Rubail Birwadker of Visa says agentic commerce will only scale if identity, permissions and risk controls are built into the transaction.

WorkWhile Chief Economist Alan Armen says wage shocks move through hourly workers’ budgets in weeks, not quarters, because income becomes spending almost immediately. The latest Wage to Wallet™ findings show platforms supplying 15% to 30% of income as workers try to address declining wages.

CFOs at emerging enterprises are redesigning and adding speed to their cash cycles. As a PYMNTS panel with insights from Bottomline, Coupa and FIS tells Karen Webster, automation, AI and stronger onboarding are the keys to faster liquidity. Together they outline how better data, improved processes and real-time tools will define time-to-cash performance heading into 2026.

Meet the Fortune 5 Million. It’s how BILL CEO René Lacerte describes the US small business community. As AI agents push the financial back office toward full autonomy, Lacerte says the shift will spark nothing short of a creative payments renaissance as it eliminates the grind of financial operations. He believes it will unleash the agility that has long differentiated small businesses.

Boston Finance Manager Rich Andrade and Passport CTO Gene Rohrwasser tell PYMNTS’ Karen Webster how the city is finally breaking from a decades-old patchwork of vendors to build a unified payment platform that promises real-time insight and a more modern experience for residents and visitors alike.

Personalization at scale requires moving from shoppers to signals, and Parbinder "Parbs" Dhariwal, VP and General Manager at CVS Media Exchange, shares why the retailer’s media network is focused on a future where every aisle, every screen, and yes, every long register receipt, is part of a larger conversation between brand and consumer.

Furniture.com is rebuilding the furniture-buying experience for the agentic commerce age. In a PYMNTS SKU conversation, Cofounder and CMO Dan Bennett tells Karen Webster that by using standardized data and AI, the company is unifying retail partners into a single-cart, highly personalized platform. 

Ulta Beauty is building a commerce ecosystem where AI, social discovery and stores work together to meet fast moving consumer expectations. In a conversation with PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster for the PYMNTS series The SKU, Ulta SVP Josh Friedman explains how the retailer tries to make sure every guest gets what she wants.

Trulioo CEO Vicky Bindra says leadership in the age of breakaway technology innovation isn’t about keeping pace. It’s more about redefining trust, data and decision making when machines move faster than markets. Read more in Bindra’s interview as part of the “What’s Next in Payments” series, “The Year of the CEO.” 

Cox Automotive’s new omnichannel platform connects every step of the car-buying journey, closing the long-standing channel break between online research and in-store purchasing. In a Monday Conversation with PYMNTS’ Karen Webster, Senior VP Jessica Stafford explains why shifting dealer mindsets , not just upgrading technology, is the real unlock.