Payments

The retail giants are kicking the tires on their own currencies. The potential prize is a way to reimagine prepaid cards and gain a key position as new forms of artificial intelligence-powered payments take off.

The card, powered by fintech Cardless' embedded credit card platform, provides up to 4% cash back in bitcoin, and allows customers to service their account directly in the cryptocurrency exchange's app, similar to the way Apple Card works in Apple Wallet.

New forms of artificial intelligence can take most, if not all, of shopping and checkout out of the hands of humans. Not everybody is going to be comfortable with that, though the payment giant sees travel as a good place to start.

Payments greater than $1 million are favored among the Charlotte-based bank's corporate clients; the U.K.'s Financial Conduct Authority taps NVIDIA for AI testing and more in this week's global payments roundup.

The French institution is one of the first to take advantage of new regulations that are supportive of crypto. Payment experts say banks have work to do to beat existing stablecoins.

The pending law, which has passed the Assembly and Senate, prohibits food and retail stores from refusing to accept cash payments. Cashless establishments have been prohibited in New York City since 2020.

Pro-crypto regulations could draw U.S. banks into the market, providing fresh competition. CEO Paolo Ardoino spoke with American Banker about the digital asset firm's strategy.

Synchrony issued the Walmart credit card for nearly two decades until 2018, when it lost the partnership to Capital One Financial. The latest deal does not include the balances tied to Walmart's existing credit card program.