Cards

The buy now/pay later company made a deal with Stride Bank to add banking-as-a-service heft as Affirm Card usage soars and Evolve grapples with defections.

While debit cards are less profitable, payment experts say they're still an important way to build relationships with consumers.

GetAugie targets consumers new to credit, undercutting mainstream banks' secured cards that often charge an annual fee and carry hefty annual percentage rates.

FIS' debit-processing bank clients will soon be able to integrate Affirm's pay-over-time products into existing digital banking infrastructure. For Affirm, it means even more potential BNPL transactions.

Not all banks and fintechs are on board with numberless cards, and some payment professionals question whether they are worth the cost.

Credit Union Service Organizations such as Prizeout, have seen increased interest as credit unions get on board with automation.

Payment professionals expect physical cards to stick around for the foreseeable future, even as mobile wallets gain traction.

By offering its authentication technology to other issuers, the credit card lender can compete with payment networks and mobile wallets. But it will have to persuade other banks to get on board.