Investors have grown concerned that 40-year highs in inflation may take a bite out of consumers and lead to credit troubles, but Synchrony executives say consumers are continuing to manage “incredibly well.”

Consumers are feeling less confident about their economic prospects, and investors worry their loan repayments will slow. Those fears have led to large drops in stock prices for consumer finance companies, particularly for those who lend to borrowers with lower credit scores.

Some banks in Europe, Latin America and Asia are issuing contactless cards that use fingerprints instead of PINs to authenticate users, but observers think the technology's U.S. prospects are limited.

With alternative payment methods one app or click away, a short service disruption can lead to a permanent loss of trust.

After being hard-hit financially by the pandemic and the surging inflation that followed, the generation entering adulthood is meshing their love of late-‘90s nostalgia — think cargo pants, bucket hats and disposable cameras — with a dose of old-fashioned frugality.

Inflation isn't only driving up travel costs — a key category for credit card spending — it's making shoppers more selective about how they earn and redeem loyalty points for products hit hardest by price increases.

Wells Fargo has historically underperformed its competitors in the credit card business. The Autograph card, which offers triple points for travel, dining and gas, is part of CEO Charlie Scharf’s effort to compete more effectively.

Contactless payments went mainstream during the pandemic, but now some merchants are giving incentives for cash payments at the point of sale to offset higher fees owed to card networks due to inflation.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a proposal that could ultimately lead to tougher limits on what banks and other issuers charge cardholders for late payments.

The U.K.’s Payment Systems Regulator will focus a pair of market reviews on the rising card fees charged by Visa and Mastercard.