The Federal Reserve lowered its benchmark rate by 25 basis points to a range between 4% and 4.25% on Wednesday, its first cut since December. Policymakers signaled the potential for two additional reductions this year but stressed a data-dependent, meeting-by-meeting approach. The market response was muted, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 ending lower and Treasury yields rising.

Members of Generation Z are reshaping financial habits by saving more diligently than older generations, but 81% of them say social influencers are having an impact on their financial decisions, according to a PYMNTS Intelligence report. Gen Z members are increasingly using digital wallets and cryptocurrency for 13% and 6.3% of their savings, respectively, the report says. These trends challenge traditional banks, as Gen Z also prefers debit over credit and relies heavily on Amazon for purchases.

The Federal Reserve's liquidity facilities, including the reverse repurchase agreement facility and the Standing Repo Facility, appear likely to experience substantial demand at the end of September as financial institutions contend with typical month- and quarter-end volatility. Usage of the reverse repo facility could spike to as much as $275 billion, while the SRF could attract around $50 billion, compared with $11 billion at the end of the second quarter, according to Wrightson ICAP.

American Banker has named five institutions to its 2025 The Most Powerful Women in Banking Top Teams list. Bank of America was recognized in part for its launch of a new employee and investing program that required collaboration from its corporate banking, treasury services and HR teams; US Bank is recognized for establishing a banking and payment services bundle to help small-business clients; and Ally Bank is the first fully digital bank named to the list, in recognition of its digital product and experience team.

Ally Financial's proprietary AI platform has seen rapid adoption across the company since its July launch, with about 50% of employees using it to handle simple tasks. Sathish Muthukrishnan, Ally's chief information, data and digital officer, notes the platform's potential to drive efficiency and revenue growth without increasing costs.

Google has introduced the Agent Payments Protocol, an open framework developed with companies including American Express, Mastercard and PayPal to facilitate agentic AI payments across methods such as credit and debit cards, stablecoins, and real-time transfers. The protocol uses tamper-proof digital contracts called Mandates to verify user intent and authority, with the goal of enhancing security and user experience in AI-driven transactions.