Mastercard is launching widescale global availability of Mastercard Receivables Manager, its automated solution that makes virtual cards more efficient, secure and cost-effective for businesses to accept. Mastercard Receivables Manager has been levelled up with new capabilities such as multi-language and secure card-on-file to support digital commerce around the world. Now available globally, acquiring partners are embracing the innovation to modernize supplier virtual card acceptance experiences across major card networks and help customers strengthen buyer-supplier relationships. To give payment service providers greater flexibility in how they offer B2B payment innovations, Mastercard is also introducing Commercial Direct Payments, an advanced straight-through processing solution that fully automates virtual card payments and reconciliation. When the buyer initiates a card payment, Commercial Direct Payments enables it to be processed directly with the supplier’s acquirer – eliminating all manual steps for making and receiving payments. The funds are automatically deposited into the supplier’s account and the detailed remittance data can be seamlessly integrated into the AR workflow. Key benefits include: Driving supplier efficiency with automated reconciliation: Suppliers can easily reconcile payments using the rich remittance data that can flow directly into their ERP systems, freeing up resources to focus on more strategic tasks. Unlocking automated B2B payment processing at scale: Issuers and acquirers can quickly unlock the benefits of straight through processing without the need for multiple costly and time-intensive connections with one another. Commercial Direct Payments streamlines this process by providing a single connection to Mastercard and enabling the flow of secure, standardized payment and remittance data between issuers and acquirers. Strengthening buyer-supplier relationships: Buyers have the flexibility to pay with physical or virtual cards to improve cash flow, while suppliers can get paid securely, efficiently, and on time. Elavon and Run Payments are among the many innovative payment providers in the United States offering Mastercard Receivables Manager to address manual processing and reconciliation challenges – which some 42% of suppliers across the nation note as top barriers to acceptance.
Mastercard’s automated solution for virtual cards adds advanced straight-through processing that fully automates virtual card payments and reconciliation through a single connection, multi-language and secure card-on-file support
Mastercard is launching widescale global availability of Mastercard Receivables Manager, its automated solution that makes virtual cards more efficient, secure and cost-effective for businesses to accept. Mastercard Receivables Manager has been levelled up with new capabilities such as multi-language and secure card-on-file to support digital commerce around the world. Now available globally, acquiring partners are embracing the innovation to modernize supplier virtual card acceptance experiences across major card networks and help customers strengthen buyer-supplier relationships. To give payment service providers greater flexibility in how they offer B2B payment innovations, Mastercard is also introducing Commercial Direct Payments, an advanced straight-through processing solution that fully automates virtual card payments and reconciliation. When the buyer initiates a card payment, Commercial Direct Payments enables it to be processed directly with the supplier’s acquirer – eliminating all manual steps for making and receiving payments. The funds are automatically deposited into the supplier’s account and the detailed remittance data can be seamlessly integrated into the AR workflow. Key benefits include: Driving supplier efficiency with automated reconciliation: Suppliers can easily reconcile payments using the rich remittance data that can flow directly into their ERP systems, freeing up resources to focus on more strategic tasks. Unlocking automated B2B payment processing at scale: Issuers and acquirers can quickly unlock the benefits of straight through processing without the need for multiple costly and time-intensive connections with one another. Commercial Direct Payments streamlines this process by providing a single connection to Mastercard and enabling the flow of secure, standardized payment and remittance data between issuers and acquirers. Strengthening buyer-supplier relationships: Buyers have the flexibility to pay with physical or virtual cards to improve cash flow, while suppliers can get paid securely, efficiently, and on time. Elavon and Run Payments are among the many innovative payment providers in the United States offering Mastercard Receivables Manager to address manual processing and reconciliation challenges – which some 42% of suppliers across the nation note as top barriers to acceptance.
PayPal’s BNPL volume growth of >20% that exceeded 18% growth in core business, >65% rise in debit card monthly active accounts, yield rewards on stablecoin holdings and ‘Pay with Crypto’ feature suggest its aggressive play to dominate checkout lanes and increase wallet share
Pivoting from macroeconomic concerns to capturing wallet share, PayPal is making an aggressive play to dominate checkout lanes. PayPal’s own footprint edged higher as active accounts rose 4% from the March quarter to 438 million. PayPal’s installment payment portfolio again grew more than the core business. “In the second quarter, BNPL volume grew more than 20% and monthly active accounts climbed 18%,” CEO Alex Chriss said. He added that average order values using BNPL run “more than 80% higher” than a standard branded checkout transaction, a statistic the company is using to recruit merchants who already accept PayPal but have yet to surface its installment options early in the shopping journey. For merchants, the pitch is that PayPal’s know your customer (KYC) infrastructure and access to “the largest ecosystem of payment-ready wallets” will simplify compliance when bots, not humans, initiate transactions. Debit card TPV across PayPal and Venmo grew more than 60% while monthly active accounts grew more than 65%, Chriss said. Two million users tapped a PayPal or Venmo debit card for the first time in the quarter, reinforcing Chriss’s thesis that cardholders transact more often and choose PayPal at checkout six times as frequently as non-card users. PayPal added yield rewards for holding PYUSD, expanded issuance to the Stellar and Arbitrum blockchains and said PYUSD would power PayPal World transactions that settle in local currency on the back end. The company also announced “Pay with Crypto,” earlier this week, which will convert more than 1,100 cryptocurrencies into PYUSD or fiat at checkout. Chriss said it positions PayPal as processor, not custodian. PayPal reported second-quarter net revenue of $8.29 billion, up 6% from the March quarter’s $7.79 billion and 5% year over year. Total payment volume rose by the same sequential 6% to $443.5 billion. Active accounts inched up to 438 million, reversing last year’s attrition but still growing more slowly than volume. Transaction margin dollars, a company metric that strips out operating costs, increased 7% year over year to $3.84 billion, or 8% when interest on customer balances is excluded. Non-GAAP earnings per share climbed 18%. Management again raised full-year guidance for both transaction‑margin dollars and earnings per share, even while acknowledging an “uneven” consumer backdrop in some corridors. The absence of dire macro commentary was itself a signal: PayPal believes its checkout strategy, not the economic cycle, will determine whether it can accelerate growth.
Cash App’s new P2P payment feature enables creating a pool, setting a target amount, and inviting contributors who can make group payments in seconds using Apple Pay or Google Pay through a shareable link
Cash App announced the launch of pools, a new peer-to-peer payment feature that enables group payments with just a few taps. Organizers can start a pool through the Cash App payment tab. From there, organizers can create and name a pool, set a target amount, and invite contributors. Members can be invited in-app via their $cashtag, or the organizer can text or share a link to request a contribution using Apple Pay or Google Pay. The organizer can close the pool at any time and then transfer the money to their Cash balance. With pools, members can contribute within seconds so the group can focus on the experience and not on stressful payment logistics: Proactive payment collection: Our market research shows that 60% of U.S. adults participate in some form of group money pooling, or one person has typically needed to volunteer to make the payment up front. Pools were designed for groups to easily plan, collect, and track contributions before the event occurs so that nobody has to front the entire cost. Integrations with Apple Pay and Google Pay: If members of the group use different payment solutions, the organizer has historically needed to download multiple apps to collect the money from each person resulting in confusion, time wasted, and risk for all participants. Now, the organizer can create a shareable link for group members to contribute to a pool in seconds using Apple Pay or Google Pay. Easy progress tracking: The organizer can name, set a goal amount, and invite members to join the pool and track the group’s contributions, removing unnecessary logistics and guesswork. End-to-end payment flows: Each pool seamlessly connects to the Cash App’s suite of banking and peer-to-peer payment tools, so the organizer can instantly use that money toward the group’s goal.
Visa’s platform adding support for two additional dollar-backed stablecoins, two blockchains and Circle’s euro-backed stablecoin EURC to facilitate settlement transactions for issuers and acquirers
The stablecoin ecosystem is expanding, and Visa is at the forefront of its development. As global interest in stablecoins takes center stage, Visa is building on its leadership in the space and enabling support for more stablecoins and more blockchains to facilitate settlement transactions for issuers and acquirers. Visa’s settlement platform is adding support for two additional USD-backed stablecoins, two blockchains and the euro-backed EURC. What’s new: More stablecoins: Through a new partnership with Paxos, Visa will be able to support two additional dollar-backed stablecoins, Global Dollar (USDG) and PayPal USD (PYUSD), bringing the transformative power of two more trusted stablecoins to our partners. More chains: Visa has added support for two blockchains, Stellar and Avalanche, in addition to already supported chains, Ethereum and Solana. More currencies: Visa has integrated Circle’s euro-backed stablecoin, EURC. With EURC integrated into the Visa Network, select pilot participating Visa partners can now access settlement in both USD- and EUR-backed stablecoins. This extends Visa’s crypto and treasury infrastructure capabilities which already facilitates settlement in more than 25 fiat currencies worldwide.
Mastercard’s value-added services and solutions saw 23% revenue growth reflecting its strategic pivot from a pure-play network into a data-driven platform orchestrator with an ‘interoperability layer’ to support services across authentication, multi-rail and blockchain-anchored use cases
Mastercard is transitioning from a traditional payment processor to a data-driven technology platform, focusing on interoperability, digital identity and agentic AI. Mastercard’s value-added services and solutions segment is emerging as a critical differentiator. That line saw 23% revenue growth (22% currency-neutral) for the most recent quarter, reflecting growing demand for cybersecurity, authentication, digital identity and fraud prevention tools. One highlight: Mastercard Agent Pay, a service that leverages conversational AI to facilitate secure payments via contact centers or messaging platforms. This innovation marks Mastercard’s first direct play into agentic AI — a field defined by autonomous agents acting on behalf of users across digital ecosystems. This launch, alongside the expanded Mastercard Collection suite, reinforces its ambition to deliver “intelligence at the edge” of payment flows. The company reported net revenue of $8.1 billion, a 17% increase year over year on a GAAP basis and 16% growth on a currency-neutral basis. Adjusted net income came in at $3.8 billion, up 13%, with adjusted earnings per share of $4.15, an increase of 16% compared to the same period last year. Mastercard’s total gross dollar volume (GDV) grew 9% year over year on a local currency basis, reaching $2.6 trillion. U.S. GDV increased 6%, while outside of the U.S., GDV rose 10%, reflecting continued momentum in international markets.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Flip 7 are seeing 60% jump in pre-orders through US carriers in part due to in-store shoppers taking advantage of getting their hands on the devices for the touch and feel of thin & light designs and “camera improvements”
Samsung is touting a smash hit debut for its Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Flip 7, with the company’s foldables making a splash in the US market with up to 50% increase in initial sales, and some broken records too. Samsung says that the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Flip 7 have received “unprecedented consumer demand” since their launch, with both devices seeing a 25% increase in total pre-orders, with a 60% jump in pre-orders through US carriers. Samsung attributes the latter in part to in-store shoppers who are “taking advantage of getting their hands on the devices” with the thin & light designs and “camera improvements” apparently being the main points of interest. Samsung adds that the Galaxy Z Fold 7, in particular, is a major improvement. The latest generation is apparently seeing a 50% increase in demand over the Galaxy Z Fold 6 that launched before it. Samsung’s Drew Blackard says: Foldables have reached an inflection point as they are becoming a mainstream choice for users. Now on our seventh generation, we’ve addressed consumer feedback year after year and have arrived at the kind of experience you can’t get on any other device. When people go hands-on with a Z series device, they’re hooked — and now it’s all coming together with record-breaking numbers. The Fold 7 addresses nearly every complaint (except for battery life) this time around. Samsung also adds that its colorful models are the most popular ones this time around, with the “Blue Shadow” Galaxy Z Fold 7 making up “nearly half” of pre-orders, while the Coralred Galaxy Z Flip 7 made up roughly 25% of pre-orders, beating the company’s expectations.
Apple might be building its own AI ‘answer engine’ that can respond to questions using information from across the web either as could standalone app or providing search capabilities in Siri
Apple has formed a new team to build a ChatGPT-like app, according to according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. This team — reportedly called Answers, Knowledge, and Information — is working to build an “answer engine” that can respond to questions using information from across the web. This could be a standalone app or provide search capabilities in Siri, Safari, and other Apple products. Gurman also notes that Apple is advertising for jobs with this team, specifically looking for applicants who have experience with search algorithms and engine development. While Apple has already integrated ChatGPT into Siri, a more personalized, AI-powered update to the voice assistant has been repeatedly delayed. Apple might also have to alter its search deal with Google as a result of the latter company’s antitrust defeat.
Apple’s iPad lineup scored record growth in Q2 with 12.7 million units shipped
Apple’s iPad lineup recorded notable growth in the second fiscal quarter of 2025. Data shared by IDC Research shows that Apple shipped 12.7 million units in the second fiscal quarter, a 2.4% year-over-year growth for Apple’s tablet business. The recent update to the 10.9-inch iPad, the first in three years, is said to have helped boost sales to price-conscious buyers. Most notable is Amazon’s tablet sales growth of an incredible 205%. Despite that, it still only accounts for 8% of the market share, whereas Apple holds over 33%. Vendors increased their tablet stocks ahead of the imposition of tariffs, and buyers anticipating price hikes pushed sales growth further than might otherwise have been expected. Additional features, improved performance, and new AI capabilities are also thought to have driven buyers to upgrade. While it hasn’t announced sales volumes by unit in years, for the quarter ending June 28, 2025, Apple sold $6.6 billion worth of tablets compared to $6.4 billion the quarter before. However, the figure represented a fall in sales of 8% year over year. That suggests that buyers are choosing cheaper, more entry-level iPads. Apple CEO Tim Cook posited a potential reason for an uptick in the number of iPads sold during the quarter: that people chose to buy in April specifically because of the threat of price increases brought about by new import tariffs.
Google’s AI research agent combines diffusion mechanisms and retrieval tools to produce more comprehensive and accurate research on complex topics by emulating human process of making iterative revisions turning the draft into higher-quality outputs
Google researchers have developed a new framework for AI research agents that outperforms leading systems from rivals OpenAI, Perplexity and others on key benchmarks. The new agent, called Test-Time Diffusion Deep Researcher (TTD-DR), is inspired by the way humans write by going through a process of drafting, searching for information, and making iterative revisions. The system uses diffusion mechanisms and evolutionary algorithms to produce more comprehensive and accurate research on complex topics. For enterprises, this framework could power a new generation of bespoke research assistants for high-value tasks that standard retrieval augmented generation (RAG) systems struggle with, such as generating a competitive analysis or a market entry report. Unlike the linear process of most AI agents, human researchers work in an iterative manner. They typically start with a high-level plan, create an initial draft, and then engage in multiple revision cycles. During these revisions, they search for new information to strengthen their arguments and fill in gaps. Google’s researchers observed that this human process could be emulated using a diffusion model augmented with a retrieval component. (A trained diffusion model initially generates a noisy draft, and the denoising module, aided by retrieval tools, revises this draft into higher-quality (or higher-resolution) outputs. TTD-DR is built on this blueprint. The framework treats the creation of a research report as a diffusion process, where an initial, “noisy” draft is progressively refined into a polished final report. This is achieved through two core mechanisms. The first, which the researchers call “Denoising with Retrieval,” starts with a preliminary draft and iteratively improves it. In each step, the agent uses the current draft to formulate new search queries, retrieves external information, and integrates it to “denoise” the report by correcting inaccuracies and adding detail. The second mechanism, “Self-Evolution,” ensures that each component of the agent (the planner, the question generator, and the answer synthesizer) independently optimizes its own performance. The resulting research companion is “capable of generating helpful and comprehensive reports for complex research questions across diverse industry domains. In side-by-side comparisons with OpenAI Deep Research on long-form report generation, TTD-DR achieved win rates of 69.1% and 74.5% on two different datasets. It also surpassed OpenAI’s system on three separate benchmarks that required multi-hop reasoning to find concise answers, with performance gains of 4.8%, 7.7%, and 1.7%.