💳 Pay & Play.

REVEALED: The payment method big retailers don't want you to know about. This changes everything...

Author

The Merchant
June 24, 2025

Happy Tuesday!

A customer just asked if they could pay in compliments. Told them we're working on the exchange rate.

Five massive changes just rocked e-commerce. Grab your coffee - this week's gonna be interesting.

Let's dive in! 💸

DIGITAL PAYMENTS

💳 Coinbase Brings One-Click Crypto Payments to Shopify

Coinbase launches a groundbreaking stablecoin payment system for Shopify, enabling instant USDC transactions without any blockchain knowledge required. The integration brings crypto payments to millions of merchants through a seamless, gas-free solution built on Base.

Early access began June 12, with Stripe powering the backend integration. The system offers 1% cash back incentives while letting merchants receive payouts in local currency, marking a significant step toward mainstream crypto adoption.

💡 Key Features:

  • Zero blockchain knowledge needed for merchants

  • Sub-second, gasless transactions via Base

  • Simple API integration for developers

  • $30 trillion in stablecoin settlements last year

With half of Fortune 500 companies building on-chain and one-third of small businesses accepting crypto, Coinbase's Shopify integration could be the catalyst that brings crypto payments into the mainstream.

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ECOMMERCE AI

🛍️ Amazon Unveils 5 AI Tools to Supercharge Prime Day Shopping

Amazon rolls out an arsenal of AI-powered features ahead of Prime Day 2025 (July 8-11), transforming how customers discover and shop deals. The suite includes Interests, Shopping Guides, Hear the Highlights, Rufus, and Amazon Lens.

Most notable is Rufus, their new AI shopping assistant that can analyze past purchases, compare options, and track historical pricing, while Hear the Highlights turns product reviews into audio summaries for multitasking shoppers.

🤖 Key Features:

  • Personalized interest tracking with natural language

  • AI-powered shopping guides with educational content

  • Audio summaries of product reviews

  • Visual search capabilities via Amazon Lens

As AI reshapes e-commerce, Amazon's betting on personalization and multimodal shopping experiences, making AI assistants as common as shopping carts in the digital retail space.

DIGITAL PAYMENTS

💰 X Plans WeChat-Style Financial Ecosystem with Trading Features

X (formerly Twitter) announces ambitious plans to become a full-service financial platform, with CEO Linda Yaccarino revealing upcoming investment and trading features. The platform is partnering with Visa to launch X Money, a digital wallet and payment service.

The expansion includes plans for X-branded debit and credit cards this year, as the company aims to mirror China's WeChat success in combining social media, payments, and commerce. Meanwhile, parent company xAI seeks $9.3B in funding while projecting $13B in expenses.

🏦 Key Features:

  • Digital wallet with Visa partnership

  • Investment/trading capabilities coming soon

  • P2P payments and creator tipping

  • Cross-border payment solutions

With 48% of U.S. consumers already using digital wallets online and 39% in-store, X's move into financial services could reshape how social platforms monetize, if they can navigate the regulatory landscape.

ECOMMERCE NEWS

🔐 16 Billion Passwords Exposed: What You Need to Know

Cybernews reports a massive collection of 16 billion passwords allegedly affecting major tech platforms, but there's more to the story. The data comes from 30 different datasets being monitored since early 2025, rather than a single breach.

Security expert Bob Diachenko clarifies that while tech giants weren't directly breached, the datasets contain a mix of infostealer malware, credential stuffing sets, and repackaged leaks. IBM notes data breach costs now average $4.9 million, up 10% from last year.

🚨 Key Findings:

  • No direct breach of major tech platforms

  • Data from 30 distinct sources

  • Average breach cost up 10% in 2024

  • Personal impact goes beyond financial

As data breaches become more complex and costly, the focus shifts from prevention to resilience, making regular security audits and robust response plans essential for businesses of all sizes.

ECOMMERCE NEWS

🌍 EU Proposed 2028 E-commerce Import Handling Fee Update

The European Commission unveils a major customs reform targeting 4.6 billion annual imports, initially proposing a €2 fee per direct shipment. Under Poland's EU presidency, the plan aims to combat rampant VAT fraud while giving member states control over local implementation.

Trade Commissioner proposal comes as fast-fashion giants like Shein and Temu face scrutiny for allegedly circumventing the €150 threshold through order splitting. Their shipments have tripled since 2022, reaching €4 billion annually.

📊 Key Reforms:

  • Trust and Check Trader scheme offers €0.50 reduced fee

  • €150 threshold elimination by 2028

  • Member states get flexibility on charge amounts

  • Follows US dropping $800 threshold for Chinese imports

While the EU moves to close e-commerce loopholes, WTO rules and international trade agreements could complicate implementation, leaving the future of cross-border e-commerce in flux.

NEWSLETTER TLDR;

WEEKLY ROUND UP

DIGITAL PAYMENTS: Crypto goes mainstream as Shopify teams with Coinbase for one-click USDC payments. With instant settlements and no blockchain knowledge needed, this could be the bridge traditional e-commerce has been waiting for.*

AI SHOPPING: Amazon's not just doing deals anymore—they're rolling out 5 AI tools including Rufus and Shopping Guides. Their bet? AI assistants will become as essential as shopping carts.

FINTECH: X (Twitter) wants to be the next WeChat, launching payment cards with trading features. Social commerce meets fintech—though the regulatory road might be bumpy.

SECURITY: A massive 16 billion password leak affects major platforms. While it's not a new breach, it's a wake-up call for better security practices and regular audits.

REGULATIONS: EU's proposing a €2 import fee, targeting fast-fashion giants like Shein and Temu. With €4 billion in annual shipments at stake, 2028's reforms could reshape cross-border e-commerce.

*Worth noting: From crypto payments to AI shopping assistants, commerce is getting both smarter and more complex. Time to level up those tech stacks.

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Signing off,

The Merchant @CartHustle