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NewsBriefs

This article contains excerpts from news stories recently posted under Merchants stand to benefit, as 43 percent of shoppers said
Breaking Industry News on our homepage. For links to these and other BNPL options influence where they shop. Early promotion
full news stories, please visit www.greensheet.com/breakingnews. of these plans is a plus, with 90 percent of non-users in-
php. dicating they would consider BNPL if offered during the
purchase journey. Improved financial management and
increased spending power are driving this trend, making
BNPL a vital tool for holiday shopping, researchers found.
Shoppers to break records this holiday weekend

A record 183.4 million shoppers were expected over
Thanksgiving weekend, with consumers spending $650
during Black Friday-Cyber Monday (BFCM), a 15 percent
increase over last year, according to Deloitte. With fewer
shopping days in 2024, BFCM spending was expected to
account for 56 percent of holiday budgets.
Faster payments can 'push' faster frauds

Faster payment systems (FPS) like Zelle offer significant Consumers across income levels were stretching budgets
advantages but also expose consumers to authorized push through credit cards and BNPL options, especially millen-
payment (APP) scams. Fraudsters deceive individuals into nials. Lower-income households planned to spend 22 per-
authorizing funds to fraudulent accounts, leaving victims cent more, while high-income groups anticipated spend-
unprotected under current laws. ACI Worldwide reported ing $1,257, up 20 percent year-over-year. In addition, pref-
$2 billion in U.S. APP losses last year and projected the erences for online-only retailers (69 percent) surpassed
amount to exceed $3 billion by 2028. In 2023, Zelle cus- mass merchants for the first time, reflecting the impor-
tomers disputed $206 million in transactions, with victims tance of omnichannel strategies.
absorbing over 80 percent of the losses.
Preferred gift categories ranged from clothing (77 percent)
The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City highlighted the to pet products (29 percent), with strong spending on gift
need for enhanced fraud mitigation. Financial institutions cards. Retailers expected continued momentum, as half of
and FPS operators can implement robust identity verifica- consumers’ holiday shopping was already completed be-
tion tools like biometric authentication, behavioral analy- fore BFCM, researchers noted. Deloitte and the National
sis and AI-based transaction monitoring to flag anomalies Retail Federation predicted record holiday sales, with to-
and reduce fraud risks. Measures such as confirmation of tals reaching between $979.5 billion and $1.59 trillion. On-
payee, monitoring mule accounts and sharing data on sus- line and in-store traffic was thriving, signaling a robust
picious activity can further protect consumers. and value-driven shopping season.
CFPB on the chopping block?
Ultimately, collaboration among financial institutions,
FPS operators, law enforcement and other stakeholders is Elon Musk called for the elimination of the Consumer Fi-
key. While consumer vigilance remains important, com- nancial Protection Bureau (CFPB), arguing it duplicates
bating APP scams requires systemic changes to maintain other regulatory agencies. Created in the wake of the 2008
confidence in fast payment systems. financial crisis, the CFPB’s mission is to protect consumers
from unfair financial practices. The agency has secured
Consumers treating themselves with BNPL major victories, such as recovering $2 billion from Wells

A study by Splitit and PYMNTS found that 38 percent of Fargo for illegal activities and establishing protections for
consumers plan to use buy now, pay later (BNPL) options buy now, pay later (BNPL) users.
for self-gifting this holiday season, with millennials and
parents leading adoption. Approximately 67 percent of Republicans have long criticized the CFPB for regulatory
parents surveyed intend to finance holiday purchases us- overreach and have proposed bills to restructure it and
ing pay later options, which are seen as tools for financial limit its authority. Court challenges to its funding model
flexibility and guilt-free splurging. culminated in a Supreme Court ruling upholding its legit-
imacy. Musk, appointed to lead a government efficiency
The study also revealed growing consumer interest in initiative under President-elect Trump, may advocate for
card-linked installment plans, with 39 percent favoring dissolving the CFPB, but his group lacks direct authority.
plans tied to general-purpose credit cards. Popular BNPL
purchase categories include clothing (60 percent), luxury The proposal sparked intense debate on X, with critics
items like electronics, and furniture. About 27 percent of highlighting the CFPB’s role in safeguarding consumers.
consumers are willing to pay full price when payments While Musk’s stance resonates with some, opponents ar-
can be split. gue eliminating the CFPB risks repeating past financial
crises and leaves consumers vulnerable.

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