This week on Today in Payments, ChatGPT takes a big step into e-commerce with new tools for product discovery and comparison, while LendingTree reveals a sharp rise in consumers using Buy Now, Pay Later for groceries and dining. Mastercard unveils its stablecoin payments infrastructure with support from major crypto partners, and regulators throw a wrench into the Capital One–Discover merger over $1.2 billion in interchange overcharges.
Welcome to Today in Payments, I’m your host, Patti Murphy, here with your weekly dose of payments notes.
Well James, you called it. Last week, we talked about how ChatGPT might soon help consumers with shopping—and now it's happening. OpenAI has begun rolling out features that make it easier to find, compare, and buy products directly within ChatGPT.
The rollout, which started April 28, includes improved product results, visual product details, and direct links to purchase. Importantly, OpenAI notes that these product results are selected independently and are not ads.
Example: Ask ChatGPT, “What’s the best espresso machine under $200 that comes close to the taste of coffee in Italy?” and you’ll be shown several options, complete with reviews and price comparisons.
OpenAI also announced several other updates. “Search has become one of our most popular and fastest growing features, with over 1 billion web searches just in the past week,” the company stated.
New features now include live sports scores and multiple citations per response—helping users verify information and explore additional sources more easily.
A new LendingTree survey reveals that nearly half of U.S. consumers have used Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) loans—and just as many plan to apply for one in the next six months, up from 42% in March.
But some findings are cause for concern:
41% reported making a late payment in the past year
25% have used BNPL to pay for groceries, up from 14% a year ago
16% say they would consider using BNPL for food delivery or takeout
13% would consider using it to dine out
That means roughly 44% of consumers are using or open to using BNPL for food purchases.
Other notable findings:
PayPal is the top BNPL provider, used by 56% of respondents
Klarna, Affirm, and Afterpay are tied for second at 38% each
The big news this week is Mastercard’s bold move into the stablecoin space.
The payments giant has unveiled new technologies that allow consumers and businesses to send and receive stablecoin payments anywhere Mastercard has merchant relationships.
At the heart of the rollout is Mastercard Crypto Credential, a tool that ensures secure, compliant, and user-friendly blockchain transactions through identity and metadata verification.
Mastercard is partnering with Nuvei and Circle to enable merchants to accept USDC stablecoin payments, regardless of how consumers choose to pay. Additional partners include:
MetaMask
Kraken
Gemini
Bybit
Crypto.com
Binance
Monavate
Bleap
Consumers will still enjoy familiar benefits—like earning rewards and moving stablecoins between cards and bank accounts. Mastercard is also teaming up with OKX to launch a branded OKX Card.
A potential roadblock has emerged for Capital One’s proposed acquisition of Discover.
Both the FDIC and the Federal Reserve have cited Discover for overcharging merchants by $1.2 billion over 17 years through misclassified transactions. The FDIC has ordered Discover Bank to refund the full amount, and the Fed has tacked on a $150 million civil penalty.
The regulators require all fines and refunds to be paid before the deal closes, which is currently scheduled for May 18.
Capital One says it’s committed to complying with the regulators' orders. The Fed also directed Discover to take disciplinary action or terminate employees involved in the misconduct.
In related news, Discover just released its final earnings report as an independent company. Highlights from Q1 2025 include:
Higher deposits
Increased debit spend
PULSE network volume up 3% to $81.3 billion
Capital One has already signaled it plans to migrate its debit traffic to the PULSE network post-merger.
That’s all for Today in Payments. Stay tuned for your weekly dose of payments notes.