Alipay’s artificial intelligence payment and health apps each have more than 100 million users, according to a Monday (Feb. 23) press release. AI adoption rose during the 2026 Chinese New Year, per the release. “From ordering bubble tea and coffee to buying movie tickets, Chinese consumers embraced AI-powered services in everyday scenarios during this […]The post Alipay’s AI Payment and Health Apps Top 100 Million Users appeared first on PYMNTS.com.

Last year was not an especially good one for the private equity (PE) space. As Bloomberg News reported Monday (Feb. 23), PE firms returned fewer profits to their investors for the fourth consecutive year, with the industry sitting on $3.8 trillion in unsold assets, and struggling to raise cash for new funds. Distributions as a percentage […]The post Private Equity Returns Hit 17-Year Low Amid Tariff Troubles appeared first on PYMNTS.com.

The European Central Bank is reportedly examining the risks banks face from the AI sector. The ECB is asking lenders for further details on their loans to areas such as data centers, Bloomberg News reported Monday (Feb. 23), citing sources familiar with the matter. At the same time, the ECB is holding workshops to see how banks […]The post European Central Bank Gauges Lenders’ Risks From AI appeared first on PYMNTS.com.

As noted in a recent Tracker from PYMNTS Intelligence and Velera, credit unions (CUs) are at a critical inflection point in their modernization journeys. Driven by rising member expectations for digital-first, artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled and embedded financial experiences, CUs are having to make innovation an increasingly urgent priority. At the same time, many FinTechs, encountering […]The post A Tale of Two Mindsets: How CUs and FinTechs Can Turn Culture Clash Into Collaboration appeared first on PYMNTS.com.

Watch more: What’s Next in Payments With Paysafe’s Bob Legters The landscape of payments innovation is one shaped by the tension between the perception of frictionless innovation and the reality of legacy rails. Bob Legters, chief product officer at Paysafe, told PYMNTS during a conversation for the What’s Next in Payments series February edition, “Word […]The post Paysafe Calls Digital Wallets the New Hub for Payments and Commerce appeared first on PYMNTS.com.

Transit systems around the world are moving away from cash and paper tickets. Instead, they’re moving toward modernized payments tied to bank-issued contactless cards and digital payments that let riders tap and pay with what they already carry. Bank-issued contactless cards and digital form factors such as smartphones and wearables are becoming the gateway […]The post Open-Loop Systems Help Modernize Transit Payments appeared first on PYMNTS.com.

With all the real promise and unrealistic hype around agentic AI, it’s understandable to forget a foundational truth: AI is built on data. No data, no agents. This past week has seen more evidence of exactly how tightly that connection is made. Google says enterprise teams trying to build agentic AI run into a […]The post Tech Giants Split on How to Scale Agentic AI appeared first on PYMNTS.com.

Watch more: Monday Conversation With Michigan Medicine’s Dr. Marschall Runge Twelve months ago, Marschall Runge wasn’t a skeptic, exactly. But he wasn’t a true believer, either. He thought generative AI would be useful in healthcare. A helpful tool, an incremental advance. He didn’t think it would move this fast. He didn’t think it would […]The post The Medical School Dean Who Says AI in Healthcare Moved Faster Than He Ever Expected appeared first on PYMNTS.com.

Watch more: What’s Next in Payments With Serena Smith of i2c As the payments industry moves deeper into 2026, executives are confronting a widening gap between innovation and coherence. New rails are coming online. Regulatory expectations continue to evolve. Standards adoption presses forward. Artificial intelligence (AI) introduces new operating models. Each advance carries promise, […]The post Banks Race to Close Real-Time Payment Gaps appeared first on PYMNTS.com.

Many Americans are turning themselves down for credit before a lender ever does. That is the through line of “Consumer Credit Economy: Strategy vs. Spontaneity—Navigating the Great Credit Divide” a PYMNTS Intelligence report. Based on a U.S. census-balanced survey of 2,049 U.S. adult consumers, the report finds a wide mismatch between how consumers think credit works and what […]The post Planned Purchases Rise as Financial Stress Eases, Study Finds appeared first on PYMNTS.com.