The payments & online selling stories our desk judged worth your time, written so anyone can follow them.
AI is helping criminals write fake emails, texts and calls that sound real, and everyday current accounts are a common target. A few quick checks can protect your money.
Read more: How to protect your bank accounts from AI-powered scamsStord bought warehouse firm AMS Fulfillment, adding 1 million square feet. Online sellers may get more shipping options and more automation.
Read more: Stord buys AMS Fulfillment, adding 1 million square feet of warehousesA new market report looks at how AI-made fraud is shaping the business of spotting deepfakes through 2035. The text we saw had no figures.
Read more: Market report looks at how AI fraud is shaping deepfake detectionA July 2026 report says tech staff now help choose bill-paying software, and 92% of organizations expect automation to free finance teams for bigger work.
Read more: Tech teams now help pick the software that pays a company's billsA payments CEO says the winners will be the firms sellers never notice, judged on fast approvals, 2 am dispute help and absorbing risk.
Read more: Payment companies now compete on running quietly in the backgroundDavid's Bridal wants to take its AI wedding planner, Pearl, public as a separate company. A deal is far from done, but it shows how a retailer sees its tech.
Read more: David's Bridal plans to spin off its AI wedding planner, PearlNvidia and Reflection released open AI models that companies can run on their own servers, and Chinese rivals answered with price cuts.
Read more: Nvidia and Reflection Release Free AI Models Built for BusinessShops selling across several channels are moving payment and fraud rules into one central layer. Here is what that means and why it matters for a growing business.
Read more: Growing online shops are rethinking how they handle paymentsOpenAI is moving fast to raise up to $30 billion before rival Anthropic goes public. The race shapes the AI tools people and businesses use and pay for.
Read more: OpenAI Races to Raise Up to $30 Billion Before Rival Anthropic Goes PublicAfter OpenAI dropped in-chat checkout, brands kept the payment. The author argues they still lose the customer's reasons, which is what drives the next sale.
Read more: Brands keep the sale in AI shopping chats, but lose the conversationNigeria's central bank offered 2 trillion naira in short-term bills to soak up idle bank cash, and rates on the last auction fell.
Read more: Nigeria's central bank offers 2 trillion naira in short-term billsAt Money20/20 USA, Amex said only 36% of US shoppers are comfortable letting AI complete a purchase, even though 59% like AI help with research.
Read more: AI shopping agents are coming, but most people don't trust them with payments yetWalmart is launching a $10-a-month membership that covers bulk and everyday shopping, which puts new pressure on Amazon and Costco.
Read more: Walmart launches a $10-a-month membership that bundles bulk and daily shoppingKearney surveyed more than 100 leading global companies on agentic commerce, AI tools that shop for you, and the question is who controls the sale.
Read more: AI shopping agents are coming for retail, and big companies are preparingProof and Circle showed an AI agent proving one fact about its owner, then paying in digital dollars, which hints at safer shopping by AI assistants.
Read more: AI shopping assistant buys with digital dollars after proving who it isSkyfire and Forter now let stores check which AI agent is buying and who sent it, so real agent orders stop getting blocked as bots.
Read more: Online stores learn to tell helpful AI shopping agents from fraud botsSalesforce plans to buy Braze, which times and tailors brand messages, for $5.66 billion. Expect more AI behind the offers and alerts you get.
Read more: Salesforce to buy Braze, the app messaging firm, for $5.66 billionAmerican Express is offering guidance to small business owners on AI tools that shop for customers, a shift that could change how people find and pay you.
Read more: American Express Helps Small Businesses Get Ready for AI Shopping AgentsVisa is rolling out new fraud tools for business-to-business payments and starting a pilot where AI agents help handle them.
Read more: Visa adds fraud protection and tests AI helpers for business paymentsA group called CyberCartel reportedly used AI agents to hit more than 400 Latin American targets, a sign that fast, automated attacks on money accounts are here.
Read more: Hackers used AI helpers to break into Latin American banksThe FTC says losses reported by adults 60 and older jumped from $600 million to $3 billion in five years, driven by a wave of very large losses.
Read more: Older Americans Now Lose $3 Billion a Year to Scams, Up FivefoldScammers are texting hotel guests real reservation details and demanding payment. Here is how the trick works and what to check before you pay.
Read more: Scammers use your real hotel booking details to ask for paymentInc. reports AI assistants now take a big share of search clicks and may soon handle payment too, which could change how customers find and buy from online sellers.
Read more: AI assistants are taking over how shoppers find and buy productsWalmart will let customers authorize AI agents to buy for them, with limits of $50, $100 or $200, or approval on every order. Here is how it works.
Read more: Walmart will let AI shop for you, with spending limits you set
