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DECEMBER 9, 2025 |
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Bad actors: Unauthorized-party fraud accounts for what percentage of total incidents and dollar losses at US financial institutions? |
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A) 31% B) 51% C) 71% D) 91% |
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DIGITAL PAYMENTS |
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Cash App and Binance are targeting teen and pre-teen engagement with payments and crypto, per press releases. |
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Cash App unveiled a Teen Advisory Council, a group of 15-20 teens across the US who will provide feedback, advice, and pitches to mold the future of Cash App’s offerings.
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Binance debuted Binance Junior, which lets parents set up crypto savings accounts on behalf of their children. |
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Both Cash App and Binance want to capture lifelong users by having consumers enter their ecosystems at a young age. |
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ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE |
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In their earnings last week, Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) and TD Bank—Canada’s two largest financial institutions—flagged investments in AI R&D. This builds on recent data about banks’ deployment of agentic AI as well as detailed insights from JPMorgan’s and Bank of America’s public statements about their massive spending on AI and supporting infrastructure. |
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The scope of large banks’ AI investments is coming into focus. Business distractions that inhibit forward-thinking investments in technology are crippling in a race where the winners are only accelerating their lead. |
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LOYALTY |
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Klarna launched its premium membership model in the US, per press release. Klarna debuted its Premium and Max membership tiers in Europe back in October, building on its Core and Plus plans. |
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What the membership tiers include: |
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Premium. For $19.99/month, members receive 1.5% cash back, global travel protection, and subscriptions to publications like The New York Times and Condé Nast. Cardholders can also get a 16g metal card in silver or black.
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Max. For $44.99/month, members get 2% cash back; comprehensive travel, rental car, and cancel-for-any-reason protection; and unlimited lounge access through LoungeKey Pass. Cardholders can also upgrade to a 16g rose gold metal card. |
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REPORT |
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Pay by bank—or account-to-account (A2A) payments—presents a strong alternative to card payments, offering speed, low transaction costs, and security. But a gap between awareness, trial, and habitual use is limiting pay by bank’s near-term adoption in the US. This report dives into the most promising use cases and how payment providers can encourage growth. |
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Key question: What is pay by bank, and what are the key areas of growth for the payment method? |
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Key stat: Only 1.5% of all consumer transactions in the US were made via pay by bank in the 12 months ended June 2025, per a PYMNTS and Trustly survey, though Gen Z had the highest rate of usage at 2.5%. |
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(EMARKETER subscription required to read the full report) |
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CHART OF THE WEEK |
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Key stat: 70% of finance professionals worldwide are currently deploying or developing chatbot and knowledge search leveraging large language models (LLMs), according to August data from Finextra and Cloudera. | | | |
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