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

The new offering connects online shoppers with in-store retail associates and can help attract merchants to Klarna.

Fiserv will let merchant clients using Carat offer Affirm to their customers as demand for BNPL intensifies.

U.S. Bank follows early success with BNPL updates: It’s rolling out its ExtendPay product to business customers and looks well-positioned to take market share from nonbank BNPL players.

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.

Increasing digitization among the 32 million US small businesses is changing the competitive landscape and forcing banks, acquirers, and fintechs to invest in next-generation features. These features range from payments and value-added services to outreach.

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

Walgreens and other major brands joined Mastercard Installments, further sharpening Mastercard’s edge in the BNPL space.

The two firms can help each other relieve competitive pressures in their respective industries.

The discount retailer launched bank accounts and debit cards with Incomm Payments, a BNPL pilot with Sezzle, and a rewards redemption program with FIS.

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.

Despite losses surging more than 300%, Klarna’s gross merchandise volume grew 42% YoY, and it hit 147 million active consumers.

BNPL providers should prepare now for potential regulatory changes affecting credit reporting, customer creditworthiness, late fees, and more.

Afterpay’s deal with EyeBuyDirect and Sezzle’s tie-up with WellNow Urgent Care reflect BNPL’s push to diversify beyond retail.

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

Amex added Plan It to Delta’s checkout, giving the airline another BNPL option for its customers while letting Amex reroute volume to its cards.

ACI PayAfter integrates more than 70 BNPL options into a single solution for merchants.

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

Payments Ecosystem: This year will reveal how providers must adapt to lasting pandemic-driven digitization across payments channels, ranging from in-store retail to B2B ecommerce.