offer tokenized home equity loans, after Bed, Bath & Beyond unveiled plans to acquire Tokens.com.
The big-box retailer has leaned heavily into the “beyond” portion of its name since emerging from bankruptcy two years a

More than a decade after the Dodd-Frank Act redrew the regulatory boundaries of the banking industry, two Republican senators are seeking to revisit one if its key thresholds—a move that could steer millions in additional debit card revenue to community banks,

Secure real-time payments are foundational to the open banking model, enabling users to pay directly from their bank accounts across a wide range of use cases. This capability is largely delivered through APIs provided by third-party fintechs.
This is the model

As information highways have opened new avenues to the global marketplace, many business owners have been attracted to these new frontiers. However, there are unique challenges associated with cross-border operations that go far beyond currency conversions and

TikTok Shop has been at the forefront of the social commerce surge, where influencers’ live streams and product videos link directly to checkout. As a result, social platforms have become one of the fast-growing segments in e-commerce.
A key driver of this growth i

All indications are that 2026 credit card growth is upward, healthy, and under control, but watch out for rapid growth in unsecured installment loans. The good news is that these loans transfer high-risk credit card receivables to installment lenders. The bad news i

More states are cracking down on gift card scams. In 2025 alone, 22 states have introduced legislation targeting gift card fraud—up from just eight in 2024. While most proposals focus on enhancing criminal penalties, many also place new responsibilities on

Amid reports that Stripe is considering an acquisition of some or all of PayPal, a broader question emerges: Is the once-dominant payments giant worth more in pieces than as a unified company?
Competition has been steadily eroding PayPal’s position for years.

Daiso has become South Korea’s leading discount retailer by offering a wide array of goods, many priced at an attractive 1,000 won (approximately $0.69). This approach has made the chain a mainstay for millennial and Gen Z consumers, as well as a popular tourist

PhonePE and Google Pay hold dominant shares of India’s digital wallet market, where most transactions run on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) real-time payments rail. While Apple Pay would enter an already crowded ecosystem, early signals suggest the tech