The payments & online selling stories our desk judged worth your time, written so anyone can follow them.
Mastercard is pitching businesses on local payment options and digital wallets, so shop owners may soon weigh new ways to get paid beyond credit cards.
Read more: Mastercard pitches stores on more ways to take paymentsA fraud-scoring company says shops need to check for fraud, not just permission, when AI assistants buy things for real people.
Read more: Fraud checks urged for shopping done by AI assistantsA Visa-backed survey finds 71% of UAE shoppers expect to use an AI shopping agent within two years, while few shops are ready for it.
Read more: Most UAE shoppers expect an AI to shop for them within two yearsAmazon's Shop Direct now shows 250 million links to other stores' products, a move aimed at keeping shoppers from turning to outside AI assistants.
Read more: Amazon now lists 250 million products it doesn't even sellA survey of 5,100 shoppers finds 80% have used AI to shop, yet only 7% would let it buy without their approval. Refund responsibility is still unsettled.
Read more: Most shoppers use AI to shop, but few let it pay for themApps like Google Messages, Truecaller and Norton Genie can warn you about scams, but a clean result does not mean a text, call or website is safe.
Read more: Scam check apps can flag red flags but can't prove who is contacting youHyphenate, which builds AI that handles company bookkeeping, raised $45 million. Finance teams are adopting AI fast but still keep humans in charge.
Read more: Startup raises $45 million to build AI that keeps company booksPayPal's Venmo app is growing fast, and the company is leaning on it with a bigger debit card push and richer credit card rewards after cutting about 2,000 jobs.
Read more: Venmo is growing fast and helping PayPal through a slow stretchVisa plans to double its roster of live AI shopping partners, but its CEO says few people use them yet. Automatic invoice payment may reach businesses first.
Read more: Visa expects AI shopping partners to double, but use is still tinyMastercard has published a report on how people in the Middle East and Africa pay digitally. Anyone selling or sending money there should take note.
Read more: How people in the Middle East and Africa are paying digitallyHome Depot reportedly plans identity checks for AI shopping agents on its site, which could help keep fake or abusive bots away from your money and account.
Read more: Home Depot Wants AI Shopping Helpers to Prove Who They AreMastercard published an infographic saying that joining fraud and cyber-security tools cuts fraud, but the details behind that claim are not yet available.
Read more: Mastercard says linking fraud and cyber checks cuts fraud lossesTelenor sells richer phone plans at higher prices. AI shopping agents that compare deals for you could test whether customers will pay for the extras.
Read more: AI shopping bots could challenge Telenor's higher-price strategyFragment, a startup that uses AI to fix purchasing and payment problems for manufacturers, came out of stealth with $56 million in funding.
Read more: Fragment, an AI purchasing startup, raises $56 millionVisa reported record yearly revenue and says AI shopping, fraud checks and stablecoins are now part of its plan, which could change how you pay.
Read more: Visa posts record $46 billion year as it moves beyond cardsA new report says payment companies are racing to let AI buy things for you, but shops face rival standards and one early test has already been shut down.
Read more: AI shopping agents are coming, but the rules for paying are still a messA Louisiana woman lost thousands of dollars to a fake Jon Bon Jovi built on AI videos. Here is how the scam worked and why a video no longer proves who is real.
Read more: Fake Jon Bon Jovi videos helped scammers nearly take a woman's homeVisa data suggest experienced professionals, not just young techies, are starting more businesses as AI tools make it cheaper to test an idea.
Read more: AI may be turning experienced workers into new business ownersAI tools that shop and pay for you may need your habits, addresses and card details. Whether privacy fears will stop people from trusting them is still open.
Read more: Privacy worries could slow AI shopping assistants that buy for youStripe now offers virtual cards that AI shopping assistants can use to buy for you, and Visa and Mastercard are reportedly uneasy about it.
Read more: Stripe lets AI shopping assistants pay with one-time virtual cardsA top Goldman Sachs banker is still bullish on AI but says investors are sorting strong companies from weak ones as borrowing costs rise.
Read more: Goldman banker says AI investors are getting pickierThe FTC wants nine big companies to explain whether personal data shapes what customers pay and what gig workers earn. Your price may depend on it.
Read more: FTC demands answers from 9 big companies on how they set pricesMicrosoft says big companies are using AI to run real business tasks, and that its pricing is shifting toward charging for how much work the AI does.
Read more: Microsoft says big companies are putting AI to real workCanadian money app Wealthsimple raised $302 million at a $9.8 billion value, as it pushes further into checking and trading against the big banks.
Read more: Wealthsimple raises $302 million, now valued at $9.8 billion
