Banks must recognize ChatGPT’s new capabilities as a customer acquisition strategy.

Truist’s agreement with Plaid fits into a new norm.

To maintain growth, Sezzle looks to phone plan, subscriptions for stickiness.

Thanks to open banking and real-time payments, pay by bank has become a promising card alternative, offering speed, low costs, and security. But US adoption remains limited. This report dives into what’s holding it back and what can boost growth.

FICO has partnered with Plaid to incorporate cash flow data from consumers’ checking, savings, and money-market accounts into its UltraFICO Score. The updated scoring model is designed to give lenders a more comprehensive view of a customer’s creditworthiness than legacy credit files indicate. Consumers who have credit products can access more, but those who don’t are less likely to be approved. Yet in a short time, scoring has evolved to better reflect consumers’ everyday financial behaviors and their willingness and ability to pay. This should get more credit products into more consumers’ hands.

JPMorgan Chase signed updated contracts with Plaid, Yodlee, Morningstar, and Akoya, accounting for more than 95% of open banking data requests to the bank’s systems. FIs that have made no effort to securely transmit consumer data are lagging technology-forward peers in customer experience and consumer privacy and security. Without a policy nudge, it’s easy for FIs to be tempted to put open banking on the back burner—alongside the digital transformation that should have come with it.

Plaid introduced a credit risk score based on real-time cash flow data as it dives further into credit scoring amid an industrywide push to monetize formerly unused or underused data sources. The fintech, a huge player in data aggregation, has diversified its business interests as aggregation has commoditized. Consumer-permissioned financial data shows promise as a new pipeline for consumer credit information. But the introduction of new forms of credit data doesn’t guarantee anything will change for consumers who struggle to access credit.

JPMorgan Chase and Plaid have renewed their data access agreement, resolving a dispute that arose when the bank started charging fintechs for access to customer data, per PYMNTS. The new deal includes a pricing structure but reportedly won't result in new fees for Plaid customers. It’s noteworthy that JPMorgan and Plaid reached an agreement while the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is still collecting public comments on a new iteration of its open banking rule. The agreement may influence the rule’s final outcome and encourage other financial institutions who are considering similar moves.

The news: Stripe asked the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to preserve fee-free open banking as the agency revises Rule 1033. Our take: For now, Section 1033 will remain in place. But as rulemaking proceeds, Stripe’s appeal to the CFPB may fall on deaf ears. The new rule will likely be a defanged version of its predecessor. We expect more firms will pursue Coinbase’s route—carving out individual deals with JPMorgan—or close up shop like Visa.

The news: Empower rebranded the Petal portfolio into Tilt, a trio of cards aimed at credit builders. WebBank will remain the issuer for the cards. Our take: Alternative lenders like Tilt do help individuals start or rebuild their history of creditworthiness. However, Tilt may come into a profitability—or even operational—problem after JPMorgan Chase said it would revoke fintechs’ free access to consumer financial information.

Payment providers are going all in on A2A payments despite limited retail uptake. Focusing on bill payments can help Plaid’s solution gain traction.

Fintechs, banks, and the government will reshuffle the payments deck in 2024. New features and competition will redefine the digital wallet user experience, and FedNow will pivot payment flows in new directions.

In preparation for impending changes to data sharing in the US, banks have been executing on strategies aimed at positioning them competitively.

The fintech is focused on expanding in foreign markets like India and improving products at home with higher-rate savings accounts.

Adding RTP-powered Instant Payouts to its Transfer product helps position Plaid for FedNow’s July launch.

Consumer device and behavior trends are affecting payment providers’ strategies across retail, P2P, B2B, disbursement, and cross-border channels. Here’s what that means for the payments ecosystem.

This matchup, along with Western Union’s recent deals, brings new financial opportunities in places they’ve never been before.

Seven major US incumbents are partnering to roll out a service that lets consumers share financial data with participating businesses.