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PULSE Perspectives – June 2026

A road stretches to the horizon with the sun and clouds in the background

PULSE offers its perspective on developments and trends in payments and banking. In this installment of PULSE Perspectives, we look at:

  • Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) as an opportunity for financial institutions;
  • Liability considerations in agentic commerce; and
  • Federal agency collaboration to combat payments fraud.

Is BNPL an Opportunity for Issuers?

According to a new J.D. Power survey, BNPL usage continues to grow. Nearly 40% of U.S. consumers reported using BNPL within 90 days of being surveyed. Adoption is largely through fintech BNPL programs, which dominate market share. But, issuer-branded BNPL programs deliver higher customer satisfaction and trust, highlighting an opportunity for financial institutions to expand their presence in the BNPL market.

Perspective: Financial institutions are encouraged to evaluate how to integrate BNPL into existing debit experiences. Embedding these options within digital-banking channels can help retain transaction volume, strengthen customer relationships and trust, and ensure institutions remain central to everyday payment activity.

AI Shopping Agents Raise Liability Questions

As artificial intelligence (AI) shopping agents begin conducting transactions on behalf of consumers, questions are emerging around how existing payment authorization, dispute, and liability frameworks apply to agentic commerce. The question to be answered is, Who is responsible when errors occur? Dispute and liability frameworks are expected to evolve as automated commerce becomes more common.

Perspective: Maintaining clear authorization controls and strong governance frameworks will become increasingly important as automated payment activity expands. Financial institutions should evaluate how existing authentication, fraud mitigation, and dispute-management processes apply to AI-driven transactions.

Agencies Collaborate to Combat Payments Fraud

According to a 2025 Federal Reserve survey, one in five American adults experienced financial fraud or scams in 2024. Michelle W. Bowman, Fed Vice Chair for Supervision, highlighted ongoing efforts by the Fed, Treasury, and Federal Communications Commission to strengthen coordination around consumer payments fraud. Regulators are focused on improving fraud-data sharing, prevention tools, and cross-sector collaboration as payment fraud losses continue to rise.

Perspective: Financial institutions should continue strengthening layered fraud-defense strategies, including real-time alerts, transaction monitoring, and customer controls. Layering DebitProtect® with your processor's fraud solution can help reduce debit-fraud exposure while supporting a more seamless cardholder experience through configurable rules and real-time blocking capabilities.