According to Sean Barrett, chief marketing officer at Albertsons Cos, the grocer wants value-seeking, time-strapped consumers to be able to shop its stores and feel like they’ve made a good decision in doing so. “Retail media, and commerce marketing in general, plays a really important role to interrupt and lead that shopper with great value, great offerings, a great message that makes them feel like a smart shopper buying your brand on that shopping trip, as well as delivering them a personalized offer, for instance, so they can get great value on your product in the place that they prefer to shop, the place that they primarily shop.” When it comes to the value equation of “what you pay is what you get,” Barrett asserted that Albertsons is working closely with its brand partners and leveraging its scale to lower prices for shoppers. Relevant, personalized offers, as well as the grocer’s revamped loyalty program, are also making a positive impact on the “what you pay” side of that value equation.. The grocer is also leveraging what it knows about specific customers to offer them helpful, relevant communication that encourages them to make a purchase. That inevitably leads to in-store retail media and marketing opportunities, which Barrett said Albertsons is actively pursuing. “We’ve all done this with signage and marketing materials in store, but really that next frontier is to bring digital media capabilities and measurement and optimization into our in-store environments,” he said. Barrett also stressed the use of data to bring all of these tactics together, and of having it in one place to make it more actionable. Further, connecting data to all of its marketing channels allows Albertsons to be more personal and relevant, and thus drive convenience for customers every time it engages with them.
New survey says 52% of Americans are BNPL for everyday purchases; electronics, furniture and home goods are the most popular items purchased through BNPL with an average minimum price of $250
According to a survey by PartnerCentric.com, 52% of Americans now rely on installment-based payment services to cover everyday purchases, including groceries. The most popular items purchased through BNPL include medium to large products like electronics, furniture and home goods, with an average minimum price of $250. But 31% of consumers also reported using those programs for essentials like groceries, highlighting the financial strain many households are facing. BNPL programs are especially popular among younger Americans, with 59 percent of Gen Z and 58 percent of millennials opting for flexible payment methods. The survey also found that 35 percent of consumers plan to use BNPL more frequently in 2025, a figure that jumps to 65 percent among Gen Z. Popular BNPL providers like Afterpay, Affirm, PayPal Pay in 4 and Klarna have become critical financial tools for many Americans, offering flexible installment plans with no interest, helping consumers manage their rising expenses. These options won’t affect credit scores if payments are made on time. Economic uncertainty appears to be adding to the trend. Fifteen percent of survey participants said they tried BNPL in 2025 due to the increased cost of living.
New York state to establish a supervision framework for BNPL- disclosures, dispute resolution, limits on fee, data privacy; requires disclosure when a price was set by an algorithm using personal data
Governor Kathy Hochul signed a new legislation as part of the FY26 Enacted Budget that will protect consumers across New York and fight back against scams or exploitative practices. From simplifying the process of cancelling recurring online subscriptions to cracking down on overdraft fees that target low-income consumers, these new laws will help New Yorkers fight back against unfair corporate practices. The FY26 budget includes legislation requiring businesses to notify consumers of upcoming renewals and price changes as well as provide clear instructions on how to cancel subscriptions. Under this legislation, cancellation processes must be simple, transparent, and fair – ensuring that it is just as easy to cancel a subscription as it was to sign up. With e-commerce sales rising and returns accounting for billions of dollars annually, New Yorkers deserve stronger consumer protections. The FY26 Budget also includes legislation to require online retail sellers to post return and refund policies in a way that is easily accessible for consumers; and a legislation to establish a licensing and supervision framework for BNPL providers. This legislation will introduce safeguards, such as disclosure requirements, dispute resolution standards, limits on all charges and fees, and data privacy protections to ensure consumers are better protected when using these financial products. The FY26 Budget includes first-in-the-nation legislation that requires businesses to disclose clearly to consumers when a price was set by an algorithm using their personal data, subject to certain exceptions.
SavvyMoney acquires integration solution CreditSnap to bring credit scores, personalization and fin literacy to more LoS platforms
SavvyMoney announced its acquisition of CreditSnap, a fintech solution provider that powers intelligent integrations to digital loan, deposit and account onboarding solutions for banks and credit unions. With CreditSnap’s technology, we aim to strengthen our ability to work alongside existing LOS and account opening systems, delivering even greater value to our partners and their consumers. JB Orecchia, president and CEO of SavvyMoney said, By combining SavvyMoney’s ability to drive high-intent demand with CreditSnap’s flexible integration solution, we’re delivering a comprehensive digital experience for both lending and deposit growth—one that works with, not against, their existing systems. Financial institutions can now offer a seamless, end-to-end experience by leveraging SavvyMoney’s demand-generation capabilities in conjunction with CreditSnap’s flexible integration process. From personalized credit insights to frictionless application and booking, allowing every integration to work with one unified platform. CreditSnap Key Benefits: The platform integrates with more than 73 loan origination, core and digital banking systems; Loan application time can be reduced from 12 minutes to as little as 2 minutes; Financial institutions have reported a 20–40% increase in loan volume and deposit funding rates as high as 78%
Pagaya’s platform for second-look personal loans offers potential for a mid-sized bank of over $1.5 billion of personal-loan origination in less than nine months; can help lenders “bid better” for leads from data aggregators, such as Credit Karma or Experian
Alternative lending fintech Pagaya Technologies has its sights set on expanding its personal loan offering to regional and super-regional banks while it also builds out its marketing acquisition engine. Pagaya currently partners with banks such as U.S. Bank and neobanks such as SoFi to offer artificial intelligence-powered second-look personal loans to consumers who might not otherwise qualify. Pagaya integrates with lenders’ loan origination systems and buys the loans it originates from the lenders and sells those loans on the secondary market. It is also active in auto lending and point-of-sale buy now/pay later lending. All in, Pagaya counts 31 lenders as partners. Pagaya is in talks with four or five regional banks to help build out or expand their personal-loan offerings, co-founder and CEO Gal Krubiner told. “There is a new era where people are starting to look at growth, and for the regional banks, personal loan is a good way to grow the franchise and to give solutions and products to their customers,” he said. Many regional banks look to personal loans to help secure deposit inflows, a trend that Pagaya is hoping to capitalize on when bringing new partner banks into the fold, Krubiner said. “From our perspective … working with Pagaya could generate for a mid-sized bank over $1.5 billion of personal-loan origination in less than nine months,” Krubiner said, citing U.S. Bank’s performance on the platform. Pagaya is also using its integration into lenders’ underwriting platforms to offer pre-screened loans to potential customers in another avenue that it hopes will lead to growth, said Sanjiv Das, president of Pagaya. “Think about our total market opportunity. We have 31 lending partners. Those 31 lending partners have about 60 million consumers as existing customers. We’ve only scratched the surface right now with the 3% [penetration],” Das, told. Pagaya is also working to help lenders “bid better” for leads from data aggregators, such as Credit Karma or Experian, Das said. The push toward regional banks comes on the heels of solid first-quarter earnings results that beat analysts’ estimates across nearly every metric. Revenue jumped 18% year over year to $290 million, ahead of analysts’ expected $285 million. Net income landed at $8 million, or 10 cents per share, compared with a $21 million loss in the same reporting period last year and eclipsing analysts’ estimate of a $10 million, or 15 cent per diluted share, loss. Shares of Pagaya have risen about 26% since the company reported earnings on May 7, according to a research note from David Scharf at Citizens. Scharf attributes the gains to Pagaya hitting positive GAAP net income ahead of schedule. KBW analyst Sanjay Sakhrani bumped his price target for Pagaya’s stock following the earnings report, pointing to pre-screen and affiliate channels as “growth drivers.” “We believe PGY is well-positioned to shift toward revenue growth across its three loan markets — personal, auto, and POS and deliver profitability. While macroeconomic volatility may introduce risks to funding costs and underwriting capabilities, management’s disciplined risk approach and measured appetite provide confidence,” Sakhrani said.
Cutthroat campus finance clubs emerge as gateways to Wall Street, offering real AUM experience and direct recruiter access
College finance clubs have become a gateway to Wall Street careers, and the process for joining can be as cutthroat as the industry itself. These are extracurricular, student-run groups — like a chess club or drama society — that come with names like the “investing banking club” or the “finance club.” Some run full-fledged investment funds, while others are Greek fraternities that recruit students majoring in business, finance, marketing, or accounting. What distinguishes them is that they tend to offer their members VIP access to campus recruiters, specialized training sessions, and other tools to help students snag the all-important investment banking internship, which is the best path to a full-time job after graduation. The catch? Their perks have created a race for membership, and the admissions process to join a club can be as cutthroat as the industry itself. The clubs help Wall Street employers by creating a clear pipeline of job candidates, and firms have been known to cater to them as a result. While it’s unclear exactly when these clubs became must-haves for a Wall Street job, the people who spoke with BI tended to agree that the situation reflected a race among employers to recruit talent earlier and earlier. To be sure, the club scene has long been exclusive. From the “eating clubs” at Princeton to the average sorority, organizations will choose members based on social interactions, pedigree, and background. What makes the financial and business clubs different is that they are less about making friends or exploring new interests and more about your résumé. This has led to a degree of meritocracy, with the clubs requiring wannabe members to prove they have enough know-how and genuine interest to join. Club leaders from three schools told that their organizations accepted less than 10% of their freshman applicants, who numbered 150 to 300 in recent years. The interest makes sense. Members get exclusive exposure to the industry, including training and tips from upperclassmen who have already gone through Wall Street’s rigorous internship application process. Some clubs give their members real money to manage — whether a percentage of the university’s endowment or capital from members and alumni. It’s hypercompetitive, it’s overwhelming, and you have to be pushing constantly. Firm recruiters often interact with student clubs, granting members special access to meetings and events. The hedge fund Balyasny went to campus clubs to find candidates for its recent stock pitch competitions, which it uses to identify talent. A private equity worker, meanwhile, said the “No. 1 thing” she looked for when she was a recruiting captain of an investment bank was whether students from her alma mater had been members of “the two most prestigious investment clubs on campus.” While the pressure these young people face may feel exaggerated, there are plenty of signs that the stakes are all too real. Wall Street firms like Goldman Sachs have disclosed record levels of applicants to their internship programs. And Wall Street’s earlier-than-ever recruiting schedule compelled Steve Sibley, a professor at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business, to move an introductory corporate finance class he runs from the fall of students’ sophomore year to the spring of their freshman year. The end result has been a club culture that often mimics the industry itself, including a cutthroat selection process.
New form of ‘shop and go’ checkout-free retail could fuel agentic commerce by integrating data from in-store sensors, licensing it to third-party retailers and e-commerce platforms and re-anchoring it in retail and digital wallet-linked credentials
A new form of self-checkout that enables shoppers to pay and retailers to gather data without a point of sale terminal is starting to make steps toward the mainstream. Zippin, a company that builds checkout-free retail, has deployed its technology at 15 stores in the past two months, including a concession location at the Capital One Arena. Zippin’s technology allows shoppers to scan an app or swipe a credit card to enter a store and pick up what they need. The purchases are automatically charged when the shopper leaves the store. If checkout-free retail like Zippin’s can become widely used, it could radically change more than just payments. In addition to the line-busting benefits of self-checkout, checkout-free retail uses technology that can inform dozens of functions for mobile wallets and other banking or financial services apps, fueling cross-sales, customer service, personalized marketing and even artificial intelligence-powered commerce. “The technology for such ‘shop and go’ solutions is always improving,” Zil Bareisis, head of retail banking and payments research at Celent, now part of GlobalData, told. “However, it can still be expensive to install and operate, particularly for larger stores selling a broad range of items.” Checkout-free retail has struggled in larger stores with a broad range of products, due to factors such as the sensor cameras’ inability to identify a varied inventory or operate in a large structure. Sports facilities represent a progression to an incrementally larger format than a small pilot store. “This technology can be highly suitable in locations with limited product range and significant foot traffic, like stadiums, hospitals, academic campuses, airports, etc.,” Bareisis said. There are about 15 Amazon Go stores in the U.S., and there are about 700 checkout-free stores around the world, with 200 in the U.S., according to Datos Insights. “There is growth in this market, we’re seeing this in very specific use cases,” Alan Burt, senior manager and retail product lead for Datos Insights, told. While the technology that supports checkout-free stores is difficult to deploy, there is ample incentive. “Autonomous checkout isn’t about checkout,” Richard Crone, a payments consultant, told. “It’s about capturing first-party behavioral and [stock-keeping-level] purchase data.” The sensor technology can measure the amount of time consumers spend looking at items, what items they did and didn’t purchase, how they responded to special offers, and how much overall time they spent in a store. This can provide data that can be fed into an artificial intelligence algorithm and can produce messaging for cross-selling or marketing, or to enhance payment capabilities for a bank’s mobile app. Google traditionally owns this type of digital shopping data but is now being re-anchored in retail and digital wallet-linked credentials, setting the foundation for agentic commerce, Crone said. This puts Amazon, which operates the Amazon Rufus agentic commerce platform, in competition with similar agentic technology from Visa and Mastercard. A key advantage for Amazon will be Rufus’ integration of offline-to-online behavioral data from its Just Walk Out technology, which will be licensed to third-party retailers and e-commerce platforms to make Amazon’s agentic algorithms more powerful, Crone said. Another key element for checkout-free retail is consumer appetite. While checkout-free retail is mostly not available, its predecessor, self-checkout, is steadily expanding. The number of retailers with self-checkout grew from about 3,000 in 2021 to 10,000 in 2024 and is expanding at a rate to reach 24,000 by 2030, according to Capital One. “We tend to forget that the checkout process is a friction in the shopping experience. Most merchants would likely prefer that purchases be made without a checkout process to save on costs and improve the customer experience,” Tony DeSanctis, a senior director at Cornerstone Advisors, told.
Almost half of U.S. adults who use buy now, pay later products have experienced at least one financial problem: new study
Almost half of U.S. adults who use buy now, pay later products have experienced at least one financial problem, according to results of a survey from the consumer financial services company Bankrate and the market research firm YouGov. Bankrate and YouGov surveyed 2,354 U.S. adults between March 19 and 21. Of those who participated, about 30% said they had used at least one buy now, pay later service. Of those who used BNPL services, 49% of those surveyed reported at least one financial issue: 24% said they outspent their budget, 16% noted missing a bill payment after making a BNPL purchase, 15% regretted a BNPL purchase and 14% said they had a problem with a refund or a return. Taking out multiple buy now, pay later services at a time is among the biggest warning signs, Ted Rossman, senior industry analyst for Bankrate said, because BNPL is used most frequently by financially vulnerable populations such as the working class and young people. “People find this a valuable payment method to spread out their cash flow. The problem is if you overdo it and you lose sight of how much you spent. That’s concerning because it shows how close to the edge people are,” he said.
Almost half of U.S. adults who use buy now, pay later products have experienced at least one financial problem: new study
Dollar General is integrating its retail media arm with Fetch, a rewards app that provides consumers with “Fetch points” when they submit receipts from partner brands and retailers. Via this collaboration, brands participating in DGMN can leverage Fetch to help drive incremental consumer purchasing behavior with rewards-based advertising as part of their DGMN investment. As a result of this new partnership, brands participating in DGMN can now seamlessly put their DGMN advertising spend toward Fetch rewards offers, unlocking a new ad format. “Shoppers come to their Fetch app with intent — they’re planning, buying, and ready to be rewarded,” said Courtney Cochrane, retail industry lead at Fetch. “By partnering with DGMN, we’re giving brands a way to meet consumers in those exact moments and drive real results. It’s not just about impressions — it’s about getting products into carts.” Other partnerships Dollar General has entered to expand DGMN functionality include teaming with experiential marketing platform Recess to let advertisers hyper-target the retailer’s customers through community-driven sampling programs. Through the Recess experiential sampling program, participating DGMN brands will be able to integrate products into consumers’ daily lives before they enter the store. Targeting capabilities allow advertisers to execute experiential sampling programs in targeted communities.
Arteria AI’s end-to-end digital documentation workflow auto-logs each change and decision to the deal and memorializes it in a detailed audit trail
Arteria AI has partnered with TruStage Compliance Solutions, a provider of financial transaction technology and expertise, to launch Deal Flow, a content modification and deal management integration that is purpose-built to support community banks and credit unions. Clients can now gain access to Arteria’s proven, end-to-end digital documentation workflow for commercial lending. Deal Flow is accessed through existing dynamic documentation workflows and streamlines the modification and redlining of commercial loan documentation. Each change and decision to the deal is automatically logged and memorialized in a detailed audit trail for complete assurance on compliance and procedural consistency. Notably, TruStage’s compliance warranty is preserved for all unmodified parts of the document. The result is that negotiated transaction documentation moves into the digital sphere – communication is centralized on a digital platform, the right workflow steps are automated, and rich reporting insights become available to further streamline the deal process. Arteria removes the need for legacy manual processes by streamlining the documentation lifecycle, speeding up decision-making for all stakeholders through a highly-intuitive interface.