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The Capital One/Discover merger is making waves. Nearly 400 jobs were just cut at Discover's headquarters, including its Chief Marketing Officer.

Meanwhile, the AI revolution is accelerating. FICO is rolling out new AI models designed to perfect underwriting, while OpenAI's "Instant Checkout" and Mastercard's first "agentic payment" are bringing us one step closer to a world where AI agents shop on our behalf.

From layoffs to AI-powered lending, let's break down what's happening.

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Capital One cuts nearly 400 Discover employees

As part of its ongoing merger, Capital One is cutting nearly 400 jobs at Discover's headquarters. The financial services giant explained the move is part of its "continued integration efforts" following the acquisition. The reductions include Discover’s chief marketing officer, and most of the cuts affecting workers at the Illinois headquarters will take effect in November. These layoffs, which do not impact customer-facing roles, come on the heels of Capital One shutting down Discover Home Loans over the summer. While the company says it's supporting impacted colleagues, it also noted that overall integration costs will be "somewhat higher" than first projected. [Banking Dive]

Seeking better results, FICO launches bank-specific AI models

FICO, the company behind the famous credit score, just announced three new AI models built specifically for financial firms. Instead of relying on broad, general AI, FICO is championing a "focused" approach, training its models from scratch on highly curated data for specific jobs like underwriting and fraud detection. The company argues this method results in higher accuracy, fewer AI "hallucinations," and gives banks more control over the data driving decisions. To build confidence, every output from these models receives a "trust score" so users know how reliable the answer is. In early tests, the models performed on par with the best human underwriters, handling much of the heavy lifting. One analyst even predicts this focused-model approach is a "breakthrough" that could become the new standard for how all industries use AI. [American Banker]

Capital One settles lawsuit over influencers' commissions

Capital One Financial, now the largest U.S. credit card lender after acquiring Discover, has reached a “settlement in principle” in a class-action lawsuit from social media influencers who accused its coupon-finding browser tool, Capital One Shopping, of replacing affiliate cookies and diverting commissions. The extension, used by about 10 million people, allegedly altered checkout tracking tags so Capital One appeared as the referrer, allowing it to collect payments meant for creators. Plaintiffs include influencer Jesika Brodiski, who earned $20,000 in commissions last year but claims she lost more due to the scheme, and YouTuber Peter Hayward, who also reported reduced payouts. Attorneys told a Virginia federal court they are finalizing terms, with a motion for preliminary approval expected by November 17 and a possible hearing on December 2. Filed in January 2025, the case is part of a broader wave of lawsuits challenging whether extensions from companies like PayPal and Microsoft are cutting into affiliate revenues. [American Banker]

New Sun Country Airlines Credit Card from Synchrony Rewards Travelers Every Time They Fly

Synchrony and Sun Country Airlines have launched the new Sun Country Visa Signature card, designed to reward leisure travelers with up to 5X points on Sun Country purchases (3X when using the card and 2X when flying), 2X on gas and groceries, and 1X on other spending. Cardholders receive 25,000 bonus points after $1,000 in purchases within 90 days, plus travel perks such as 50% off the first checked bag and seat selections for themselves and companions, a free premium drink, and 25% off in-flight food and beverages. An extra 10,000-point anniversary bonus is available with $10,000 in annual card spend. Alongside the card launch, Sun Country introduced its new “Plus Status,” earned by either 10 flights or $10,000 in card spend per year, offering benefits like no change or cancellation fees, complimentary Flexible Fares, and priority check-in, security, and boarding. Existing cardholders are being converted to the new Synchrony-issued Visa. [Sun Country]

Why biometric cards haven't taken off in the U.S.

Biometric payment cards with fingerprint sensors have lagged in the U.S. compared to Europe, where chip and PIN rules make them a faster and more secure alternative. Adoption has been limited because the cards cost $15 to $20 each compared to about $1 for a standard contactless card, which makes issuers cautious. The U.S. market is now projected at only $2.5 million to $3 million in 2026, down from earlier $10 million forecasts, although analysts still expect about 11.7% annual growth over the next decade. Analysts see potential among high-net-worth consumers, frequent travelers, and users of metal cards, while banks are also testing debit versions and exploring e-commerce authentication. Recent developments include Mastercard’s biometric metal card in Bangladesh, new partnerships in Asia, and simpler smartphone-based fingerprint enrollment, even as palm and face biometrics gain traction and Norwegian firm Zwipe filed for bankruptcy. [American Banker]

PayPal Announces a Multi-Year Relationship for US Buy Now, Pay Later Receivables with Funds Managed by Blue Owl Capital

PayPal announced a two-year agreement with Blue Owl Capital under which funds managed by Blue Owl will purchase about $7 billion of U.S. “Pay in 4” receivables, part of PayPal’s push toward a balance-sheet light model that reduces loan risk and frees up capital for growth. PayPal will continue handling underwriting and servicing for its BNPL customers, while Blue Owl, which manages $284 billion in assets, adds the receivables to its portfolio. PayPal processed $33 billion in BNPL volume globally in 2024, with average order values more than 80% higher than standard checkouts, and executives said the partnership supports disciplined capital allocation and portfolio growth. The transaction, covering one of the most widely distributed BNPL solutions, was already included in PayPal’s 2025 financial guidance. [PayPal]

FIS acquires account origination fintech Amount

FIS, a U.S. fintech giant, has acquired Chicago-based Amount, a provider of digital account origination and decisioning technology, with financial terms undisclosed. Spun out of online lender Avant in 2020, Amount achieved unicorn status in 2021 after a $99 million raise backed by Goldman Sachs, Barclays, WestCap, and others, and has processed more than 150 million account applications. The company also expanded by acquiring Linear Financial Technologies for $175 million in 2022 and raising $30 million in growth equity in 2024. FIS plans to integrate Amount’s technology into its digital, core banking, and card systems to help clients grow deposits, loans, and card portfolios, a move that follows FIS’s recent $13.5 billion purchase of Global Payments’ Issuer Solutions business and the sale of its remaining stake in Worldpay. [FinTech Futures]

Coinbase is writing a protocol for agentic AI

Coinbase and CloudFlare have launched the x402 Foundation to create a shared protocol that lets AI agents and digital systems transact with minimal human input. Built on the HTTP “402 payment required” code, the standard automates fund transfers by sharing details like transaction size, terms, and recipient. CloudFlare has already added x402 to its servers with a USDC trial, while Coinbase is linking the standard to its AgentKit and broader stablecoin strategy, including new USDC lending options with yields up to 10.7%. The effort comes as stablecoins gain momentum following the GENIUS Act and as major players like Google and startups such as Circuit & Chisel, which just raised $19 million, also develop agentic payment standards. Analysts say the rise of “agentic commerce” could reshape pricing models, checkout flows, and back-end payment systems across the banking sector. [American Banker]

OpenAI’s ‘Instant Checkout’ Lets Users Shop Via ChatGPT

OpenAI has launched “Instant Checkout,” a new eCommerce feature in ChatGPT that lets U.S. users buy single items directly from Etsy merchants and select Shopify sellers without leaving the chat. Positioned as the next step in “agentic commerce,” shoppers simply ask a question, see the most relevant products ranked only by relevance, and complete checkout in a few taps, while merchants handle orders through their own systems and pay a small fee per completed sale. The rollout is limited for now, but will expand to multi-item carts and more regions. Experts say this signals a shift toward “zero-click” shopping, where AI agents act as personal shoppers, interpreting prompts, applying loyalty or financing rules, and making purchases entirely based on the consumer’s preferences and constraints, turning the prompt itself into the new personalization engine. [PYMNTS]

Citi mandates AI prompt training for most employees

Citi is mandating a new AI training program, “Asking Smart Questions – Prompting like a Pro,” for 175,000 employees worldwide, requiring completion within 60 days to sharpen skills in writing effective prompts for its generative AI tools. Leaders liken strong prompts to strategic client questions that can unlock clarity and impact, noting staff have already entered more than 6.5 million prompts this year through Citi Stylus Workspaces and Citi Assist, turning hours of work into minutes. The initiative comes as Citi expands agentic AI to 5,000 users in Stylus Workspaces, enabling autonomous research and workflow support. Experts emphasize that success depends not only on technical skills but also on creativity and critical thinking, and Citi’s reskilling push stands in contrast to peers like Accenture, which recently turned to layoffs as part of its AI pivot. [American Banker]

Capital One seeks to kill two costly lawsuits with one stone

Capital One is seeking to end multiple lawsuits over allegations it misled customers into keeping low-rate 360 Savings accounts by offering a $425 million class-action settlement, but regulators argue the deal falls far short. The proposal would pay $300 million into a fund and $125 million in added interest, yet New York’s Attorney General and 17 other states say consumers lost more than $2.5 billion in interest and would get less than $54 each on average compared with $717 lost. They also argue the settlement would give Capital One legal cover to block state-level restitution, calling the deal “fundamentally flawed.” Capital One denies wrongdoing but says the settlement avoids prolonged litigation and ranks among the largest ever against a bank, while legal experts note the unsettled question of whether such a deal can limit state enforcement. A judge will weigh final approval and state objections on November 6. [American Banker]

PayOS, Mastercard Complete First AI Payment

PayOS and Mastercard announced the completion of the first live agentic payment using a Mastercard Agentic Token, marking a shift from concept to real-world practice for AI-driven commerce. The payment ran on Mastercard’s Agent Pay framework, which extends the tokenization infrastructure behind mobile and card-on-file payments to create a “trust layer” that enforces user consent, authentication, and fraud protection while allowing AI agents to initiate transactions. PayOS, which integrates network-issued tokens and intelligent payment services, said the milestone signals its readiness to onboard customers. Mastercard framed the achievement as part of building a secure and interoperable ecosystem for agentic commerce, while industry observers note it positions card networks to move from security enablers to orchestration platforms, setting the stage for agentic payments to become a competitive edge as AI agents turn prompts into purchases. [PYMNTS]

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