The iPhone’s new glassy look has been toned down with the release of the third developer beta of iOS 26. This follows user complaints that the update made parts of the user interface more difficult to read. The update sees Apple taking yet another step to dial things back from an overly glassy look in a number of key areas. While beta 2 addressed problems with the Control Center, beta 3 shifts its focus to other areas of the mobile operating system, like Notifications and navigation within Apple’s first-party apps, like Apple Music. For instance, the navigation bar in Apple’s streaming music app no longer sees the background shining through a bit, opting for a more solid white. Notifications are also less translucent, as the background behind the text is darkened, increasing contrast. While the changes arguably make features easier to read, some users now complain that Apple has gone too far in the other direction with a return to more of a “frosted glass” aesthetic. The point of beta software is to allow Apple to collect feedback, find bugs, and address issues before the software rolls out more broadly. That means Apple could continue to tweak the Liquid Glass look and feel over the coming releases to find the sweet spot for the new glassy look within every app and screen.
Gmail’s new feature lets users manage their subscriptions in one place by offering a view of active subscriptions organized by the most frequent senders alongside the number of emails they’ve sent in the past few weeks
Gmail is launching a new Gmail feature that is designed to help users easily manage their subscriptions and declutter their inboxes. The new “Manage subscriptions” tool is rolling out on the web, Android, and iOS in select countries. With the new feature, users can view and manage their subscription emails in one place and quickly unsubscribe from the ones they no longer want to receive. Users can view their active subscriptions, organized by the most frequent senders, alongside the number of emails they’ve sent in the past few weeks. Clicking on a sender provides a direct view of all emails from them. If a user decides to unsubscribe, Gmail will send an unsubscribe request to the sender on their behalf. Users can access the new feature by clicking the navigation bar in the top-left corner of their Gmail inbox and then selecting “Manage subscriptions.” Google says the new feature will begin rolling out on the web starting Tuesday, with Android and iOS users starting to receive it on July 14 and July 21, respectively. It may take up to 15 days from the start of the rollout for the feature to reach every user, the company says.
Mastercard and Pay4You launch European spend management partnership
Mastercard has teamed with self-service payment portal Pay4You on a spend management solution for European companies. The collaboration employs Mastercard’s Virtual Card Network (VCN) technology, and is designed to guarantee card acceptance, giving corporations a better way to manage their tail spend, which typically accounts for 20% of a company’s total spend, including high-volume, low-value transactions that are often overlooked but can represent a significant portion of the total number of transactions. By melding Pay4You’s platform with Mastercard’s virtual card technology, companies can lower costs, increase process efficiencies and remain compliant while offering employees a better user experience. In addition, the companies say their partnership will help issuers realize new flows on cards that are normally account-to-account (A2A) payments. “This partnership supports Mastercard’s mission to drive innovation and efficiency in the payments ecosystem.” Pay4You will also leverage Mastercard’s latest advances in embedded VCN technology which enables frictionless and simplified on-boarding among banks, platforms, and corporates, to accelerate the adoption of virtual cards.
PayPal’s new adaptive AI-driven alerts, notify users before sending money if a transaction may be a scam; tailoring its response based on risk levels: at high risk, it blocks the transaction entirely
Cybersecurity is a relentless cat-and-mouse game, and the rise of generative AI has made cyberattacks more sophisticated than ever. In response, PayPal—owner of Venmo—is harnessing AI to stay ahead of evolving threats. The company has introduced a dynamic, AI-powered scam alert system as part of its fraud prevention efforts to protect its global user base. “We need to be smarter and faster than the scammers, and we’re combating AI used by bad actors with more intelligent AI used for good,” said Yigit Yildirim, SVP of global fraud prevention at PayPal. These AI-driven alerts, now rolling out for Friends and Family transactions on PayPal globally and on Venmo in the US, notify users before sending money if a transaction may be a scam. The system tailors its response based on risk levels: at high risk, it blocks the transaction entirely; at lower risk, it suggests verification or provides cautionary prompts. This adaptive approach is designed to avoid “warning fatigue”—the desensitization that occurs when users repeatedly see the same generic message. “If you send the same friend money for lunch every week but always receive the same generic warning to watch out for scams, it not only interferes with your payment experience, but it leads you to ignore the warnings altogether,” Yildirim explained.
PNC Bank is looking to increase its direct deposit market share by automating the payroll deposit switch for payroll, Social Security payments, gig work payouts or other regular income from the bank’s mobile app
PNC Bank is looking to increase its direct deposit market share by automating the payroll deposit switch process for consumers. The bank announced the launch of its new digital direct deposit manager on Tuesday. It gives PNC Bank customers the ability to automatically set up direct deposits for payroll, Social Security payments, gig work payouts or other regular income from the bank’s mobile app. The upgraded deposit feature, referred to by the bank as PNC Direct Deposit, removes barriers to updating or changing the primary bank account for payroll deposits by combining the roles of the employer, the payroll provider and the bank into a single interface. PNC Bank built the feature through a partnership with the account-switching fintech Atomic. “This integrated direct deposit solution is just another example of how
PNC is continuously enhancing and improving the client experience,” Alex Overstrom, head of retail banking for PNC Bank, said. “By embedding direct deposit functions directly within the mobile app, our clients can seamlessly update and manage their direct deposit preferences without the hassle of filling out paperwork.” In most cases PNC consumers using the direct deposit manager won’t need to manually enter their routing and account numbers, which could reduce the risk of user errors and delays in receiving payments. The automated deposit switching feature covers about 85% of U.S. payees. The bank still provides a manual direct deposit enrollment form option for any consumers whose employers aren’t integrated into the PNC Direct Deposit platform. The bank previously offered this manual option for all users before launching its digital feature.
Truist’s Merchant Engage combines banking and payments in one- delivers a rich, intuitive user experience that shows all of the processing, all of the settlements, all the dispute management in a seamless experience
Truist Financial Corp. has launched a new integrated merchant-services platform called Merchant Engage, aimed at meeting the banking and payment needs of businesses ranging from small enterprises to large merchants. The free service allows Truist clients with both banking and merchant accounts to view all transaction data in one centralized platform. Developed in partnership with London-based fintech Pollinate International Ltd.—marking its U.S. debut—Merchant Engage offers a comprehensive digital experience covering dispute management, new-location onboarding, and transaction processing. According to Chris Noe, Truist’s head of wholesale payments, the bank covers Pollinate’s service fees, making the offering cost-free for users. Pollinate provides customizable modules across the merchant lifecycle, delivering a seamless experience without requiring users to manage processor tie-ins or aggregate data themselves. “The client is able to get a rich, intuitive user experience that shows all of the processing, all of the settlements, all the dispute management, and anything that they would possibly need,” Noe explained. For instance, onboarding a new merchant location can now be done entirely within Merchant Engage, avoiding the need to navigate multiple platforms. While Truist may be first with this level of integration, other banks like U.S. Bank are also expanding their merchant services, such as with April’s launch of U.S. Bank Essentials.
Algebrik AI and Kinective partner to streamline lending with blended e-signatures, built in for use cases like joint applications, branch-assisted onboarding, or co-signer journeys from application to signature
Algebrik AI announced a strategic partnership with Kinective, to integrate Algebrik AI’s intelligent loan origination system with Kinective’s Gateway™ platform providing credit unions and community lenders seamless, real-time connectivity between their LOS, core systems, and e-signature workflows.Algebrik AI and Kinective partner to unify loan origination, and e-signatures. “Our partnership with Kinective eliminates one of the biggest sources of operational drag—manual workflows and broken integrations,” said Pankaj Jain, Founder and CEO of Algebrik AI. With Kinective’s Gateway™ embedded into Algebrik’s platform: Everything Happens in One Place – Loan officers can initiate, track, and complete document signing within the Algebrik interface—no toggling between systems or manual syncs. Blended E-Signatures, Built In – With Kinective Sign, borrowers can complete signatures remotely via email or embedded interfaces, or in-person using supported tablets and signature pads. The same workflow can flexibly accommodate both channels—ideal for use cases like joint applications, branch-assisted onboarding, or co-signer journeys. Compliance-Ready by Design – Every signed document and system update is captured, logged, and audit-ready within Algebrik’s compliance-first architecture. Faster Closings, Happier Borrowers – By automating every touchpoint—from application to final signature—Algebrik reduces operational bottlenecks and delivers a smooth, guided borrowing journey.
Adobe predicts amount of traffic to all U.S. retailers coming from gen AI chat services and browsers to leap 3,200% year over year during Amazon’s Prime Day
Adobe said that during Amazon’s Prime Day sales event that runs from Tuesday (July 8) through Friday (July 11), it expects the amount of traffic to all U.S. retailers that comes from generative artificial intelligence (AI) chat services and browsers to leap 3,200% year over year. “And while AI-driven traffic remains modest compared to other channels such as paid search or email, the growth shows the value consumers are seeing in leveraging AI to quickly find information on deals and product details,” Vivek Pandya, director, Adobe Digital Insights at Adobe, said. Adobe saw the first material surge in this kind of traffic to U.S. retail sites during the holiday shopping season, from Nov. 1 through Dec. 31, 2024, when generative AI traffic saw a year-over-year increase of 1,300%. The company found that 92% of U.S. consumers said generative AI enhanced their shopping experience as they used the technology for shopping tasks like conducting research, receiving product recommendations, seeking deals, getting present ideas, finding unique products and creating shopping lists. Adobe also predicted the during the Prime Day event, U.S. retailers will see online spend increase 28.4% year over year to reach $23.8 billion; shopping on mobile devices hit an all-time high as it drives 52.5% of online sales; and buy now, pay later (BNPL) usage experience a slight uptick as it increases its share of overall online spend from 7.6% last year to 8% this year.
OpenAI implements “information tenting” policies that limit staff access to sensitive algorithms, isolates proprietary technology in offline systems and maintains a “deny-by-default” policy to protect against corporate espionage
OpenAI has reportedly overhauled its security operations to protect against corporate espionage. The company accelerated an existing security clampdown after Chinese startup DeepSeek released a competing model in January, with OpenAI alleging that DeepSeek improperly copied its models using “distillation” techniques. The beefed-up security includes “information tenting” policies that limit staff access to sensitive algorithms and new products. For example, during development of OpenAI’s o1 model, only verified team members who had been read into the project could discuss it in shared office spaces. OpenAI now isolates proprietary technology in offline computer systems, implements biometric access controls for office areas (it scans employees’ fingerprints), and maintains a “deny-by-default” internet policy requiring explicit approval for external connections. The company has increased physical security at data centers and expanded its cybersecurity personnel.
Apple dials back Liquid Glass look and feel following user complaints of the glassy look making the UI more difficult to read, switching back to less translucent and more solid white background in the Notifications and navigation within first-party apps
The iPhone’s new glassy look has been toned down with the release of the third developer beta of iOS 26. This follows user complaints that the update made parts of the user interface more difficult to read. The update sees Apple taking yet another step to dial things back from an overly glassy look in a number of key areas. While beta 2 addressed problems with the Control Center, beta 3 shifts its focus to other areas of the mobile operating system, like Notifications and navigation within Apple’s first-party apps, like Apple Music. For instance, the navigation bar in Apple’s streaming music app no longer sees the background shining through a bit, opting for a more solid white. Notifications are also less translucent, as the background behind the text is darkened, increasing contrast. While the changes arguably make features easier to read, some users now complain that Apple has gone too far in the other direction with a return to more of a “frosted glass” aesthetic. The point of beta software is to allow Apple to collect feedback, find bugs, and address issues before the software rolls out more broadly. That means Apple could continue to tweak the Liquid Glass look and feel over the coming releases to find the sweet spot for the new glassy look within every app and screen.