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NewsBriefs

This article contains summaries of news stories recently posted under Market Data Spotlight, covering 2022 and 2023, shows ris-
Breaking Industry News on our homepage. For links to these and other ing usage and balances alongside declining late fees and
full news stories, please visit www.greensheet.com/breakingnews.php. charge-offs.
Data from six major providers—Affirm, Afterpay, Klarna,
PayPal, Sezzle and Zip—shows 53.6 million Americans
used BNPL in 2023, a 12 percent increase from 2022. Origi-
nations climbed to 335.8 million loans totaling $43.9 bil-
lion, with higher average loan sizes and more loans per
borrower. Inflation-adjusted balances rose as well.
Meanwhile, late fee revenue and charge-off rates fell, re-
flecting improved credit models and a greater focus on
Retailers balk at Visa-Mastercard repeat customers.
settlement proposal
Fed finds slower debit growth, rising
Opposition is growing to a proposed settlement in the fraud losses, steady interchange
long-running interchange litigation involving Visa and
Mastercard, with Walmart and major retail trade groups The Federal Reserve's biennial debit and prepaid card
urging a federal court to reject the deal. report shows debit use continues to grow but at a slower
pace, while fraud losses are rising and interchange fees
Walmart argued the agreement offers little improvement remain largely stable.
over a settlement rejected last year and again favors small
merchants while failing to address the core concerns of Released in December 2025, the report covers transaction
large national retailers. It said class counsel ignored guid- volumes, fees, costs and fraud trends through 2023. The
ance to treat large merchants equitably and excluded Fed found that debit and general-use prepaid transactions
Walmart from meaningful negotiations. totaled about 100.7 billion in 2023, reflecting average an-
nual growth of 4.6 percent from 2021 to 2023, slower than
Walmart and trade groups also criticized "illusory" relief in prior years.
from honor-all-cards rules, noting that surcharging, dis-
counting and time-limited interchange caps provide little Interchange fees totaled $34.12 billion and have grown
practical value and could be easily circumvented. The Na- modestly since 2021, while Regulation II-covered fees have
tional Retail Federation and Retail Industry Leaders As- remained largely unchanged. Fraud losses more than dou-
sociation warned the settlement would bind merchants to bled compared with 2011, with merchants bearing nearly
unfavorable terms and block future legal challenges. half of losses. Despite higher fraud, the Fed concluded in-
terchange caps still exceed issuer costs for most covered
Shift4's Isaacman to head NASA transactions.

Merchant acquiring veteran Jared Isaacman was con- Consumer spending posts healthy
firmed Dec. 17, 2025, as the 15th Administrator of the Na- gains during holiday season
tional Aeronautics and Space Administration. Isaacman is
the founder of Shift4 Payments, which went public in 2020 U.S. consumer spending posted solid gains during the
and whose technology he has said serves roughly 40 per- 2025 holiday season, reflecting steady confidence and
cent of U.S. hotels. flexible shopping behavior, according to data from Mas-
tercard. Retail sales excluding automotive rose 3.9 per-
A seasoned pilot, Isaacman funded and commanded the cent year over year between Nov. 1 and Dec. 21, based on
first all-civilian spaceflight in 2021, raising $250 million Mastercard's SpendingPulse report. Consumers shopped
for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, and became the earlier, leaned into promotions, and blended online and
first civilian to conduct a spacewalk in 2024. in-store channels throughout the season.

He stepped down as Shift4 CEO earlier this year, becom- Research from the National Retail Federation found nearly
ing executive chairman after his NASA nomination. Isaa- 159 million consumers planned to shop on Super Satur-
cman, a billionaire entrepreneur is also founder of Draken day. Ecommerce sales climbed 7.4 percent, while in-store
International and the Black Diamond Jet Team. sales rose 2.9 percent, highlighting the importance of om-
nichannel strategies.
More consumers take on more BNPL loans
More consumers are using buy now, pay later loans more Apparel spending increased sharply, and restaurant
often and for larger amounts, but new data from the Con- spending rose 5.2 percent. Mastercard also cited the grow-
ing use of artificial intelligence to drive personalization,
sumer Financial Protection Bureau suggests loan per-
formance is improving. The CFPB's Buy Now, Pay Later efficiency and improved inventory planning.
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