Reports: Consumers and B2B Purchasers Rely on AI; Banking Supervisors Make GENIUS Comments

Roy Urrico
1 hour ago
4 min read

By Roy Urrico

Finopotamus aims to highlight white papers, surveys and reports that provide a glimpse as to what is taking place and/or potentially impacting credit unions and other organizations in the financial services industry.

AI use in shopping and B2B purchasing, as well as comments on the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act (GENIUS Act) highlight a trio of reports.

Price Comparisons Are Driving AI Shopping Adoption

Price is the primary driver of AI-assisted shopping, although brand recognition and customer reviews remain critical pieces that determine which seller they select. Those findings come from new research from London based PSE Consulting, a provider of payment advisory services across the payments landscape.

Key findings:

Price is the most influential factor in AI-assisted shopping, with almost a third of consumers (32%) citing it as the primary decision driver when choosing between recommendations made by an AI assistant.
Forty-three percent of consumers report positive experiences with AI-assisted shopping so far, while fewer than 3% report mostly negative experiences. The remainder describe their experience as mixed, suggesting that adoption is already mainstream and accelerating.
Only 14% simply follow the AI assistant’s top recommendation, emphasizing that consumers use AI as a price comparison tool rather than delegating purchasing decisions to the algorithm.
Eighty-nine percent recognize the seller’s brand as important.
Ninety-two percent check customer reviews before purchasing.
Price-drives U.S. consumers more than any market surveyed, with 37% ranking price as their primary consideration.
UK consumers are the most brand- and loyalty-driven market surveyed.

Chris Jones, Managing Director at PSE Consulting.

"What the research shows clearly is that consumers are using agents to find the best online deals,” said Chris Jones, Managing Director at PSE Consulting. “But once the shortlist is in front of the consumer, the same signals that have always driven purchasing decisions take over: Does the consumer recognize the seller’s brand and what do other customers say about it?”

This online survey of 4,250 Adults in U.S., UK, France, and Germany, who use AI for online shopping, was commissioned by SkyParlour on behalf of PSE Consulting and conducted by market research company OnePoll. Data was collected between March 5 and March 18, 2026.

AI Reshapes the Purchasing B2B Process

Seventy-three percent of B2B buyers now use AI in purchasing workflows, while demand for invoice terms and consistent payment experiences has reached a three-year high. That is among the results found in The Evolution of the B2B Buyer, from Overland Park, Kan.-based TreviPay, a global B2B payments infrastructure partner for financial institutions, manufacturers, retailers, and travel companies.

The study also found buyers now place greater decision power on how efficiently and consistently suppliers deliver across the purchasing, payment and invoicing experiences, meaning their loyalty is dependent on how well a supplier can execute.

Key findings include:

AI integration and digital maturity are reshaping purchasing. Seventy-three percent of buyers now use AI in purchasing workflows, showing automation has moved from exploration into everyday decision-making.
Demand for financial terms has reached a tipping point. The likelihood of choosing a supplier that offers invoice terms increased from 51% in 2023 to 68% today, reflecting buyers’ growing need for options that support cash flow.
Consistent purchasing experiences drive supplier choice. Consistent purchasing experience is ranked as the top factor buyers consider when choosing a supplier, with 83% saying it is extremely or very important.
Expectations for operational efficiency are rising. Tolerance for onboarding delays declined from 6.7 days to 5.1 days, narrowing the margin for slow, manual or inconsistent processes.
These changes demonstrate that loyalty is becoming more influenced by the tangible parts of the buying process, such as the ease of onboarding, flexible payment options and seamless purchasing across different channels.

“B2B buyers are less willing to work around friction,” said Brandon Spear, CEO of TreviPay. “An existing relationship can get a supplier considered, but the ability to onboard quickly, offer invoice terms and deliver a consistent payment experience is where lasting loyalty comes into play. Payments and invoicing now sit much closer to revenue growth, customer retention and share of wallet than many businesses realize.”

OCC Stablecoin Rules Must Address Issuer Risks and Protect Consumers

On May 1, 2026 the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS), joined by the Money Transmitter Regulators Association, submitted comments to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) requesting changes to its proposed rule to implement the GENIUS Act.

The letter emphasized state supervisors’ foundational role in U.S. stablecoin oversight and support for a national framework that preserves financial stability, protects consumers, and supports innovation. An effective framework must ensure that issuers maintain appropriate capital levels, operate within clearly defined statutory activity limits, and follow state consumer financial protection laws.

To strengthen the national stablecoin framework, CSBS recommends scaling capital requirements based on the size, business model, and operational risks of stablecoin issuers. Combined with GENIUS Act reserve requirements, these capital standards would protect individual issuers and the broader stablecoin market from run risks and financial distress. CSBS also called for the OCC to clearly and consistently apply state consumer financial laws, as mandated by Congress.

“The OCC should limit issuer activities consistent with the GENIUS Act and establish capital standards that address the heightened risks posed by digital asset service provider activities. Given the uninsured nature of stablecoins, strong capital requirements that scale with the size and risk of issuers are critical to supporting innovation and financial stability,” said CSBS President and CEO Brandon Milhorn.

CSBS’s recommendations to the OCC emphasize the need to:

Define the scope of stablecoin issuers’ permissible digital asset service provider activities and limit such activities to those specifically listed in the issuers’ applications.
Establish a capital framework for issuers that, like existing state frameworks, relies on objective, risk-based standards that scale with an issuer’s activities and reserves or outstanding stablecoin issuance.
Refrain from using the GENIUS Act to expand the authorities or relax the regulation of national trust charters.
Clarify that state regulators retain authority over digital asset service provider activities authorized by state law.
Preserve the GENIUS Act requirement that state consumer protection laws apply to all activities of stablecoin issuers, including digital asset service provider activities.