Apple

Despite tougher economic conditions, BNPL lenders are driving growth by expanding to new audiences and checkout channels, as well as fine-tuning proprietary risk-management models.

Google's $700 million antitrust settlement is part of a series of legal battles that are eroding Big Tech's control over checkout, cracking a door for other transaction processors and the bank-led Paze wallet from Zelle's developers.

A jury found the tech giant violated anti-monopoly rules by requiring in-house checkout for game makers such as Epic, which publishes Fortnite. Google and Apple may have to cut fees, but outside processors will be challenged to create a winning user experience.

The bank's retail clients can enable iPhones to accept payments without extra hardware, raising the stakes for any company that competes with the bank for merchant clients.

The tech giant wanted to put the consumer first. This meant its banking partner was always second — and taking on more risk than most card issuers at a time of economic volatility.

By integrating its new installment product with its widely popular mobile wallet, Apple is more likely to capitalize on spending data than to focus on creating a large loan portfolio.

Apple updated its App Store guidelines Monday with new and clearer language explaining its policy toward cryptocurrency trading and nonfungible tokens.

The payment processor is an early user of Apple's smartphone payments capability, which provides a DIY option for retail workers, but doesn't necessarily cover all merchants in all use cases.

Apple is developing its own payment processing technology and infrastructure for future financial products, part of an ambitious effort that would reduce its reliance on outside partners over time, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Apple's planned update for accepting contactless payments on its handsets is as disruptive as it is inevitable. Companies like Ingenico, which makes point-of-sale hardware, have strategies in place to build on the tech giant's platform without sidelining their own devices.