News

Loyalty & Rewards
DOT Launches Inquiry Into Rewards Programs of 4 Airlines
September 05, 2024

The Department of Transportation (DOT) has launched an inquiry into the rewards programs of the four largest U.S. airlines, saying it aims to protect customers from practices that are potentially unfair, deceptive or anticompetitive. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg sent letters to American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines ordering them...

B2B Payments
This Week in B2B: Partnerships, Payments and Process Improvements
September 05, 2024

The future of B2B payments lies in automation, not administration. Given the B2B sector’s legacy of complex workflows, intricate data requirements and entrenched manual processes, the opportunities for innovation are immense. While modernizing something as entrenched into business workflows as a decades-old accounts payable or...

Social Commerce
LTK Offers Creators More Control Over Commissions
September 05, 2024

Creator commerce platform LTK says it’s giving creators more control over their earnings. The company on Thursday (Sept. 5) announced what it called “major” updates to its creator app, including one that gives creators access to all available commission rates on the platform. “Creators have...

B2B Payments
Paystand Expands Its B2B Payments Service to Canada
September 05, 2024

Paystand says it is expanding its zero-fee B2B payments network to Canada. “While Paystand first introduced limited service in Canada in 2018, Canadian payers will now be able to access all the benefits of the Paystand Platform and the Zero-Fee B2B Payment network,” the company...

CFPB
CFPB Says Debt Collectors Try to Collect on Already-Paid Medical Bills
September 05, 2024

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has found that debt collectors are using illegal tactics, and it is taking steps to ensure they follow consumer financial protection laws. The regulator said this in a Thursday (Sept. 5) press release announcing findings from its annual report on debt collection,...

Artificial Intelligence
OpenAI’s Business Products Gain 1 Million Paying Users in First Year
September 05, 2024

A year after launching the first of its three business products, OpenAI has more than 1 million paying business users. The total includes users of ChatGPT Enterprise, ChatGPT Team and ChatGPT Edu, the company said in a statement emailed to PYMNTS Thursday (Sept. 5). These...

Banking
FDIC: Savings Declined, Charge-Offs Increased and Problem Banks Inched Up in Q2
September 05, 2024

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.’s latest quarterly assessment of the state of the banking industry took note of the resilience of financial institutions in general. However, the report revealed trends that bear watching — particularly as domestic deposits (and as part of that designation, savings...

Payment Methods
PayPal Tackles In-Store Payments With ‘PayPal Everywhere’
September 05, 2024

PayPal is integrating its debit card with Apple Wallet to enter the in-store payment arena. The company announced its omnichannel “PayPal Everywhere” solution Thursday (Sept. 5), and with it an expansion of its rewards program, letting users pick a monthly category of spending, such as groceries or clothing, to receive...

Artificial Intelligence
AI Startups SSI, You.com Secure Funding; HP Reports Strong AI Sales
September 05, 2024

The artificial intelligence sector remains a focal point for investors and tech companies, as evidenced by three announcements this week. A startup focused on AI safety founded by a former OpenAI executive secured $1 billion in funding, while an AI productivity platform raised $50 million....