In the News

Cornerstone Advisors served Hanscom as its strategic planning partner.

“Klarna’s got a one million person waiting list for their buy now, pay later debit card,” said Cornerstone Advisors Senior Director Tony DeSanctis. “Capital One is going to lean heavily into the debit side of the equation over the next six to nine months,” he said.

A dispute that started 20 years ago may soon come to an end as Visa and Mastercard are working toward an agreement with merchants over swipe fees. “I think they’re just going to continue to put proposals out there to try to find a middle ground,” said Tony DeSanctis, Senior Director at Cornerstone Advisors. “I just don’t know if this is the one.”

Wildfire Systems Inc has shared an update. The company highlighted two Cornerstone Advisors reports—”The Journey Toward 2030: Becoming a Smarter Bank” and “The Next-Generation Digital Banking Platform”—that emphasize the strategic importance for banks of becoming data-driven and leveraging data as a core competitive tool. Wildfire directed its audience to Cornerstone’s December 2025 newsletter for access to these reports.

Tony DeSanctis, Senior Director at Cornerstone Advisors, said he believes an additional settlement offer will be forthcoming from Visa and Mastercard. “I think they’re just going to continue to put proposals out there to try to find a middle ground. I just don’t know if this is the one. And if you read the merchant side of the payments media, they’re not happy with it,” said DeSanctis.

“[Teens are] going out to Shorts and Reels, and they’re finding financial influencers,” says Amanda Swanson, senior director at Cornerstone Advisors. “Banks and credit unions need to meet them there so they can talk about finances and start to interact.”

“They like to create,” says Amanda Swanson, senior director in the Delivery Channels practice at Cornerstone Advisors. “They want it customized. Roblox is a good example where you can create your own little ecosystem.”

“A lot of the fintechs are leaning on that lower end of the market with both credit card and buy now, pay later as revenue streams,” said Tony DeSanctis, Senior Director at Cornerstone Advisors. “The concentration at the high end of the market within the sort of three or four big players … is really why I think about the credit card market as a bifurcated market.”

In this environment it's critical that cards be available in digital wallets, Tony DeSanctis, a senior director at Cornerstone Advisors, told American Banker. "The question is which wallets are going to be relevant," he said.

“People don’t recognize how important payments are to the deposit relationship,” argues DeSanctis. “It’s at the core of deposits, especially low-cost deposits.