Visa Canada will support the entrance of accelerator and venture capital (VC) firm Plug and Play into the Canadian FinTech market.This collaboration will enable Canadian FinTechs to access Visa’s global network; join exclusive, interactive events; and connect with new partners, the companies said in a Monday (Jan. 22) press release.“As a leader in digital payments, we work with FinTechs to shape the future of payments through strategic collaborations and product offerings that help push the boundaries of pa ...

Loyalty programs have become a ubiquitous part of the retail landscape, offering consumers enticing rewards and incentives for sticking with their favorite brands. However, as retailers expand their offerings, the proliferation of multiple loyalty programs can complicate the consumer experience and pose challenges for both customers and retailers. CVS Pharmacy, the retail division of CVS Health, acknowledged this challenge and responded by streamlining its ExtraCare loyalty program. The recent move involved ...

Two weeks before its debut, Apple’s Vision Pro is reportedly facing an uncertain future.As Bloomberg News reported Sunday (Jan. 21), among the challenges facing the mixed reality device is the fact that three big name streaming services — Netflix, YouTube and Spotify — have indicated they won’t launch visionOS software or allow their iPad apps to run on the Vision Pro.In addition, that report said, crucial developers like Google and Meta also seem ready to stay away from the new device, which Bloomberg said ...

A pair of federal agencies reportedly wants to investigate OpenAI’s relationship with Microsoft.The question is, which one: The Department of Justice (DOJ) or the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)? A report Friday (Jan. 19) by Politico — citing sources with knowledge of the matter — said the two agencies have been in discussion for months about a possible antitrust investigation, though neither the FTC or DOJ wants to give up jurisdiction.PYMNTS has contacted both agencies for comment but has not yet received ...

In a world where Amazon and Walmart are always finding ways to go neck in neck, both retail giants are focusing on enhancing their established strengths this week.  Amazon is launching a generative artificial intelligence (AI) tool that aims to address shopper questions, and Walmart is investing some serious coin into its physical retail — about $9 billion to be exact, to modernize its experience. Amazon AI Tool Tackles Shopper QueriesAmazon is launching a tool that uses AI to respond to shoppers’ questions ...

Apple is reportedly facing an impending antitrust lawsuit in the United States, with the Justice Department preparing to take on the tech giant. The lawsuit, which could be filed as early as March, alleges that Apple has imposed software and hardware limitations on its iPhones and iPads to impede competitors from effectively competing, Bloomberg reported Wednesday (Jan. 17). The Justice Department and Apple lawyers have met three times to discuss the potential lawsuit, according to the report. The agency ha ...

Choosing between fast and secure payments is no longer a question.The choice between establishing robust fraud protection and offering a seamless customer experience has been resolved: Organizations today can have both.PYMNTS sat down with Jason Knell, senior director of commerce services, GTM and content partnerships at Adobe, and Will Wyatt, vice president of global partnerships and channel sales at Signifyd, to discuss payments. They discussed why, when it comes to eCommerce payments, speed and security ...

Visa has completed its previously announced acquisition of Pismo.With the addition of this global cloud-native issuer processing and core banking platform, Visa and Pismo will together provide clients with core banking and card-issuer processing capabilities across all product types via cloud-native application programming interfaces (APIs), Visa said in a Tuesday (Jan. 16) press release.The Pismo platform will also enable Visa to provide financial institution clients with support and connectivity for emerg ...

PNC Financial Services Group saw delinquencies, total non-performing loans (NPLs) and net loan charge-offs increase during the fourth quarter.One notable contributor to the increase was the commercial real estate (CRE) portfolio, Robert Q. Reilly, executive vice president and chief financial officer at PNC, said Tuesday (Jan. 16) during the bank’s quarterly earnings call.Of the $79 million rise in total net loan charge-offs reported by PNC, $56 million was from CRE customers, Reilly said.Overall, compared t ...

The Supreme Court will not hear Apple’s appeal in its legal battle with Epic Games.As Bloomberg News reported Tuesday (Jan. 16), the decision means that a 2023 appeals court ruling centered around the Apple App Store — one that could effect billions of the tech giant’s revenue — will still stand.That ruling had said that while Apple’s business model didn’t violate antitrust laws, it had broken California’s Unfair Competition Law by limiting developers’ ability to inform users about alternate payment systems ...