The payments & online selling stories our desk judged worth your time, written so anyone can follow them.
Instead of replacing decades-old systems, some banks are putting AI agents on top of them, with people still approving sensitive moves like reversing a payment.
Read more: Banks are adding AI helpers to computer systems up to 40 years oldWyndham says AI now answers calls at more than 1,700 hotels and can book rooms through ChatGPT and Claude. Expect the same at hotels and small businesses you use.
Read more: Wyndham hotels now use AI to answer calls and take bookingsAirbnb is cracking down on hosts who demand chores from guests at checkout, and Inc. says any business that leans on customer labor could be next.
Read more: Airbnb bans checkout chores, and other businesses should take noteRiskified, a fraud-prevention company, now checks the identity of AI agents that shop for people, so online stores can tell helpful buyers from scam bots.
Read more: Riskified adds checks to tell which AI shoppers online stores can trustMayer Brown lawyers say businesses should trial AI agents like job candidates, with a limited pilot and a strong contract, before giving them real work.
Read more: Law Firm Says Test AI Agents Like Job Candidates Before HiringExtend has launched Verify, a tool that checks documents for forgery, including AI-made fakes, before a business pays an invoice or approves a claim.
Read more: New tool checks whether a document is fake before a business acts on itFresha says its Fresha Capital program has lent over $20 million to beauty and wellness shops, and most borrowers came back for more.
Read more: Fresha has lent over $20 million to beauty and wellness shopsAfter AI found two serious flaws in the PHP web code, a financial firm's CEO says shoppers should keep a separate prepaid card so a breach cannot reach their salary account.
Read more: Experts urge a separate prepaid card for online shopping after website flawsMore than half of US small firms buy from overseas, and currency conversion is still the biggest measured cost of paying suppliers. New card products give no prices yet.
Read more: Small firms buying from abroad still lose the most to currency feesWalmart will let outside AI shopping assistants buy from its store, but they need your approval first and cannot get your card details.
Read more: Walmart lets outside AI shopping assistants buy, with rulesSam's Club has named Affirm its exclusive pay-over-time provider, so big purchases there can be split into monthly payments, first online and later in stores.
Read more: Sam's Club picks Affirm as its only pay-over-time optioneBay reportedly plans to lay off about 1,000 workers, roughly 9% of its staff, and sellers may notice changes in support and tools.
Read more: eBay plans to cut about 1,000 jobs, its second layoff this yearA Treasury agency flagged $270 million in suspicious student aid payments, and your stolen identity could be used to enroll a fake student.
Read more: Treasury flags $270 million in suspicious student aid paymentsPaze, the wallet owned by big US banks, wants the 100 largest US merchants in three years, so it may soon show up at more checkouts you use.
Read more: Paze, the bank-owned digital wallet, wants the 100 biggest US storesEbanx now lets global subscription services charge Nigerians through the OPay wallet app, a big opening in a country where few people own credit cards.
Read more: Nigerians can now pay for global subscriptions straight from a wallet appWalmart says AI shopping agents arrive next month. You can approve each purchase or set a spending limit, and no membership is needed.
Read more: Walmart will let AI shop for you, with spending limits you setSlingshot, a Minneapolis startup, raised $27M to help software companies sell low-cost add-on insurance at checkout without drowning in paperwork.
Read more: Startup raises $27M to make tiny checkout insurance cheaper to sellBazaarvoice and DaVinci Commerce want AI shopping agents to read reviews from real buyers, which could shape what these tools pick for you.
Read more: Shopping bots will soon read real customer reviews before they buyVisa is reportedly close to buying Fireblocks for about $2.5 billion, a move that could make paying with digital dollars simpler for shoppers and businesses.
Read more: Visa in talks to buy crypto payments firm Fireblocks for $2.5BAmazon, banks and travel sites are blocking AI shopping agents, so the tools often miss stores, pick wrong items and leave you to double-check prices.
Read more: AI shopping assistants keep getting blocked by the stores they useAI assistants are starting to shop for people and deal with brands directly, and a new survey shows most businesses are uneasy about it.
Read more: AI shopping assistants are starting to deal directly with businessesMastercard is expanding a program to help European merchants fight card disputes over purchases that were real. Shoppers should check statements first.
Read more: Mastercard rolls out tool to fight card disputes over real purchasesA survey of large US firms finds they plan to verify vendors and bank accounts first, then lean on AI. Checks still cause real losses too.
Read more: Big companies now check who they pay before using AI to catch fraudAmplify Credit Union says business accounts that received an instant payment grew deposits 25% faster, a sign that quick payments may help banks too.
Read more: Credit union sees faster deposit growth after turning on instant payments
