Fintech
PYMNTS’ Summer of Big Quotes, From Tariffs to Trust Codes | PYMNTS.com

Published
5 days agoon
By
Hrishi
Summer is over. Time for PYMNTS to look back on the season’s best quotes from PYMNTS Intelligence and our news and feature stories.
“They have white labeled premium products or materials for highly purchased categories like athletic wear. They also have established exclusive partnerships with athletic companies to carry products on online storefronts like Nike. This has enabled Amazon to be the easiest platform for customers to buy and return products. More and more customers are using Amazon as a one-stop search engine versus going to each of their brand’s websites individually.”
—Amrita Bhasin, CEO of reverse logistics company Sotira on Amazon’s dominance in apparel
“Over 90% of U.S. adults use debit, yet most brands don’t reward that spend. Galileo’s Co-branded Debit Card changes that. Our API-first platform simplifies the tech stack and accelerates time to market
—Derek White, CEO of Galileo, from “Rethinking Rewards With a Loyalty Platform for the Debit Generation”
“Instead of click to buy, we are moving to ‘code to buy.’ Agents are nothing more than lines of code. Making sure that code is tied to the right consumer, with clear consent parameters, is essential to building trust.”
—Trulioo CEO Vicky Bindra on his firm’s new agentic AI collaboration with Worldpay
“Strip away the digital tools (which are mostly mobile), and what you find underneath is remarkably familiar: Young people want to build credit, save money, buy things with the least amount of friction, stay healthy, go to concerts and watch movies, and connect with friends.”
—From July’s “The Gen Z Decoder Ring,” by PYMNTS Intelligence
“Obviously, 0% transactions are somewhat less profitable for us. They’re still profitable … but the interest income that comes in interest-bearing loans is obviously more profitable … the experience using Affirm is so positive, they do convert to interest-bearing users just fine, and come back to us for many other things than just ‘zeroes.’”
—Affirm CEO Max Levchin on whether consumers embracing the 0% APR offerings shift to repeat usage
“Some firms attempt to absorb the costs, reducing profitability to preserve customer loyalty. Others trim product assortments, cutting lower-margin items from shelves. A few attempt to differentiate with premium offerings that justify higher prices. Even those face resistance as those who serve the consumer find middle-income consumers cutting back. This strategy is not sustainable. Businesses cannot lose money indefinitely. At some point, they must either raise prices more aggressively or thin product selection. Both choices carry risks. Higher prices may further dampen demand. Fewer products may reduce consumer choice and weaken competitive positioning.”
—PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster on tariffs from “Tariffs. Who Really Pays.”
“This isn’t a world where you can go and say, ‘I have a North Star in mind. I’m going to take the next four years to get there,’ because in four years, the landscape will look radically different than it does today in terms of consumer behavior and consumer expectations.”
—Matt Swatzell, head of Solutions, North American Acceptance at Visa, commenting on the “Rise of the Mobile-First Shopper” series.
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Fintech
Apple’s Sept. 9 Event to Feature Next-Generation iPhone and Apple Watch | PYMNTS.com

Published
16 hours agoon
September 5, 2025By
Hrishi
When Apple holds its product launch event on Tuesday (Sept. 9), most of the changes it unveils will reportedly involve hardware rather than software.
The announcements will include the next generation of the iPhone, which accounts for about half of the company’s sales, Bloomberg reported Friday (Sept. 5).
The new iPhone lineup will include high-end versions with new backs called the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max, a new ultrathin model called iPhone 17 Air, and a base model with a slightly larger screen called the iPhone 17, according to the report.
The new Apple smartwatches will include an Apple Watch Ultra 3 with a slightly larger screen, an Apple Watch Series 11 with a new screen that has a higher maximum brightness, and an Apple Watch SE with newer displays and a faster chip, the report said.
The company’s AirPods Pro 3 may include smaller charging cases with a new pairing mechanism as well as a new software feature that will translate conversations, per the report.
When Apple announced the upcoming product launch event, it said the event will be streamed on apple.com, Apple TV and YouTube Live.
Apple CEO Tim Cook promoted the event with a post on Apple’s newsroom site, saying, “Get ready for an awe dropping #AppleEvent on Tuesday, September 9!”
It was reported Aug. 24 that the upcoming changes to the iPhone lineup will kick off a three-year overhaul of the smartphones that will follow a series of moderate upgrades.
Next year, Apple will introduce its first foldable iPhone, which is expected to include five cameras and come with no SIM card slot.
In 2027, the company will mark the 20th anniversary of its smartphone with a curved-glass model, the iPhone 20, that will feature curved glass all around and will be a break from the more squared-off version of the phone Apple has used for the last five years.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman wrote in that Aug. 24 report: “The bottom line: 2025 won’t be a revolutionary year for the iPhone. But it will lay the foundation for major shifts in 2026 and 2027, making it an exciting time for iPhone fans.”
Fintech
FIS Aims to Bolster Corporate Nerve Centers With ‘Neural Treasury’ | PYMNTS.com

Published
2 days agoon
September 4, 2025By
Hrishi
Financial technology company FIS has introduced an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered treasury management solution.
FIS Neural Treasury combines AI, machine learning and robotics to help corporate treasurers increase efficiency, reduce operational risk and unlock cash flow to finance strategic growth opportunities according to a Thursday (Sept. 4) news release.
“Amidst rapid technological change, rising capital costs and market volatility, corporate treasurers need improved visibility into their global liquidity positions, more intelligent risk management capabilities and the ability to scale operations without proportionally increasing costs,” FIS said in the release.
Neural Treasury, the release adds, helps address these needs with things like Treasury GPT, an FIS tool rolled out in March that the company says is the first large language model (LLM) designed specifically for the treasury industry.
The new suite can also analyze data and cash flow patterns to help predict cash flows and “support more precise and proactive liquidity management,” while also monitoring transaction patterns to detect potential fraud and adapt to improve detection capabilities over time.
“Corporate treasury departments are the financial nerve center of their organizations, but they’re too often constrained by legacy systems that struggle to meet the needs and pace of today’s increasingly complex financial landscape,” JP James, head of treasury and risk at FIS, said in the announcement.
“Neural Treasury is designed to harness the power of AI to help corporate treasurers to act as strategic leaders and support their efforts to optimize important processes like cash positioning, forecasting, payment execution, risk management and more.”
PYMNTS earlier this week wrote about the role AI can play in helping treasurers, noting that the role of the treasurer changed after major upheavals like the 2008 financial crisis, and again during the COVID pandemic.
“These historic crucibles have elevated treasury’s strategic importance. Boards now expect treasurers to provide real-time insight, not just static reports,” PYMNTS wrote.
“But human teams are limited: even a well-staffed treasury department cannot scan thousands of market signals, liquidity positions and geopolitical shifts in real time without help. Spreadsheets and enterprise systems only go so far.”
Enter the agentic AI treasurer, which — rather than functioning as silent engines behind a dashboard — can appear as interactive, explainable agents.
“They can tell a CFO why a swap was executed, walk through alternative scenarios, and even adjust tone and detail depending on the audience, whether it’s a risk committee or a junior analyst,” the report added. “The once-invisible treasury function suddenly becomes a visible, conversational partner.”
Fintech
HappyRobot Raises $44 Million for AI Supply Chain Workers | PYMNTS.com

Published
3 days agoon
September 3, 2025By
HrishiHappyRobot, an artificial intelligence startup focused on supply chain operations, raised $44 million.
The Series B funding will help the company with hiring, product development and expansion into more enterprise deployments, according to a Wednesday (Sept. 3) press release.
While the company did not share its valuation, a report by Reuters cited unnamed sources who said HappyRobot is now valued at $500 million.
A wave of venture investment into AI firms has raised concerns about possible saturation and increased competition for the companies, the report said.
HappyRobot is hoping its in-house tech and logistics expertise help separate it from general-purpose AI voice startups such as ElevenLabs, according to the report.
“Being verticalized” gives the company an advantage over more general-purpose competitors who might be “clueless about the operations and the intricacies of these industries,” said HappyRobot co-founder and CEO Pablo Palafox, per the report.
Launched 18 months ago, the company has more than 70 enterprise customers, including DHL, Ryder, Schneider and Werner, which use HappyRobot for tasks such as appointment scheduling, collections and outbound sales, according to the press release.
“The early results are clear: AI workers aren’t just cutting costs — they’re unlocking new revenue opportunities, increasing visibility and freeing teams to focus on strategic, relationship-driven work,” the release said.
HappyRobot’s AI operating system combines “real-time truth,” specialized AI workers, and an orchestrating intelligence to manage “complex, mission-critical work,” starting with supply chain and industrial-scale operations, per the release.
The goal is to help enterprises operate with speed and ongoing improvement, “while humans focus on higher-value work,” the release said
The PYMNTS Intelligence report “The Agentic Trust Gap: Enterprise CFOs Push Pause on Agentic AI” found that 15% of chief financial officers surveyed are even considering putting agentic AI to work, with most still in the early evaluation stage.
“This contrasts with the surging adoption of generative AI, which CFOs are increasingly using for tasks like content creation, customer service, coding and data analysis,” PYMNTS wrote Aug. 15. “The report shows generative AI’s deployment for product and service innovation up 21% and for spotting fraud and errors up 31% since March 2024.”
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