The global bank has discussed potential partnerships with private credit firms, although the talks are at various stages and may not result in formal collaborations, Reuters reported Friday (April 11), citing unnamed sources.

HSBC did not immediately reply to PYMNTS’ request for comment.

The bank is looking to the private credit market to increase revenue after it underwent a restructuring, cut jobs and made a retrenchment in investment banking, according to the report.

At the same time, senior executives, including CEO Georges Elhedery, question whether the revenue will outweigh the costs, the report said.

In addition, the near-term demand for credit has declined due to corporate borrowers’ uncertainty about the effects of new U.S. tariffs, per the report.

Some other global banks have already moved into the private credit sector, the report said. Citi made a deal with private credit firm Apollo, J.P. Morgan set aside more money for direct lending deals, Goldman Sachs launched a private capital markets business called Capital Solutions Group, and Deutsche Bank made an agreement with its asset manager DWS to give it first preference on private credit deals, per the report.

When J.P. Morgan earmarked another $50 billion for its direct lending efforts in February, it was reported that the bank did so to gain a greater foothold in the fast-growing private credit market.

In the previous four years, J.P. Morgan deployed over $10 billion across more than 100 private credit transactions and worked with lending partners to allocate an additional $15 billion in private credit.

“Pairing our vast origination platform with our lender client base has supercharged our ability to deliver in size for borrowers and increased deal flow for lenders,” Kevin Foley, global head of capital markets, said at the time.

Estimates of the size of the shadow banking sector, which includes private credit, vary widely, PYMNTS reported Wednesday (April 9). The Financial Stability Board calculated that the nonbank financial intermediation sector was tied to $239 trillion in assets, and the more narrowly defined “other financial intermediaries” harbor assets of $68 trillion.

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Via the collaboration, Uber will use Carrot Ads in the United States to extend the reach of Uber Eats’ Sponsored Items formats to consumer packaged goods (CPG) advertisers, according to a Thursday (April 10) press release.

“The integration aims to provide a broader set of CPG advertisers with access to effective solutions that help them win the digital shelf,” the release said.

Starting this month, CPG advertisers in the U.S. will be able to reach millions of “high-intent” grocery and retail marketplace shoppers on Uber Eats using the Carrot Ads solution, which will provide “increased discoverability of relevant products and brands” to shoppers, per the release.

CPG advertisers will be able to build campaigns using Instacart Ads Manager that automatically extend throughout the Instacart Ads ecosystem, which now includes the Uber Eats grocery and retail marketplace, according to the release.

“By enabling access to Uber Eats Sponsored Items in the U.S. via Instacart’s Carrot Ads solution, we believe we can better meet the needs of more CPG brands, especially those making network buys,” said Travis Colvin, general manager for grocery and retail at Uber Advertising. “Our advertising team already works with many of the world’s largest brands directly, but we want to be there for brands of all sizes to help them easily reach our engaged audience in a way that suits them. For the U.S. market, we believe this integration best achieves that goal.”

The partnership comes as brands try to reach an audience that might be much more cautious about their spending. Data released Thursday showed price increases in the “food at home,” or grocery, category. That uptick was primarily fueled by a 5.9% increase in egg prices and a 1.3% rise for meats, poultry, fish and eggs from February to March.

Consumers were retrenching even before the latest round of White House tariffs upset the world economy.

As PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster wrote in a column this week, nearly 78% of consumers across “all major retail categories of spend — clothes, food, health and beauty, personal services, household and tech/digital services — are rethinking what they buy and how much they are willing to spend when they do. Tech purchases, eating out and buying coffee at the local coffee shop are consistently on the chopping block, even for those who do not feel financial pressures.”

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The collaboration will allow the Stockholm-based company to address the rising demand from small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) for efficient spend management tools, according to a Thursday (April 10) press release.

“The partnership will enable Visa to better meet its clients’ needs and the underserved SMB market,” the release said.

Visa will invest in Mynt’s Series B funding round, and Mynt will become a reseller partner for Visa. This will let Visa resell Mynt’s software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions directly to issuers, per the release.

Mynt’s platform offers auto-reconciliation and integration into accounting software, providing spend insights and easing administrative burdens, according to the release.

“Another great example of Nordic FinTech innovation where Visa is deepening collaboration with Mynt, where our combined capabilities will enable our clients and partners to bring market-leading propositions and service to [SMBs] across Europe,” said Philip Konopik, regional managing director of Visa Nordics and Baltics, in the release.

The two companies previously worked together to expand the adoption of Mynt’s embedded card solution. The tool allows enterprise resource planning fleet and fuel companies and banks to offer embedded corporate card and spend management solutions to their SMB customers in Europe.

The partnership comes as SMBs face increased financial pressure. Half of SMBs in the United States “rely on their day-to-day sales just to keep the lights on,” PYMNTS wrote this week. “Nearly 1 in 5 are pessimistic about their odds of survival over the next two years. Almost 7% think they might not make it.”

Just 28% of SMBs have business cards. Of that group, 64% of businesses with access to any form of financing use their corporate cards to withdraw cash for operations.

Although credit cards potentially carry high interest rates, they “offer a quick and relatively easy way to access funds,” PYMNTS wrote. “At the same time, 4 in 10 businesses with access to financing also rely on their owners’ personal credit cards,” blurring the lines between personal and business finances and potentially putting both at risk.

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The collaboration, announced Tuesday (April 8), is designed to give merchants more flexibility and choice in offering financing to their customers.

“In today’s competitive market, the ability to provide customers with longer-duration, convenient payment options is essential,” the companies said in a news release. “With this integration, thousands of merchants that host websites on Adobe Commerce can offer the Synchrony product suite to accept Synchrony credit cards with extended term promotions and offer Pay Later installment financing at checkout online.”

Jason Knell, senior director of content and commerce partners at Adobe, said that flexible financing options can increase average order size and foster repeat business.

“Synchrony’s integration with Adobe Commerce to offer more financing options magnifies growth opportunities for our joint merchants by enhancing the shopping experience,” he said.

The partnership comes at a time when small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are facing significant pressures in the wake of new U.S. tariffs.

“When the economic winds start to howl, small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) turn up their collars,” PYMNTS wrote Wednesday. “As the Trump administration’s global tariffs send shock waves through stock markets and prompt fears of a recession, businesses across America may be in store for particularly acute pain.”

Forthcoming research by PYMNTS Intelligence shows that financing for SMBs is hard to come by. This research was conducted from Feb. 5 to Feb. 12, when the White House had announced tariffs against Canada, China and Mexico but before many countries instituted retaliatory levies and a global trade war kicked off.

According to the research, a little under half of these businesses — 44% to be precise — say they have access to financing in any form: cash, a business credit card, bank loan or alternative source of credit.

“The workhorse of the U.S. economy lives hand-to-mouth,” that report added.

And with no ability to tap funds when things get tight, pessimism is rising. Just under 7% of all SMBs surveyed for the report in early-to-mid February said they were unlikely to survive the next two years. This figure jumps to 13% for SMBs with no access to financing.

“It’s feeling like a tornado to small business owners,” Natalie Madeira Cofield, CEO of the Association for Enterprise Opportunity, which backs efforts to help companies with under 10 employees, told the New York Times recently. “This is an unprecedented moment.”

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The collaboration, announced in a news release Monday (April 7), will help Access introduce the next phase of its Juzt Digital Credit Card program in the U.S.

“The expanded Juzt Digital Credit Card program, which leverages i2c’s global, unified banking and payments platform, offers an unsecured digital credit card aimed at helping consumers build and strengthen their credit histories,” the release said.

In removing the requirement for collateral, the card offers a more inclusive approach, catering to consumers in the subprime category or those who wish to establish a strong credit record, the companies added.

“This ongoing partnership with Access Finance highlights the versatility of i2c’s platform in supporting complex credit programs and expanding financial access,” said i2c chief executive Amir Wain. “We’re excited to continue supporting Access Finance in their mission to provide U.S. consumers with meaningful credit-building tools that can help shape a more financially inclusive future.”

PYMNTS spoke with Wain last week about the critical infrastructure elements needed for a successful agentic AI strategy at banks.

He told PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster that while many institutions have embraced AI at the margins — especially for tasks such as fraud detection and product recommendation — most have only scratched the surface of what agentic AI can do.

The main reason for this “under-exploration” is not only a lack of ambition or imagination; it is the reality that many banks still depend on legacy systems that make data tough to access in real time. In addition, agentic AI requires vast amounts of contextual information.

“If I still want to interact the same way that I did, then I’m really not maximizing the capabilities of agentic AI,” Wain said.

He added that even the best AI models underperform when data is segmented by product or siloed. A unified view means that one customer record spans checking accounts, credit cards, loans and other relevant services, so that the AI engine can draw upon a holistic picture.

With that plethora of information, agentic AI can address customer needs far more intelligently, rather than needing to piece together information from multiple data sets.

“We’ve heard this so many times — customer centric and so on,” Wain said. “But this is truly an opportunity to architect your business, your enterprise, your infrastructure to be customer-centric.”

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The partnership, announced Tuesday (April 8), is designed to help international companies access local payment options in the Latin American (LatAm) region.

“As Latin America’s digital commerce rapidly grows, especially in countries like Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia, international companies are increasingly looking to localize their payment offerings,” the companies said in a news release. “The partnership provides a unified framework for businesses to offer payment methods like Pix, e-wallets, cash vouchers, and debit and credit cards, including local brands and installments.”

According to the release, the collaboration encompasses the 17 LatAm countries in which EBANX operates, from major markets like Brazil, Mexico and Colombia, to newer digital markets like Peru and Chile, along with Central American and Caribbean nations.

“Latin America is on the radar of international companies because it offers solid expansion opportunities, said Daniel Kornitzer, vice president, head of global partnerships at EBANX.

The announcement pays special attention to Brazil’s Pix payment system, with plans to leverage that platform to promote travel payments.

Forty-three percent of Brazilian consumers use Pix daily, compared to 29% who rely on credit cards and 21% who use cash, per research from the PYMNTS Intelligence and Galileo collaboration, “Promising Payments: Digital Payments Gain Ground in Latin America.”

That report also found that 82% of Pix users say that the payment method has a positive impact on their lives and that Brazilian consumers are also fans of digital banking, with 95% of consumer interactions with banks happening via digital channels.

Additional research from PYMNTS Intelligence has showcased the Latin American region’s embrace of digital payment methods. For example, Brazilians one of the most digitally engaged populations in the world, with people there using devices for everything from banking to gaming.

“Other countries, such as Colombia, are also hotbeds of online activity, which in turn means that individuals are willing (and able) to transact with a host of merchants to get what they want, round the clock,” PYMNTS wrote last month.

At the same time, experts have stressed to PYMNTS that companies hoping to do business there need to recognize the importance of local payment methods.

“Each of these countries treats the way money moves around differently — and you need to have someone that has already been through the process, and has any certifications and licenses that you may need to acquire in order to process payments within that country,” Juan Soto, general manager of LatAm for Nuvei, told PYMNTS.

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The new collaboration introduces B2B virtual cards designed to reduce costs and improve the financial performance of digitally operating businesses, Fyorin said in a news release.

“Our collaboration with Discover Global Network is a significant leap forward in simplifying global card payments for businesses,” Fyorin Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer Christian Joseph Agius said in the release.

“We are bringing business banking closer to CFO workflows. Together, we are committed to reshaping the future of international transactions, offering businesses unprecedented access to seamless global payment capabilities.”

According to the release, the partnership combines Fyorin’s network of financial institutions with Discover’s global reach to streamline international transactions. This will allow businesses to enjoy benefits like reduced payment expenses and simplified reconciliation, providing a more “seamless global financial ecosystem for companies,” the release added.

The partnership comes amid a growing embrace of virtual cards in the corporate world as businesses seek new forms of working capital.

As PYMNTS wrote late last year, unplanned expenditures represent a key challenge for chief financial officers (CFOs) who hope to optimize their working capital. Research by PYMNTS Intelligence finds that 42% of companies characterized as “growth corporates” point to unplanned expenses as the chief reason for leveraging working capital solutions.

“Virtual cards, with their ability to issue temporary, single-use numbers tied to specific expenses, are particularly well-suited to address these unpredictable costs,” PYMNTS wrote.

For companies that use virtual cards, 56% said the ability to meet demand and opportunity was the most important benefit, the research showed. That’s higher than the share of users who report similar advantages from other credit tools, such as traditional credit cards and lines of credit (approximately 25%).

This makes virtual cards an ideal tool for CFOs who need to maintain flexibility while controlling expenditures, especially when facing unexpected financial needs or opportunities.

“Yet the market is virtually untapped, as the data shows that just 3.3% of North American Growth Corporates use virtual cards,” PYMNTS added.

Because of economic volatility, CFOs use virtual cards to offset risks and maintain financial stability. The research showed that 34% of growth corporates expect a global recession in the next year, findings that predate the current tariff-related market upheaval.

For all PYMNTS B2B coverage, subscribe to the daily B2B Newsletter.

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The collaboration, announced Monday (April 7), lets PayPal users update their PayPal branded card-on-file information across multiple merchants using Knot’s CardSwitcher technology.

“For PayPal users, the process is simple. From the PayPal app, users can log in to their favorite merchants across categories to automatically add their PayPal branded cards to their selected merchants using Knot’s CardSwitcher,” the company said in a news release.

“This eliminates the need for manual data entry, ensuring future transactions are processed smoothly, enhancing user confidence, and helping ensure merchants benefit from consistent, friction-free checkouts.”

Knot says the solution helps merchants bolster customer satisfaction while driving higher conversion rates. It follows partnerships between Knot and other financial institutions and FinTech companies, including American Express, Bilt and Step. 

“This new collaboration with PayPal is a significant milestone in Knot’s mission to build a financially interconnected future for users and merchants alike,” the release added.

The partnership comes at a time when consumers are counting on retailers to simplify their checkout processes, according to both expert insights and PYMNTS Intelligence Research from the report “What’s Next in Payments: Payments Modernization.” 

For example, Justin Downey, vice president of product at Maverick Payments, discussed how providing frictionless checkout can be critical to fostering a positive consumer experience.

“Businesses that can adapt to very convenient ways for customers to pay are going to win in the long run … so staying on top of offerings for a streamlined payment and checkout approach is a heavy focus,” Downey said in an interview with PYMNTS for the report.

Additional research, focused on the eCommerce segment, finds that 50% of consumers consider the ease of a merchant’s checkout process when choosing where to shop.

“Anything that makes processes quicker and easier with less obstacles for customers, that’s where the excitement is,” Downey said.

In other PayPal news, the company announced last week that it was bringing its PayPal Ads program to the United Kingdom.

The solution, first introduced last year in the United States, lets brands and merchants show personalized ads to interested consumers based on past purchases.

“Commerce and advertising are deeply connected, and we believe that the advertising solution we are building at PayPal will become a must-use marketing and revenue channel for merchants big and small,” said Mark Grether, general manager for PayPal Ads. 

“… In a world where shopping is agentic, invisible and everywhere, brands need a partner that can help them reach these empowered shoppers. PayPal — and its wealth of consumer knowledge — will help brands and merchants not only respond to demand but also thrive in this new commerce ecosystem.”

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The collaboration aims to digitize and streamline transactions in industries where digital payments remain underused, including health services, education, field services and professional training, the companies said in a Thursday (April 3) press release.

“Many [small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs)] using vertical SaaS platforms today still rely on manual, offline payment methods, causing inefficiencies, poor user experiences and lost revenue opportunities,” Unipaas founder and CEO David Avgi said in the release. “Our partnership with Mastercard is about changing that.”

By embedding modern card processing capabilities into the platforms used by these SMBs, this partnership will help providers transition their platforms’ users from manual invoicing and bank transfers to card-based payments, improve acceptance rates and transaction speed, reduce operational complexity and overhead, and offer payment options that are more convenient, secure and user-friendly, according to the release.

The collaboration brings together Unipaas’ fully embedded, compliant payment infrastructure and Mastercard’s global payment network and fraud protection, per the release.

“By leveraging our extensive global network and advanced fraud protection, we are enabling [SMBs] using SaaS platforms to enhance their payment experiences, improve acceptance rates and unlock new opportunities,” George Simon, executive vice president of market development at Mastercard, said in the release. “Together with Unipaas, we are empowering [SMBs] using software providers to scale their operations and drive business growth with confidence.”

Embedded finance creates a more streamlined, user-friendly experience and makes payments smooth and accessible, Jennifer Marriner, executive vice president of global acceptance solutions at Mastercard, told PYMNTS in an interview posted in July.

“The future of commerce is at the intersection of new technology and digitization,” Marriner said.

Optimizing the payment process ensures a streamlined experience for platforms, vendors and customers, and opens up a new revenue stream for the businesses that want to own the payment experience, Avgi told PYMNTS in an interview posted in 2021.

“Companies will be the owner of the payment experience,” Avgi said. “They control the flow of funds, and they can monetize payments.”

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The partnership, announced Thursday (April 3), will see Bilt employ the FIS Premium Playback solution, which allows customers to unlock savings at checkout.

“The current economy is significantly increasing the demand for loyalty programs that maximize the utility of money, but inadequate technology can complicate the experience cardholders have when redeeming loyalty points, hindering the efficient movement of money,” Mladen Vladic, head of products and services for loyalty at FIS, said in news release.

“Credit and debit cards continue to play a leading role in the payment experience as money moves between banks, consumers, businesses and beyond in a complex, never-ending cycle,” Vladic added. “In the fight for customer loyalty, every payment card program is a vital opportunity to seize competitive advantage and drive growth.”

According to the release, the Premium Payback connects participating issuers with participating merchants to allow consumers to redeem their points at the point of purchase, “which can provide immediate savings.”

Displaying offers at checkout, the release adds, can give cardholders an instant benefit, eliminating delays and hassles associated with app sign-ups or downloads, thus reducing friction at the point of purchase.

As covered here last month, this sort of convenience is attractive to the “click-and-mortar” shopper, especially ones who shop via mobile devices.

“They want ease of use when making payments and rewards tailored to their needs, which would make goods and services a bit more affordable in an uncertain economic environment,” PYMNTS wrote.

Research from “The 2025 Global Digital Shopping Index: The Rise of the Mobile Window Shopper and What It Means for Payments,” commissioned by Visa Acceptance Solutions, shows that rewards are a major incentive in getting consumers to examining a product and then checking out after hitting the buy button.

Meanwhile, PYMNTS recently explored Bilt’s acquisition of item-level-receipt data platform Banyan in a conversation with the CEOs of the two companies.

The deal integrates Banyan’s intelligence into Bilt’s commerce network of 40,000 merchants. That item-level data will allow for personalized rewards and merchant promotions, while continuing to power automated FSA/HSA savings.

Bilt CEO Ankur Jain and Jehan Luth, founder and chief executive of Banyan, told PYMNTS’ Karen Webster that their merger can reconfigure neighborhood commerce.

“What’s special about the neighborhood is that you live nearby … and they know who you are,” Jain said. “eCommerce may be huge, but there’s something special about walking into the neighborhood store.  They know who you are and what you like.”

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