U.S. Bank follows early success with BNPL updates: It’s rolling out its ExtendPay product to business customers and looks well-positioned to take market share from nonbank BNPL players.

Neo Financial will offer regular investors exposure to cryptos, real estate, and hedge-fund style approaches.

Report finds, with some caveats, that banks did just fine after disasters: Rebuilding credit and local players’ knowledge helped with resiliency. But disasters may be intensifying. And the report left out one kind of risk.

Binance.US can use its $200M to move closer to banking: The crypto exchange’s first-ever outside funding round could diversify its offerings away from volume-dependent trading.

Cash accounted for 18% of global payments at the point-of-sale (POS) last year, down from 20.5% in 2020, per FIS’ Global Payments Report.

Walmart throws its weight around to combat the tight labor market: The country’s largest private employer is hiking pay for truck drivers and adding amenities to its headquarters to attract workers.

As of January 2022, 35% of people ages 12 and over in the US own a smart speaker, up just 2 percentage points from the year before. That’s following an increase of 6 percentage points year over year in 2021.

Consumer tech subscription startup Grover raises $330 million: The funding round is the latest endorsement of a more sustainable model for consumer electronics.

The Canadian government intervenes to save local news: Proposed legislation would require Meta, Google, and other tech platforms to pay publishers for their content in a bid to revitalize a struggling industry.

Streaming’s saturation point has driven demand for bundles: A new report from Nielsen shows that 64% of consumers want a bundle that makes it easier to stream.

Retailers have long had an eye on augmented reality (AR), but it still has unrealized potential for shopping purposes.

Ad industry sees gaming as a growth opportunity amidst industry turmoil: Inaugural PlayFronts event focuses on how brands can gain new customers and revenue.

TV measurement is still fracturing: WarnerMedia is the latest media giant to experiment with its own measurement services.

Amazon faces investigation into use of third-party seller data: As the SEC looks into Amazon business practices, Congress asks the DOJ to investigate the company for obstruction, which could heighten regulatory pressure on Big Tech.

Google’s ad business is still under fire in Europe: The company lost an appeal of a fine from a French watchdog which says the company’s ad business unfairly changed its rules.

Store brands have traditionally proliferated when inflation or a recession spurs consumers to spend more conservatively. But as store brands become more premium and fill specific customer needs, price is no longer the only driving factor.