The payments & online selling stories our desk judged worth your time, written so anyone can follow them.
A new report finds most firms expect payment guarantees to help, yet only 13% use them. Cost, setup and unclear payoff are the main reasons.
Read more: Most businesses say payment guarantees help, but only 13% use themA Portuguese store listing puts Motorola's Signature 27 near $1,775, far above last year's model. The price is not official, but buyers may want to wait.
Read more: Motorola's next flagship phone may cost far more than last year'sAmazon blocked Meta's Muse shopping agent, and Chase and Citi are limiting outside AI agents. Here is what that means before you give one your logins.
Read more: Banks and Amazon start locking the door on AI shopping helpersA new report says 81% of Hong Kong respondents met a scam last year and 21% lost money. Most scammers reach people by phone, text and WhatsApp.
Read more: Over 80% of people in Hong Kong met a scammer last yearAllyNext, a Los Angeles company, says its new AI assistant can handle product research, listings and creator outreach for Amazon and TikTok sellers.
Read more: AllyNext launches an AI assistant for Amazon and TikTok sellersAEON now lets AI assistants book hotels on Travala from a plain request, paying from a separate wallet with spending limits you set.
Read more: AI assistants can now book your hotel and pay for it tooA webinar pitch says up to 80% of an online store's catalog can be missed by AI shopping tools because product pages use dry specs, not everyday words.
Read more: Online shops may be invisible to AI shopping helpersVisa has launched tools that check suppliers and cap each business card payment, and some are live now. Others are still in testing until 2027.
Read more: Visa adds new tools to stop fake invoices and bad paymentsESET says its security software will now check links and code in ChatGPT replies, and a free tool will vet AI add-ons before you install them.
Read more: ESET adds tools to check AI chatbot links and add-ons for safetyStripe's study of 100+ fast-growing companies finds they sell in many countries at once, offer more local payment options, and face more fraud attempts.
Read more: Fast-growing companies sell in many countries at once, Stripe findsPaytm, the Indian payments app, posted a profit of Rs 225 crore for the quarter, up from Rs 21 crore a year ago, as payments, loans and AI savings add up.
Read more: Paytm's profit jumps tenfold to about $27 million in three monthsMeta's Muse AI app reportedly passed 10 million users in six weeks, and Korean rivals Naver and Kakao now feel pressure to keep pace.
Read more: Meta's Muse AI app hits 10 million users in just six weeksStripe says companies can now find each other by Stripe handle and send money instantly and for free, which could speed up paying suppliers and partners.
Read more: Stripe lets businesses pay each other instantly, for freeMastercard is promoting AI agents for marketing teams and for shopping, a sign that customers may soon use AI to find and buy from your business.
Read more: Mastercard Shows How AI Helpers Could Run Marketing and ShoppingA YouTube explainer says AI tools may soon pick and buy products for people, so online sellers should make sure their listings are clear to software.
Read more: AI shopping assistants may soon buy from your business for customersVisa says the number of AI partners it works with will double soon, and trust is the hurdle before software can safely shop and pay for you.
Read more: Visa is getting ready for AI software that shops and pays for youRobinhood's crypto revenue fell 55%, but the company is betting on banking, text-style payments and AI trading agents to keep customers' money in its app.
Read more: Robinhood wants to be your bank, not just your trading appGift card marketplace Raise cut disputed payments 45% and almost ended manual order checks. Online sellers can learn what to ask their own fraud tools.
Read more: Gift card seller cuts payment disputes 45% and nearly ends manual order checksSquare now sells a $1,999 kiosk that takes spoken restaurant orders, but it has shared no accuracy data, and customers still pay by card.
Read more: Square's $1,999 Kiosk Takes Spoken Restaurant Orders, but Not PaymentsMastercard is promoting Dynamic Yield, a tool that changes what shoppers see online. Here is what it means for your privacy settings and your store.
Read more: Mastercard pushes more personal online shopping with Dynamic YieldGoogle Wallet is reportedly building support for Alipay Plus, which could let travelers pay with their phones across Southeast Asia. No launch date is set.
Read more: Google Wallet may soon let you pay with Alipay Plus in Southeast AsiaA federal appeals court found the Fed let banks count costs the law did not allow in its 21-cent debit fee cap, which could change what stores pay.
Read more: Court says the Fed's 21-cent debit card fee cap was set too highA shared analytics script at Convertr, a Brazilian checkout provider, was altered to copy card details. Shoppers who paid there since October 24 should act.
Read more: Hackers slip card-stealing code into checkout pages of Brazilian online storesAt an industry summit, payment leaders said OTPs and PINs no longer stop scams where victims send the money themselves. New checks aim to catch trouble first.
Read more: India's payment apps are learning to spot scams before money moves
