Generational splits shape how consumers find, research, and trust banks. Younger adults move through digital channels with ease, while older adults rely on branches, human support, and established institutions.

Affirm released a bevy of data regarding its user base and loans in a letter addressed to senators. Affirm’s data suggests a tiered system may be emerging in BNPL, where different providers are serving different slices of creditworthy customers. However, the income range of US adults seeking BNPL loans demonstrates widespread popularity of alternate credit, a key concern for issuers who risk losing credit card customers to these alternative loans. They need to address that risk with competitive, rewards-eligible card-linked installment loans.

PayPal will power stablecoin payouts for US creators on YouTube, per Fortune. US creators can receive PYUSD payments instead of direct deposit. While PayPal’s stablecoin payments are exclusive to US creators for now, the benefits of crypto are more likely to be felt by international creatives, who could be served by lower fees and faster transaction times facilitated. If US adoption is favorable, PayPal has a viable growth plan moving forward.

Affirm expanded its partnership with Shopify, bringing Shop Pay installments to the UK, per a press release. PayPal and Klarna’s deep entrenchment in the UK will make it difficult for other BNPL contenders to make advances. Powering Shop Pay installments could help Affirm accelerate its foray into the country thanks to Shopify’s established network of merchants and brand recognition.

In 2026, commerce media will shift toward the core mechanics of shopping, as retailers reorganize, stores become high-impact media showcases, agentic AI opens new monetization, and financial platforms move closer to shoppable environments.

In 2026, a new financial ecosystem will form around five trends—stablecoins, agentic AI, consolidation, financial media networks, and AI search—blurring boundaries between banking, technology, and commerce.

In 2026, stablecoins, agentic commerce, and AI-driven rewards will reshape the payments industry. Providers need to bet early or risk being sidelined by faster, cheaper, and more intuitive payment experiences.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) will enable Visa Intelligence in its marketplace, bringing agentic commerce capabilities to AWS’s merchant list, per a press release. However, US consumers still have trepidation about letting bots complete purchases on their behalf—almost 70% of US adults are uninterested in testing out AI shoppers, per an EMARKETER and Civic Science survey. Major payment players hoping to benefit from agentic-driven volume need to develop incentives or roll out education materials to assure consumers that bot-driven shopping is safe and effective.

Buy now, pay later (BNPL) volume hit new highs over the first half of the holiday season, including $747.5 million in online spending on Black Friday alone, an 8.9% YoY increase. Klarna reported Black Friday sales boosted its November volume 45% YoY, and PayPal said pre-Black Friday sales promotions lifted its BNPL volume by 23% YoY. The growth of BNPL volume signals alternate credit’s rising place in US consumer spending. The trend reflects both consumers’ financial strain and their continued willingness to spend, even if it means restructuring how they pay.

31.2% of consumers have used a mobile wallet in-store as of September—nearly triple the rate three years earlier, per PYMNTS Intelligence report. Apple Pay’s dominance is likely to stick for now, but its lead will narrow as PayPal, Cash App, and Google Pay strategies draw in more users. As wallet competition ramps up, features that help users manage more of their financial—and even non-financial—lives will help providers create stickier wallets that attract more volume. That includes subscription management services, order tracking, and interactive airline and event tickets.

PayPal merchants will now be discoverable within Perplexity, per a press release—right in time for Cyber Five. PayPal merchants stand to benefit from the rising tide of genAI adopters who are reinventing the research, product recommendation, and deal-seeking status quo. Merchants that cater to Gen Z should push to be early adopters of the new update: 47% of Gen Zers already have found a new brand or product through AI, per an Adobe survey. Early mover merchants could get a boost from genAI holiday volume this season.

Payments companies are investing in sport marketing to capture volume at lucrative stadiums and live events, per multiple press releases. Standard arena deals have big value, but there’s another area of sports with even less penetration: Women’s sports leagues. Viewership and attendance for professional women’s basketball is exploding thanks in part to standout rookies like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. Ads during women’s sports events have a 40% greater impact on consumer engagement than average primetime TV ad airings—meaning the opportunity to seize on rising attendance at women’s sporting events and TV viewership is ripe for payment providers trying to snag in-arena volumes and new customers.

Lloyds Banking Group will acquire Curve, a London-based digital wallet. Acquiring Curve is a valuable first step toward embracing digital wallet payments solutions. However, Lloyds faces a challenge of incentivizing its users to choose Curve over competitors like PayPal and Klarna, which have established rewards systems. Embedding features and perks into Curve could help create a flywheel effect to trap more volume within its ecosystem.

Perplexity is relaunching its agentic shopping product for all users next week, just in time for Black Friday, with PayPal as its key partner. The upgraded tool improves shopping intent detection and personalization using users’ past search data, while PayPal merchants will handle transactions and customer service directly. The move intensifies competition with OpenAI, Amazon, and Google, all racing to dominate AI-powered shopping ahead of the holidays. While sales from these tools are expected to remain modest, they offer brands a valuable testing ground for future ecommerce growth driven by generative AI.

PayPal’s Pay Later is soaring in popularity, with 56% of US buy now, pay later (BNPL) customers having used its installment services—outstripping industry leaders Klarna, Affirm, and Afterpay, per a Lending Tree survey. PayPal’s dominance is likely to stick unless BNPL competitors can expand their offerings' acceptance at the point of sale. Continuing to push BNPL-enabled debit cards and merchant partnerships may help to secure loyalty from Gen Zers and young parents seeking these financing options.

Automation, new commerce models, and a fresh generation of consumers are transforming the rules of connection and creativity. Explore the 11 trends shaping the digital future.

Venmo launched Venmo Stash, a bundled brand rewards system for users, per a press release. Cardholders can select handpicked bundles of their favorite brands—which include Uber, Lyft, Target, Walmart, and Sephora—to earn a flat 1% back on their purchases. Users can raise that rate to 2% by enabling auto-reloads to their wallets and 5% for adding at least $500 in direct deposits on Venmo each month. Injecting more choice into consumers’ rewards adds incentives to make a card top of wallet. Leaning into flexible rewards and card-linked offers can help secure younger consumers who are looking for value and functionality at checkout during economic uncertainty.

OpenAI’s push into commerce took a major step forward with the launch of in-app shopping on ChatGPT, though it will take time to gain traction as a meaningful retail sales channel.

Affirm’s gross merchandise volume (GMV) increased 42% YoY to $10.8 billion during its fiscal Q1 2026 (ended September 30, 2025). Healthy performance across its POS integrations and its debit card is key to why we forecast Affirm will remain the dominant US BNPL player against its chief competitor, Klarna, by a margin of $4.7 billion in US volume. While Affirm notched its second quarter of profitability at $81 million in net income, it’s going to need to widen its margins to compete with the rewards PayPal can offer consumers, such as 5% cash back on Pay Monthly loans.

Holiday shoppers are stressed and overwhelmed, per Accenture’s 19th Annual Holiday Shopping Survey. And this is leading to lower conversion rates: 85% of consumers are likely to abandon their carts due to frustration or indecision, according to the survey. To best meet customer needs quickly, retailers can partner with providers like Checkout.com on its one-click checkout solution Flow Remember Me or PayPal-owned Honey as it integrates AI-powered product recommendations based on users’ conversations with chatbots.