After doubling its transaction volume in its fiscal Q3, Affirm wants to focus on turning a profit.

Dimon warns of competition diminishing banks’ role in financial services: The JPMorgan Chase CEO’s annual letter to shareholders identified rising competitors and defended tech spending as necessary for maintaining the bank’s standing.

How should businesses view these global trends and events? How are behaviors and spending changing? In this report, Insider Intelligence analysts weigh in on the questions they’re being asked by both clients and the media about the shifting landscape in key areas like digital advertising, retail and ecommerce, and financial services.

Despite only holding about $9.1B in assets, the US bank has attracted big-name fintech clients and another funding round.

That could be why more shoppers are turning to services like Klarna, Affirm, and Afterpay. Total BNPL spending this year (through November 27) jumped 422% versus the same period in 2019, with BNPL order volume up 438%, per Adobe Analytics. Fifty-six percent of shoppers said they have bought something using BNPL they couldn’t pay off, per a study by neobank Oxygen cited in CNBC.

Usage of buy now, pay later (BNPL) services has soared across generations in the US, especially among Gen Z.

This inaugural study ranks eight leading premium travel credit cards offering 49 emerging features, weighted by demand from prospective customers.

Afterpay, Divido, and PayPal are major players, too. All will aim to benefit from the recent surge in ecommerce and investor willingness to bankroll further expansion. Shoppers will warm up to easy opt-ins and manageable repayment schedules. Crucially, the EU will likely mandate stronger consumer protections for those using BNPL services. UK.

Insider Intelligence spoke with David Sykes, head of Klarna’s North America division.

The CEO of M&T Bank urged US industry watchdogs to hold alternative lenders to the same regulatory standards as traditional banks.

Though half of Gen Z hasn’t yet reached adulthood, it’s well on its way to becoming a financial juggernaut. Here’s an overview of this generation’s unique financial attitudes and behaviors.

The provider brought its rewards program to nine markets to help entice spending and expanded Pay Now’s availability, which gives customers more flexibility.

The BNPL giant will also bring the Klarna Card stateside—both payment features are already available in Europe.

The company suffered worse than expected losses, but new partnerships and tie-ups might help it bolster growth this year.

Lockdowns, online shopping, and fear of germs during the pandemic have hastened the shift toward all types of digital payments. As a result, Gen Z has fully embraced electronic wallet services, contactless payments, peer-to-peer payment apps, and digital uses of credit, including buy now, pay later.

Just 7% of US adults are very likely to use buy now, pay later (BNPL) services this holiday season.

The DNA of today’s shopping experience has been rewritten over the past 20+ months. Taking a holistic, coordinated, and strategic approach to modernizing your company’s payments architecture will help you keep up while unlocking significant value and growth.

Square agreed to acquire Afterpay in a whopping $29 billion deal set to close in Q1 2022. The purchase expands the financing capabilities Square can offer merchants and makes it a more attractive provider—especially as BNPL grows increasingly popular among consumers.

After announcing plans to acquire Afterpay earlier this year, Square CFO Amrita Ahuja hinted at plans to layer Afterpay’s solutions into Cash App to reach new demographics. This might considerably expand BNPL to small businesses, especially as Cash App Pay helps Square unify its payment network.

The solution can help the network capture market share from players like Afterpay and Klarna. And it also made a huge step into cryptocurrencies: Any banks or merchants on Mastercard’s network will soon be able to integrate cryptos into their products—something that could supercharge GDV and revenues.