Loyalty and rewards

Price competition on deposits may finally force the largest banks to pay up, and consumers’ aggressive use of rewards and promotional rates is weighing on card income. And then there are those tariff fights that could hurt global clients.

The Prime Day event is also a chance for Amazon to showcase a new range of devices and payment options — and to sell those devices at a discount to get them into more people's homes.

Barclays has introduced an SMB credit card with a very targeted perk: It extends the interest-free credit periods up to 116 days for payments made at popular trade retailers Travis Perkins and Toolstation.

Malaysian consumers may use GrabPay Credits to pay for GrabFood, rides and any participating merchants, by tapping the GrabPay icon, selecting pay, and scanning the merchant’s QR code.

Wells Fargo & Co. is finally going after the young and points-hungry by boosting rewards on one of its premium cards.

In the evolution of mobile wallets, many companies have toyed with the idea that rewards would be a key driver for adoption. Others insist the improvements in speed and convenience are compelling enough on their own. Apple has parlayed both concepts into its promotions.

Longtime Starbucks boss Howard Schultz was so invested in the company's mobile payments strategy that he once stepped down from his day-to-day duties to focus his full attention on the tech initiative. Without his involvement, will Starbucks lose its edge in fintech?

HSBC worked with Maritz marketing to tap AI to predict which categories of rewards—travel, merchandise, gift cards or dining—consumers were most likely to use, factoring in their seasonal tendencies and past behavior.

The mobile app's popularity was joined at the hip with Starbucks gift cards and loyalty points, a formula that has traditionally been known to work well at other retailers through plastic cards.

The cashierless Amazon Go store is barely more than an experiment — it's live in only one location in Seattle, with plans for a handful of stores to follow this year — but it has already sparked a race to put similar models in place.