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A leading payments industry news source for more than 17 years. Glenbrook curates the news and keeps you abreast of the important daily headlines in payments.
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July 30, 2026
On the web
Plaid Builds AI Model to Decode Consumer Financial Behavior
Bank Info Security
"Banks and lenders often can't tell the difference between a customer having a bad month and a bad customer having a good month. Financial data company Plaid built a foundation model that it says makes that distinction. Plaid spent about a year building the foundation model, which analyzes how and where money moves and the sequence in which it moves."
Mastercard Launches Scam Program And Expands Stablecoin Payment Infrastructure
Yahoo Finance
"Mastercard launched a new Scam Merchant Monitoring Program that pushes acquiring banks to investigate suspected fraud within strict timelines. In addition, the company is expanding stablecoin settlement support, including through its acquisition of BVNK and a focus on deeper banking as a service offerings. These moves aim to tighten consumer protection and build out Mastercard's infrastructure for stablecoin linked payments."
Ever Noticed There’s No CVV Printed on Some of the Newest Cards? [Video]
Keyno
"That's not a mistake! it's the point.With Dynamic CVV, your security code lives in your banking app, not on the plastic. A fresh code for checkout, expiring after one hour. So even if your card details leak, they're useless to fraudsters. Here's how it works in 30 seconds."
Wise Denied US Banking License After Shifting Main Stock Market Listing
Yahoo Finance
"Wise said it has been denied a US banking license in a setback to the payments firm after moving its main stock market listing across the pond. The London-based business had applied for a national bank charter in the hope of being able to operate under the regulation of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). The license would give it direct access to payment systems through the Federal Reserve. But Wise said the application was denied due to historical issues with its original application including relating to financial crime."
Why Kenya's Stablecoin Rules Reach Beyond the Crypto Market
TechTrendsKE
"Kenya’s decision to ban interest payments on stablecoins is one of the most consequential parts of its new virtual asset regulations, although it has attracted far less attention than capital requirements and licensing rules. The provision does more than restrict how crypto firms market digital dollars. It defines the role stablecoins will play within Kenya’s financial system by allowing them to function as payment instruments while preventing them from evolving into products that resemble bank deposits or savings accounts."
Swift: A Better Cross-Border Payment Experience Is Here
Swift
"The industry has worked towards a simple ambition: making cross-border payments feel as seamless as domestic ones. That ambition is becoming a reality. In some of the world’s busiest remittance corridors, consumers can now send money across borders with greater speed, transparency and predictability. Payments from Australia to Spain have been completed in as little as 23 seconds, while transfers from Australia to India have arrived in 37 seconds. This progress is being delivered by Swift’s new scheme—a shared framework for retail payments."
AI and the Global Economy: Implications for Central Banks
BIS
"The AI boom is driving a large, increasingly debt-financed investment surge and boosting trade and equity markets, generating sizeable terms-of-trade and wealth effects that differ across countries. The productivity payoff from AI, though potentially large, remains uncertain and uneven, across both sectors and countries. By simultaneously affecting demand and supply, AI blurs cyclical signals, complicating central banks' assessment of underlying economic conditions and monetary policy calibration."
Revolut to Offer ChatGPT Subscriptions in OpenAI Deal [UK]
UKTN
"Fintech Revolut will give its retail customers access to ChatGPT Go as part of a new partnership with OpenAI. ChatGPT Go is a medium tier subscription for the AI chatbot that typically costs users a monthly fee of £7. Revolut will offer retail customers on its Metal and Ultra subscriptions free access to the premium tier of ChatGPT 12 months, while the cheaper two Revolut subscriptions will offer ChatGPT Go for three and six months respectively."
Visa: Agentic Payments from the Ground Up: What the Onchain Data Tells Us
Visa
"Until recently, software could read a webpage and suggest what to do next, but it couldn’t actually pay for anything. AI agents now book travel, reorder inventory, query data providers, and buy compute for the businesses and people they work for. Visa worked with Artemis to look at the protocols, standards, and live onchain data behind agentic payments, and to get a clearer read on where this is heading."
On the wires
BNY Launches Global Digital Transfer Agency Capabilities, Extending Leadership in Fund Servicing to Digital Market
PR Newswire
"BNY announced the launch of its new Digital Transfer Agency (TA) capabilities, meeting an expanded set of client needs by extending the firm's leading TA services to support digitally native funds. BNY Digital TA modernizes BNY's fund servicing capabilities to support both digital and traditional asset funds in an end-to-end lifecycle across multiple jurisdictions and blockchains, enabling a unified client servicing experience."
July 29, 2026
Top Post
Visa Used Mythos to Hunt for Bugs in Its Own Payment Network, Then Open-Sourced the Harness That Made It Possible [Video]
VentureBeat
"Visa aimed Anthropic's Claude Mythos at the infrastructure behind billions of daily transactions, a network that spans more than 200 countries and territories, moves money in roughly 160 currencies, and connects nearly 5 billion payment credentials to more than 175 million merchant locations. The model stitched minor weaknesses deep in the stack into working exploit chains that would traditionally have surfaced only late in penetration testing. Hear about a new metric that is mean time to exploit and adapt."
Is Agentic Commerce the Future of AI-Powered Shopping?
J.P.Morgan
"Right now, AI shopping is essentially decision support. The human customer drives the process, with the chatbot as an advisor. The vision is that AI agents will go shopping for you, and act as your autonomous representatives in the market: negotiating with suppliers, interacting with brands, even completing a transaction. Businesses are preparing for this world. But would you be happy to delegate decision-making to AI—or to let it spend your human-earned cash? We asked thought leaders for their perspective."
On the web
Financial Services Intelligence Report July 2026
J.D. Power
"The great unbundling of the banking and financial services industry may have reached a turning point. After several quarters of losing share of new account openings to FinTech challenger brands, the big banks have come roaring back in the second quarter of 2026. According to JD Power Signals Intelligence for Financial Services, major national brands have assumed the top spots in new checking, savings, investment, retirement, credit card and personal loan account opening rates."
How Do We Regulate Payments When It’s AI Agents Spending the Money?
World Economic Forum
"AI agents are moving from giving advice to taking action – for payments, the consequences are immediate and can be difficult to reverse. Financial institutions have long built trust around knowing who is behind a transaction; agentic AI adds a layer between the human and the payment that existing controls were not designed to handle. The future of trusted transactions will depend on understanding intent, authority and context alongside established rigorous identity checks."
With Swift, RBC and TD, a New Era for International Money Transfers Arrives in Canada
Business Wire
"People in Canada receiving money from family, friends or businesses abroad will get a significantly better experience as Canadian financial institutions go live with a new consumer payments initiative from Swift. The initiative sets a new standard for international retail transfers so consumers experience several key benefits: The full amount arrives. It arrives faster. The cost is clear from the start."
TCH: Use Case Evolution Is One Factor in RTP’s Instant Payments Growth
Digital Transactions
"Business-to-business payments were one of the first use cases for instant payments when the RTP network from The Clearing House Payments Co. LLC debuted in 2017. The use cases are evolving, with digital wallets—like PayPal and Venmo—now being the largest use cases on the RTP network. Another use with potential is request for payment [RfP]. This option enables billers and merchants to receive nearly immediate payment. RTP has RfP activity on the network, with 300,000 to 400,000 RfPs processed monthly."
Apple Upgrade Launches in the United States
Apple Newsroom
"Apple announced Apple Upgrade, a new product leasing program provided by Klarna for iPhone, Apple Watch, Mac, and iPad available on the Apple Store online, in the Apple Store app, and at Apple Store locations in the United States. Apple Upgrade offers 12- and 24-month leasing options for iPhone and Apple Watch, and 24- and 36-month leasing options for Mac and iPad."
ABA, Associations Ask Agencies to Commit to Reproposing Conflicting Genius Act Rules
ABA Banking Journal
"As the various federal banking agencies race to establish separate regulations for stablecoin issuers, they should be open to reproposing any rule that conflicts with a regulation put forward by another agency, the American Bankers Association and three banking associations. In a joint letter to the banking agencies, the associations said there has been little coordination among the agencies, with separate proposals having different public comment deadlines. Coordination is important given the potential risks posed by stablecoins."
Citi Is Now Live With a Trade Digitization Solution Integrating Supply Chain Solutions
Yahoo Finance
"Citi has launched Citi Consolidate™, a new invoice processing solution powered by Infor Nexus, designed to digitize trade processes for buyers and their suppliers. Citi Consolidate™ streamlines invoice approval, purchase order, and payables processes, creating an end-to-end digital solution that enhances straight-through processing and minimizes approval times. For corporate buyers, Citi Consolidate™ offers one-stop access to data, process automation, improved cash flow visibility, and vital risk mitigation benefits."
Stablecoins Offer Limited Retail Payment Appeal in UK, FCA Says
Crypto News
"FCA participants identified cross border payments as the strongest current use case for stablecoins, particularly in markets with limited access to U.S. dollars. The regulator said UK consumers have little incentive to switch payment methods, though merchants could benefit from lower costs and faster settlement. Findings from the Stablecoin Sprint have informed the FCA’s stablecoin issuer rules and will shape future policy for stablecoin payments."
TerraPay Partners with HDBank to Power Real-Time International Payments from Vietnam
TerraPay
"TerraPay has partnered with HDBank, one of Vietnam’s leading commercial banks known for its strong retail and SME franchise, to enable real-time outbound international payments from Vietnam to bank accounts and mobile wallets worldwide. Vietnam’s outward remittance market was valued at approximately US$275 million in 2025, and is forecast to grow to US$346 million by 2030 — a CAGR of 4.69% — reflecting rising outbound payment demand from Vietnamese businesses and individuals."
On the wires
MoonPay Launches PayBox, a Payment Vault for Claude and ChatGPT That Turns Prompts Into Payments
PR Newswire
"MoonPay has launched PayBox, the first payment vault built for AI that lets a person's AI agent transact on the open internet without leaving the conversation. Anyone can now connect PayBox to Claude or ChatGPT through a custom connector and give their AI the ability to securely transact across the open internet. Users simply describe what they want in natural language: "Onramp $100 into PYUSD""Swap $100 of PYUSD to SOL."
July 28, 2026
Top Post
Three New Nacha Rules Approved
Nacha
"Nacha voting members have approved three new Nacha Rules—including one which took effect immediately, opening the ACH Contact Registry to the U.S. Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service (BFS). Another newly approved Rule will document the current set of characters that are accepted by the two ACH Operators. The third approved Rule creates an exception to a separate, upcoming Rule concerning funds availability."
On the web
PIX and Stablecoins Are Not Rivals, Says Visa’s Digital Currencies Chief for Latin America
Yahoo Finance
"Stablecoins did not arrive to fight PIX. That was the message from Antônia Souza, Visa's Director of Digital Currencies for Latin America and the Caribbean. "We are not here to fight against PIX", she said, pushing back on a framing that has become common across the region. In her view, the two serve different jobs. PIX is built for real-time everyday payments, while stablecoins are meant for cross-border flows, such as sending money abroad or storing dollars more easily."
Visa Is Cutting 7% of Employees in Efficiency Push as AI Reshapes Work
CNBC
"Visa plans to eliminate about 2,600 jobs, mostly in its technology and product operations, representing roughly 7% of its workforce. CEO Ryan McInerney said AI is helping “shape the way work gets done at Visa,” while a person with direct knowledge said AI was a significant factor, but not the sole driver, of the layoffs. Visa intends to reinvest in growth areas including affluent customers, cross-border payments, business remittances and geographic expansion."
Emirates Airline Starts Accepting Crypto Payments for Flights
The National
"Emirate's airline has begun accepting cryptocurrency payments, the first major airline in the Gulf to offer the option of using digital assets for flight bookings. The option uses the Crypto.com Pay service and is live for bookings settled in dirhams on the airline's website and app, the company said in a statement on Tuesday. It is unclear which cryptocurrencies are accepted by the feature."
Major Philanthropies Launch $50+ Million ‘Anti-Scams Philanthropy Collaborative’ to Combat Global Scam Epidemic
Dalberg
"Aspen Digital, a program of the Aspen Institute, Google.org, Dalberg, Asian Development Bank (ADB), craig newmark philanthropies, JPMorganChase, Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, Vodafone Foundation, and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation are announcing the Anti-Scams Philanthropy Collaborative. This initiative introduces a joint approach to share knowledge, identify, fund, and scale solutions designed to prevent scams and support the world’s most vulnerable populations."
Corpay Introduces Agent Card Capability to Power Secure Agentic Commerce
Business Wire
"Corpay announced Agent Card, a new capability that enables secure virtual card creation for AI-driven commerce workflows. In April, Corpay brought AI into the everyday work of finance teams with an AI Virtual Assistant in the Corpay Complete platform. With Agent Card, Corpay extends their AI first approach a step further, allowing AI agents to act on a business's behalf directly, within the same controls that have always defined Corpay's approach to payments."
Brazil Stablecoins Face IMF Scrutiny as Crypto Flows Outpace Capital
Crypto News
"The IMF has urged Brazil to strengthen oversight of stablecoins as cross border crypto flows continue to grow faster than traditional capital movements. The fund said Brazil’s crypto market has become more connected with the financial system while gaps remain in stablecoin rules, customer protection and AML compliance. IMF analysis found stablecoin purchases are two to three times more sensitive to global shocks than portfolio investment and foreign direct investment."
Musk’s Payments Platform X Money Launches Limited US Rollout After Invite-Only Beta
Technology
"X has opened its financial services platform to paying subscribers in the U.S. X Money is now available to Premium & Premium+ members aged 18+, following an invite-only beta phase. The product gives users a deposit account, peer-to-peer payments and a debit card. The platform integrates with both Visa and Apple Wallet, and offers a digital card plus a physical metal version that can be engraved with a user’s X handle. Advertised perks include up to 6.00% APY, 3% cashback bonuses, no foreign transaction fees and early direct deposit."
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