FIS Launches Industry-First Platform to Help Banks Lead in Agentic Commerce
FIS has introduced an industry-first solution designed to help banks participate in and scale agentic commerce, transactions conducted by artificial intelligence (AI) agents acting on behalf of customers. The offering, launched after FIS completed its acquisition of the FIS Total Issuing™ Solutions portfolio, enables banks to safely and securely conduct purchases with AI agents using existing card networks, while also helping protect against fraud and maintain strong customer relationships. McKinsey projects that agentic commerce could drive up to $1 trillion in U.S. retail revenue by 2030 and $3–$5 trillion globally.
In agentic commerce, AI acts like a personal digital assistant that can find, negotiate, and pay for goods using pre-approved payment methods. FIS’s platform works with Mastercard and Visa to process these AI-initiated transactions within current authorization, authentication, and dispute frameworks that banks, merchants, and consumers already depend on.
The technology helps issuers securely use “know your agent” (KYA) data and card details, supports compliance, and offers benefits such as fewer chargebacks for banks, higher approval rates for merchants, and improved fraud protections for consumers.
Available to FIS’s issuing bank clients by the end of the first quarter of 2026, the new offering positions banks to remain central as AI-driven commerce grows. FIS plans to expand use cases over time—including transaction authorization, fraud monitoring, loyalty, and customer service—by leveraging partnerships with card networks and its own scale in payments technology.
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U.S. Vehicle Brand Loyalty Hits Five-Year High
U.S. vehicle brand loyalty climbed to 51.4% in 2025, reaching its highest level in five years, according to the third annual U.S. Automotive Brand Loyalty Study by LexisNexis Risk Solutions. This slight increase, up 0.4 percentage points from the prior year, shows that many American drivers continue to repurchase the same brand despite headwinds such as rising vehicle prices, a broader range of electric vehicles (EVs), and shifting fuel incentives. The study gives automakers a comprehensive look at evolving consumer purchase and repurchase patterns across different vehicle types and ownership cycles.
The analysis found that ten automotive brands outperformed the industry average loyalty rate, indicating pockets of particularly strong brand attachment. However, loyalty patterns vary considerably across segments and fuel types. Notably, loyalty among EV repurchasers declined sharply toward the end of 2025, dropping from 82.7% in September to 58.3% in December, while loyalty to gasoline-powered vehicles rebounded in the same period following the expiration of federal EV tax credits.
Automakers are responding with differing strategies to retain customers. Some brands are pulling ahead by strengthening hybrid retention and loyalty-driven programs, while others face more fragmented loyalty as consumers explore new options.
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Portillo’s Loyalty Program Drives Sales and Guides Expansion Strategy
Portillo’s Perks, the Chicago-based fast-casual chain’s “surprise and delight” loyalty program, has quickly become a major driver of business, closing out 2025 with more than 2 million members and contributing over 10 % of total sales. The digital wallet-based program eschews a traditional app in favor of easy check-in badges and personalized rewards designed to boost repeat visits and engage customers in different ways.
Rather than simply offering discounts, the program emphasizes value through exclusive experiences, early menu previews, tastings, and educational opportunities about Portillo’s offerings. In core markets like Chicago, Perks is used to increase visit frequency among loyal customers, while in newer regions such as Houston and Atlanta it serves as a way to attract and introduce new guests to the brand.
Portillo’s loyalty success comes alongside a strategic shift in how the company approaches expansion. After learning from an overly aggressive rollout in Houston, the brand intends to pace new restaurant openings more deliberately, opening eight locations in 2026, including its first airport site at DFW, and using alternative formats like its smaller “Restaurant of the Future” prototype.
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