Commerce, p. 2
Commerce
25 stories · page 2 of 3Stripe mapped where people pay for AI: Mexico is growing 264 percent
Stripe processes payments for 88 percent of the Forbes AI 50 and sees who buys from where. Median growth in AI spending is close to 100 percent a year; India, Mexico, Poland and the UAE spend disproportionately on AI.
Read →Cash is accepted by 92 per cent of shops in the euro area
Acceptance actually grew against 2024. The fastest riser is paying by phone: from 36 to 68 per cent in two years.
Read →Shopify ends duties paid at the door on August 24
Managed Markets is dropping support for the scheme where the recipient pays duties on delivery. Merchants who do nothing switch automatically to payment at checkout.
Read →The digital euro will go beyond Europe's accessibility minimum
The ECB laid out what the digital euro app will look like for people with disabilities - and promised to go above the legal requirements. The pilot is set for 2027. For us, this is a rare case where accessibility is a decision made from the start, not cosmetics tacked on at the end of the project.
Read →X launches the wallet: money, a card and 6% interest inside the social network
From 27 July X Money is rolling out to select users in the US: an in-app wallet, free transfers between people, a Visa card with cashback and up to 6% annual interest. Another step toward the 'everything app.' The question is worth asking now - do you want your bank to live where you message people.
Read →Europe picks new banknotes: ten designs, two themes, and a survey we all get to vote in
On 23 July the ECB unveiled the ten finalists for the first full redesign of euro banknotes since they appeared in 2002. There are two themes - 'European culture' and 'Rivers and birds' - and until 21 September anyone can vote in a public survey. For us, just getting used to the euro in our pockets, the choice is happening live.
Read →EU fines AliExpress 550 million euro over dangerous and counterfeit goods
On July 20 the European Commission fined AliExpress 550 million euro under the Digital Services Act (DSA). The reason: the platform failed to do the work of assessing and reducing the risk of selling illegal, dangerous, and counterfeit goods - fake clothes, dangerous toys, harmful cosmetics. For a buyer in the EU, this shows just how much weight big platforms' responsibility now carries.
Read →The European Parliament approved the digital euro - now it has a deadline (2029) and a price tag
A follow-up to the story from 14 July: a week after the ECB named the 36 providers for the pilot, the European Parliament approved the digital euro with about 70% majority. Cipollone laid out the road ahead - actual issuance around 2029 and a bill between 4 and 5.8 billion euros. For Bulgaria, which joined the euro this year, the topic is no longer someone else's.
Read →The ECB picked 36 payment service providers for the digital euro pilot
On 14 July the ECB announced which 36 payment service providers will join the digital euro pilot - chosen from over 50 applicants to the call from March 2026. The pilot starts in the second half of 2027 and runs for 12 months. For now it's a beta. Not legal tender.
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