You split a routine $200 online purchase into four bite-sized installments through Klarna or Afterpay. You made every payment on time, smoothly avoiding interest, and comfortably assumed the transaction existed in a vacuum—completely detached from your broader financial profile and your hard-earned credit score. For years, that assumption was entirely correct. Buy Now, Pay Later…
By: PYMNTS Date: September 11, 2026 Main Facts The industrial manufacturing sector stands on the precipice of a silent operational revolution. For decades, the true mechanics of heavy industry relied on a fragile human artifact: the tacit knowledge held exclusively by veteran factory technicians. When an aging workforce retires, decades of institutional troubleshooting capability walks…
By PYMNTS | July 21, 2026 In a retail landscape traditionally dominated by the whims of children and the seasonal pressures of the holiday shopping rush, Hasbro is successfully executing a radical departure from tradition. The toy giant’s second-quarter earnings report, released Tuesday, July 21, 2026, reveals a company that is no longer just selling…
The traditional hierarchy of banking technology has long been defined by a stark divide. On one side, the "megabanks"—the likes of JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America—possess the multi-billion-dollar R&D budgets and legions of software engineers required to build proprietary systems from the ground up. On the other side, midsize and regional banks have historically…
The landscape of cybersecurity is undergoing a seismic shift, driven by a paradoxical reality: while artificial intelligence platforms are increasingly being targeted by sophisticated social engineering, they have simultaneously become the most potent tools in the defender’s arsenal. This month, the global tech industry is witnessing the tangible consequences of this shift as software titans—including…
By PYMNTS | June 26, 2026 In the high-stakes theater of global artificial intelligence, the most valuable assets are no longer just software code or proprietary datasets—they are the sophisticated "reasoning patterns" embedded within frontier AI models. This week, the San Francisco-based AI lab Anthropic pulled back the curtain on a massive, illicit operation, accusing…
For decades, the American real estate dream has been defined by the "mom-and-pop" ethos: the local contractor you’ve known for years, the independent broker who knows every street in the neighborhood, and the competitive marketplace that kept prices tethered to supply and demand. However, a seismic shift is occurring beneath the surface of the housing…
By PYMNTS | June 19, 2026 The global banking sector is currently navigating its most significant structural shift since the dawn of the internet. As artificial intelligence (AI) transitions from a theoretical novelty to a core operational pillar, the world’s leading financial institutions are grappling with a profound reality: the traditional banking workforce is undergoing…
The relationship between Artificial Intelligence and cybersecurity has entered a volatile new chapter. While industry experts have long warned that AI platforms are susceptible to sophisticated social engineering—mirroring the vulnerabilities inherent in human cognition—a more profound shift is occurring on the offensive side of the development lifecycle. AI is proving to be a formidable, perhaps…
