Qualified, the agentic marketing platform with the world’s leading AI SDR agent, will unveil Spotlight, the industry’s first observation layer for agentic marketing. Spotlight offers customers a new contextual view of Piper the AI SDR Agent. B2B marketers can now see AI transparency in action, including how Piper thinks, reasons, and strategizes for every unique buyer, as she autonomously generates pipeline at scale. This innovation ensures trust and confidence as marketers integrate AI agents into their teams and workflows. No two user Spotlights are the same—Piper formulates a unique game plan for every buyer, executing hundreds of thousands of strategies simultaneously to maximize conversion. Qualified’s first-of-its-kind Agentic Marketing Platform helps marketers leverage agents to drive scalable pipeline generation. At its center sits Piper the AI SDR Agent, who engages with and converts all qualified leads, autonomously and at scale. With Spotlight, marketers can observe: Lead Context: Piper the AI SDR Agent understands each lead—who they are, which role they hold, and where they are in the buying journey—informing tailored selling experiences. Account Context: Piper understands key account data—their segment, buying committee, and level of intent—delivering an account-based sales motion; Piper rolls lead and account data into one unified view, helping her sell to the whole buyer versus separate leads and accounts. Behavior Monitoring: Piper tracks how buyers are engaging across the website, email inbox, and online, and adjusts her strategy accordingly. Goals and Guardrails: Piper operates toward specific goals for each unique buyer and within the guardrails outlined by marketing, working towards targets of meetings booked and pipeline generated.
Snoop launches Variable Recurring Payments to supercharge automated saving- allowing users to set flexible, automated deposits from their current account into their Snoop savings account on a weekly or monthly basis
Snoop has launched Variable Recurring Payments (VRPs), letting users automate savings with ease and stay on track with financial goals – all powered by Open Banking. Snoop’s new VRP functionality allows users to set flexible, automated deposits from their current account into their Snoop savings account on a weekly or monthly basis – on the day that suits them. This new capability builds on the app’s existing savings features, which already include smart insights and nudges that help customers shift spare cash into high-interest savings. John Natalizia, chief executive officer and co-founder of Snoop said “With VRPs, we’re unlocking a new level of control and ease. This is about building better habits with less effort – and helping people grow their money without needing to think about it every day.” Since launch, the Snoop savings account has gained strong traction. Over 90% of customers fund their accounts using Open Banking, preferring seamless, secure transfers over manual top-ups. The Snoop savings account offers: 4.25% AER / 4.16% gross (variable) interest; Daily interest payments; Easy access: same working day if requested before 11am; Open from just £1, save up to £85,000; FSCS protection up to £85,000 (held with Vanquis Bank Limited). Over 80% of users have set savings goals, most aiming to build an emergency fund. Snoop recommends monthly contributions and nudges users when spare cash is available. This will expand to include advanced sweep rules, roundups, and payday savings, offering even more intelligent automation. Natalizia added “Unlike traditional accounts, Snoop actively helps customers optimise their savings.
Urban Outfitters targets Gen Z with back-to-college shopping pop-ups, citywide scavenger hunt, and a contest offering move-in experience from home to campus
Urban Outfitters is launching a new omnichannel platform, including pop-up activations, designed to support Gen Z students throughout their college careers. Known as “UO Haul,” the effort will include products, citywide pop-ups, strategic brand partnerships, and surprise giveaways. UO Haul kicked off in New York City with a citywide scavenger hunt that let participants follow clues to discover a fleet of glass-walled trucks, each transformed into a Gen Z dorm room and styled to reflect a distinct aesthetic. Select winners were invited to a special performance by global girl group Katseye. Phase two of UO Haul launches in June 2025 with “Special Delivery,” a month-long initiative celebrating recent graduates and inspired by the thousands of letters Urban Outfitters receives each year. Urban Outfitters will also team up with the Collegeboxes by UHaul student storage and shipping solution for a back-to-campus contest launching the week of June 9. Three students will win $1,000 in Urban Outfitters products and a move-in experience from Collegeboxes by U-Haul, which includes door-to-door service to handle their move from home to campus. Urban Outfitters says its immersive “UO Haul” experiences are part of a broader strategy to reimagine back-to-campus shopping by blending function, style, and discovery in a way customers won’t find anywhere else.
WHSmith runs store takeover promotion with Nestle- participants engage with Nestlé Essentia branding through a variety of touchpoints, including the retailer’s WHS Media retail media network in-store digital screens and audio, front-of-store pop-up displays, floor decals, and other creative placements throughout the stores
Global travel retailer WHSmith and CPG company Nestle are promoting a bottled water brand via an experiential retail media campaign. The activation includes full-store takeovers at 10 WHSmith airport locations, as well as a complete terminal takeover and an interactive basketball arcade experience at New York City’s LaGuardia Airport. The three-week campaign kicked in May 2025 with WH Smith store takeovers by Nestle at 10 U.S. airports, including LaGuardia, Newark Liberty International, Palm Springs International, Orlando International, and Phoenix Sky Harbor. Shoppers at participating will engage with Nestlé Essentia branding through a variety of touchpoints, including the retailer’s WHS Media retail media network in-store digital screens and audio, front-of-store pop-up displays, floor decals, and other creative placements throughout the stores. The campaign also includes a full terminal takeover of LaGuardia’s Terminal E, beginning May 15. Travelers see Nestlé Essentia branding throughout the terminal, and can play a branded version of Pop-A-Shot, the basketball arcade game, fully wrapped in Nestlé Essentia creative.
BNPL services settle in as a cashflow strategy and is not driven by affordability of the purchases
Research from Affirm suggests that consumers are increasingly using such payment methods as a way to manage their cashflow. This aligns with separate data from Bankrate, which shows that BNPL usage is not primarily among those who can’t afford their purchases, but remains relatively consistent across all income levels. According to Bankrate, 31% of respondents in both the highest and lowest annual household income brackets have used BNPL at least once. The Affirm study found that over half of U.S. consumers believe that longer-term payments with clear terms help them make smarter financial decisions for larger purchases. Evidence shows these plans are becoming just another payment option, depending on how well they align with consumers’ shopping habits. Nearly two-thirds of pay-over-time users say they value interest-free payment offers as much as, or more than, traditional discounts. Affirm found that more than half of respondents avoided certain payment methods due to concerns over hidden fees like late charges and interest. Nearly all respondents said it’s important for financial institutions to provide transparent terms without hidden fees. Only recently have BNPL lenders been required to follow some of the same rules as credit card companies, including clearer disclosures and the right to dispute charges. Last year, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued an interpretive rule subjecting the industry to regulations currently governing credit card products, requiring BNPL vendors to provide periodic statements much like their credit card counterparts. Given the current administration’s rollback of many CFPB initiatives, it is unclear how long that regulation will remain in force.
Ataccama enhances data lineage with audit-ready snapshots, historical tracking, and cloud-native processing to strengthen data trust
Ataccama has released Ataccama ONE data trust platform v16.1. This new version introduces powerful data lineage and connectivity capabilities, including enhanced diagram export for audit and compliance use cases and improved lineage visualization tools. It also expands pushdown processing for cloud platforms, such as Azure Synapse and Google BigQuery. With these updates, Ataccama helps organizations more easily operationalize automated lineage, govern data across complex environments, and deliver trusted insights at scale. The Ataccama ONE data trust platform closes the data trust gap by giving organizations a comprehensive and portable view of how data moves, transforms, and impacts downstream systems. New capabilities make it easier to manage lineage across environments, including exporting diagrams for audits, preserving historical lineage states, and migrating metadata to support governance workflows and system changes. Teams can go beyond static data views to track sensitive information, audit its handling, and build confidence with point-in-time documentation. Expanded pushdown processing allows organizations to analyze data directly within cloud platforms like Azure Synapse and BigQuery, reducing movement, improving performance, and maintaining governance at scale. These updates enable teams to act faster, meet regulatory requirements, and confidently deliver trusted insights. New capabilities in v16.1: Automated lineage and audit snapshots; Enhanced visibility and collaboration; Cloud-native data processing; Support for big data workloads; Enhanced connectivity and flexibility.
NordVPN launches post-quantum encryption across all its applications complying with NIST’s latest cryptographic standards
NordVPN has launched post-quantum encryption (PQE) support for all its VPN applications. The first iteration of post-quantum cryptography was implemented on the NordVPN Linux application last year. In 2025, NordVPN also rolled out its PQE feature for Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android, including Android TV and tvOS. The PQE upgrade integrates quantum-resistant algorithms into NordLynx, the company’s high-speed VPN protocol based on WireGuard, and complies with NIST’s latest cryptographic standards. In September 2024, NordVPN released a Linux app update with the first post-quantum cryptography upgrade for the Nordlynx protocol — a high-performance VPN protocol known for its extreme speed and security, based on WireGuard. The upgraded protocol complied with the latest National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards for post-quantum encryption and protected Linux users from quantum decryption, while also collecting essential performance metrics, such as impact on connection speeds and latency. NordVPN’s early Linux deployment allowed the company to collect performance data to optimize encryption transitions without degrading user experience, enabling a seamless rollout across all platforms.
Google Wallet adding nearby pass notifications- providing timely notifications for relevant passes stored in the app
Google Wallet and Pay had a number of announcements, including some new features (like nearby passes) that end users will benefit from. A redesign for the Google Pay payment sheet adds a dark theme “for a more integrated feel.” We’re already seeing it live on our devices, with Google also adding “richer card art and names” to make card selection faster. Meanwhile, Digital IDs are a big focus for Google Wallet, with their availability helping power other capabilities. With Zero-Knowledge Proof, Google wants to allow “age verification without any possibility to link back to a user’s personal identity.” The company will open-source these libraries. Currently, it’s available to Android apps through the Credential Manager Jetpack Library and mobile web, with desktop Chrome in testing. Google showed off a “seamless experience between Chrome on desktop and your Android device” that involves QR code scanning. Google Wallet is adding Nearby Passes notifications that send users an alert when they’re near a specific location. This can be used by loyalty cards, offers, boarding passes, or event tickets. By highlighting these value-added benefits, such as exclusive offers or upgrade options, you can guide users back to your app or website, creating a dynamic gateway for ongoing user interaction. With an update to Auto Linked Passes, airlines that have loyalty cards for frequent flyer programs can “ automatically push boarding passes to their users’ wallets once they check in for a flight.” Google is also adding passes that can include a picture of the user.
Some of the biggest U.S. banks are exploring whether to team up to issue a joint stablecoin: WSJ reports
Some of the biggest U.S. banks are exploring whether to team up to issue a joint stablecoin, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. The conversations have so far involved companies co-owned by JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo and other large commercial banks, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter. The Reuters Tariff Watch newsletter is your daily guide to the latest global trade and tariff news. Sign up here. However, the newspaper said that the bank consortium discussions are in early, conceptual stages and could change. Reuters could not immediately confirm the report. Citigroup, Bank of America and Wells Fargo declined to comment on the WSJ report, while JPMorgan did not respond to a Reuters’ request for comment outside of regular business hours. Stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency designed to maintain a constant value, usually pegged to a fiat currency such as the U.S. dollar, are commonly used by crypto traders to move funds between tokens. One bank consortium possibility that has been discussed would be a model that lets other banks use the stablecoin, in addition to the co-owners of the Clearing House and Early Warning Services, the Journal said, citing unnamed sources. Some regional and community banks have also considered whether to pursue a separate stablecoin consortium, it added. Trump has promised to be the “crypto president,” popularizing its mainstream use in the U.S. He has said he backs crypto because it can improve the banking system and increase the dominance of the dollar. Reporting by Pretish M J in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema. Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Citi’s new PayTo enables institutional clients to initiate account-to-account pull payments enabling a transparent and instant process for clients
Citi announced that it is live with PayTo initiator, enabling its clients to access a faster, cost effective, and more secure alternative to credit cards, debit cards or direct debits. Through PayTo, Citi’s institutional clients can initiate account-to-account pull payments. This means clients’ customers can pay directly from their bank account, in real-time, enabling a transparent and instant process for clients. PayTo offers Citi clients seamless reconciliation and fee reduction benefits as it reduces reliance on card fees and decreases the likelihood of chargebacks. PayTo can be used for everyday transactions such as in-app payments or e-commerce payments, outsourced payroll, utility bills, flight bookings, subscriptions and digital wallet top-ups. Through PayTo, we’re truly giving our clients access to the future of payments. We anticipate strong take-up of this offer as clients welcome the benefits for themselves and their end customer,” said Kirstin Renner, Citi Australia and New Zealand Head of Treasury and Trade Solutions, Services. This offering is the latest in a suite of innovative solutions offered by Citi’s Services business, including Spring by Citi, an end-to-end digital payments service enabling e-commerce and B2B funds flow globally and Real-Time Funding for cross-border transactions for corporate clients.