Voices Shaping the Connected Economy

The thinking behind the doing, told through the perspectives of the people building the ideas, platforms and networks driving change.

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Monday Conversation

David’s Bridal CEO Kelly Cook on Betting Big and Knowing When Not To

Ahead of her one-year anniversary as CEO, Kelly Cook talks with Karen Webster about her push to reinvent David’s Bridal.

Monday Conversation

Rezolve CEO Sees Growing Competition Over Control of AI Shopping

Rezolve AI Founder and CEO Dan Wagner says agentic commerce needs guardrails around inventory, identity and payments.

Platforms Reshape Labor Economy Paydays and Job Mobility

The structure of work is shifting as digital platforms connect workers with opportunities in ways that resemble markets.

What's Next in Payments

Banks Win When They Connect Risk Signals Across the Life Cycle

Trulioo CEO Vicky Bindra says the ability to unify high-quality data and apply “good friction” at the right moments is key to fighting fraud.

What's Next in Payments

AI Agents Start Shopping and Payments Firms Adapt

FIS’ Mladen Vladic discusses why future-ready payments infrastructure is important as AI agents begin to search, negotiate and transact.

What's Next in Payments

Banks Rethink Fraud Controls as False Declines Rise

With AI-powered fraud becoming standard, Entersekt’s Dewald Nolte shares why the competitive edge in payments security lies in context.

What's Next in Payments

For B2B Payments, Speed Is the New Strategy

Boost’s Dean Leavitt explains why B2B firms are realizing that the velocity at which their AP and AR systems can adapt to real-world demands is now a key lever for growth.

What's Next in Payments

The Clearing House: Trust Is the Gatekeeper for What’s Next in Payments

The Clearing House’s Sal Karakaplan says reliability, security and transparency will determine how innovations gain durable traction.

What's Next in Payments

Credit Unions Build Cloud Data Strategy to Stay Competitive

Velera’s Cody Banks says credit unions that operationalize data and automate decision-making will distinguish themselves in payments.

What's Next in Payments

Banks Race to Close Real-Time Payment Gaps

i2c Chief Client Officer Serena Smith says real-time payments require interoperability so banks can connect compliance and stop fraud.

What's Next in Payments

Paysafe Calls Digital Wallets the New Hub for Payments and Commerce

Bob Legters, CPO at Paysafe, says the increasing use of digital wallets can streamline back-office processes and reduce costs.

Monday Conversation

The Medical School Dean Who Says AI in Healthcare Moved Faster Than He Ever Expected

Marschall Runge, former CEO and dean of Michigan Medicine, says he was wrong to be cautious about healthcare AI.

Every Workday Is Payday in an Instant

Same-day and same-shift payouts are changing how transactional workers judge jobs and manage cash flow. As platforms compress the gap between work completed and wages received, employers and payments providers are confronting a labor market where timing matters as much as pay.

Monday Conversation

PicPay Takes Its Credit Strategy to Wall Street With U.S. IPO

PicPay’s U.S. IPO marks a shift toward credit-driven growth built on wallet data, underwriting discipline and deeper customer engagement.

Unpredictable Pay Cycles Break Financial Stability for America’s Hourly Workers

In a PYMNTS podcast, leaders from Ingo Payments and WorkWhile explain how fixing “Bill Pay Roulette” could stabilize workers and economies.

Monday Conversation

Visa Maps a Path to Agentic Commerce That Feels Familiar — and Safe

Rubail Birwadker of Visa says agentic commerce will only scale if identity, permissions and risk controls are built into the transaction.

Wage to Wallet Index™ Shows Wage Shocks Hit Labor Economy Hard

WorkWhile Chief Economist Alan Armen says wage shocks move through hourly workers’ budgets in weeks, not quarters, because income becomes spending almost immediately. The latest Wage to Wallet™ findings show platforms supplying 15% to 30% of income as workers try to address declining wages.

CFOs and AI Help Emerging Enterprises Accelerate Time to Cash™

CFOs at emerging enterprises are redesigning and adding speed to their cash cycles. As a PYMNTS panel with insights from Bottomline, Coupa and FIS tells Karen Webster, automation, AI and stronger onboarding are the keys to faster liquidity. Together they outline how better data, improved processes and real-time tools will define time-to-cash performance heading into […]

AI Automation Unlocks Small Business Agility

Meet the Fortune 5 Million. It’s how BILL CEO René Lacerte describes the US small business community. As AI agents push the financial back office toward full autonomy, Lacerte says the shift will spark nothing short of a creative payments renaissance as it eliminates the grind of financial operations. He believes it will unleash the […]

Boston Rebuilds Payments to Simplify Municipal Money Flows

Boston Finance Manager Rich Andrade and Passport CTO Gene Rohrwasser tell PYMNTS’ Karen Webster how the city is finally breaking from a decades-old patchwork of vendors to build a unified payment platform that promises real-time insight and a more modern experience for residents and visitors alike.

Furniture.com Reinvents Furniture Buying With AI

Furniture.com is rebuilding the furniture-buying experience for the agentic commerce age. In a PYMNTS SKU conversation, Cofounder and CMO Dan Bennett tells Karen Webster that by using standardized data and AI, the company is unifying retail partners into a single-cart, highly personalized platform.

How CVS Is Turning First-Party Data Into Its Retail Media Power Play

Personalization at scale requires moving from shoppers to signals, and Parbinder “Parbs” Dhariwal, VP and General Manager at CVS Media Exchange, shares why the retailer’s media network is focused on a future where every aisle, every screen, and yes, every long register receipt, is part of a larger conversation between brand and consumer.

Monday Conversation

Cox Automotive Wants to Eliminate the ‘Channel Break’ in Car Buying

Cox Automotive’s new omnichannel platform connects every step of the car-buying journey, closing the long-standing channel break between online research and in-store purchasing. In a Monday Conversation with PYMNTS’ Karen Webster, Senior VP Jessica Stafford explains why shifting dealer mindsets , not just upgrading technology, is the real unlock.

Ulta Beauty Uses AI to Bridge Social Discovery and In-Store Experiences

Ulta Beauty is building a commerce ecosystem where AI, social discovery and stores work together to meet fast moving consumer expectations. In a conversation with PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster for the PYMNTS series The SKU, Ulta SVP Josh Friedman explains how the retailer tries to make sure every guest gets what she wants.

What's Next in Payments

Trulioo CEO Says Leadership Today Is About Trust, Data and Decision Making

Trulioo CEO Vicky Bindra says leadership in the age of breakaway technology innovation isn’t about keeping pace. It’s more about redefining trust, data and decision making when machines move faster than markets. Read more in Bindra’s interview as part of the “What’s Next in Payments” series, “The Year of the CEO.”

Robert Talbott Reclaims Madison Avenue to Test American Luxury

When PYMNTS’ Karen Webster sat down with Alex Angelchik, the Newtimes Group CEO made a bold case for why American luxury needs a reset. His approach to relaunching Robert Talbott hints at a playbook far different from what today’s fashion incumbents expect.

What's Next in Payments

Inside the ‘Perfect Storm’ Disrupting Fraud and Risk Management

Matthew Pearce, vice president of Fraud Risk Management and Dispute Operations at i2c, says the collision of innovation, tightening oversight and real-time payments is creating a “perfect storm” that few financial institutions are fully prepared to navigate. Read more in this PYMNTS interview.

What's Next in Payments

Mastercard Turns Cyber Threats Into Teachable Moments

Mark Barnett, global head of Small and Medium Enterprises at Mastercard, shares why small businesses, armed with new tools, sharper awareness and a growing focus on resilience, are proving that cybersecurity isn’t just defense, it’s a growth strategy.

Monday Conversation

FIS Puts Value Creation at the Heart of Money Movement

Money movement is no longer about how fast funds travel between accounts, but how much value can be built around it. FIS Global Head of Money Movement Jon Briggs told PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster that the conversation about moving money used to focus on speed alone. But now the focus is very different.

Monday Conversation

Nova Credit Makes the Case for a Real-Time Credit Bureau

Nova Credit CEO Misha Esipov argues that the credit industry doesn’t just need better data. He believes it needs a new standard that measures consumers’ financial lives in real time, not through the rearview mirror of traditional credit scores.

How Invisible Payments Are Forcing Digital Identity to Evolve

As Capital One’s Tom Poole, Prove’s Rodger Desai, and Citadel’s Chris Palumbo tell Karen Webster, the next era of payments will erase the line between identity and transaction. Authentication won’t feel like a step in the process. It will be the process itself, where trust has to be built in, not bolted on.

AI-Powered Intelligence: The New Advantage for CFOs

Raj Seshadri, Chief Commercial Payments Officer at Mastercard, explores how AI and data are giving CFOs new ways to manage cash flow, working capital, and risk, while mobilizing partners across the B2B ecosystem to accelerate growth. The discussion highlights how CFOs are already putting AI into practice, the cultural and talent shifts needed to capture […]

Monday Conversation

Adrienne Harris Reflects on Four Years of Redefining Financial Regulation in New York

New York Department of Financial Services Superintendent Adrienne Harris leaves office emphasizing the state’s leadership in shaping modern financial regulation. She tells PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster that her successor, Kaitlyn Asrow, will continue advancing the “department of YES” approach that balances innovation with consumer protection.

AI and the New Era of B2B Payments

For our sixth annual B2B Payments event, PYMNTS Chief Content Officer John Gaffney sits down with CEO Karen Webster to open four weeks of conversations on how artificial intelligence is reshaping B2B payments. We’ll explore what the connection between AI and B2B really looks like, the new use cases emerging, and what it will take […]

The Right Time for Real-Time Account Funding Is Now

Leaders from Visa Direct, TabaPay and OneUnited Bank discuss why instant account funding has become a competitive must-have, the measurable business benefits of Account Funding Transactions (AFTs) and how to implement real-time solutions effectively.

What's Next in Payments

Credit Unions Battle for the Right Data to Fight Fraud

Velera’s Jeremiah Lotz tells PYMNTS that a consortium approach to data collection and use can help credit unions.

What's Next in Payments

Fraudsters Share Playbooks, So Why Won’t Banks Share Data?

Entersekt’s Pradheep Sampath tell PYMNTS that fighting fraud demands a blend of traditional data and a consortium approach.

From Infrastructure to Analytics: The Plaid Playbook

Plaid’s next five years probably won’t look much like the last five, CEO Zach Perret tells Karen Webster. Data and the insights it offers the broader payments and financial services ecosystem position the company as a critical identity and data aggregation layer in an emerging “agentic” financial world.

Monday Conversation

WorkWhile Reinvents Hourly Work With AI-Powered Labor Platform

WorkWhile COO Simon Khalaf says the company’s AI-driven labor OS is reshaping the workforce — matching workers to jobs with precision.

Introducing the PYMNTS Podcast

Get a preview of the PYMNTS Podcast — your front-row seat to conversations with the innovators transforming how the world pays, shops, and connects.