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March 25, 2025
Top Post
Are You Ready for the PCI DSS March 2025 Deadline?
Banking Exchange
"The March 31, 2025 deadline for PCI DSS v4.x compliance is rapidly approaching and needs urgent attention from any organization that handles payment card transactions...The latest iteration, PCI DSS v4.0.1, represents a shift towards a more proactive and adaptive security posture."
On the web
Somalia Launches First Nationwide Instant Payment System Powered by BPC
Horn Observer
"The Somalia Payment Switch has successfully launched the country's first ever Instant Payment System with QR payments support powered by BPC's next generation SmartVista platform, a global leader in payment Solutions2. Championed by the Central Bank of Somalia, the initiative marks a major step in modernising Somalia's payment infrastructure."
Navigating the Compounding Complexity of Digital Card Issuing
Stanchion
"The number of virtual cards issued worldwide is growing at an unprecedented pace. Customers expect digital-first card products that work instantly in mobile wallets, faster online transactions and a list of different payment options."
Ramya Patel of Amdocs Says Banks Embracing Agentic AI Stand to Gain Competitive Edge
Crowdfund Insider
"Ever faced frustrating wait times with your bank’s customer service or wished for 24/7, personalized financial support? The solution lies in the next innovative wave: Agentic AI. Agentic AI represents a leap in technology—an autonomous system that not only sets goals but also analyzes, decides, and acts on its own."
And So We Pay: More Digital and Faster, With Cash Still in Play
BIS
"The use of cashless payments continues to increase. In particular, the use of credit transfers and e-money has grown, especially in emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs). Fast payments are gaining further ground and a key driver of the growing use of credit transfers in many EMDEs. Fast payments are often associated with less cash in circulation, and with more and smaller card payments."
March 24, 2025
Top Post
Sam Altman’s World Network in Talks With Visa for Stablecoin Wallet, Coindesk Reports
Reuters
"Sam Altman's cryptocurrency project World Network is in talks with Visa for a stablecoin payments wallet, CoinDesk reported citing a person familiar with the plans. A deal will bring Visa card functionality to World Network wallets and allow stablecoin-based payments to merchants that are part of the payments giant's network, the report said."
Walmart Partners With JPMorgan To Speed Payments to Online Sellers
Reuters
"JPMorgan Chase and Walmart are partnering to speed up payments for merchants that sell items through the retail giant's website. The pairing will allow merchants on Walmart's marketplace platform to accept and make payments, while managing cash flow using JPMorgan's systems, said Lia Cao, head of embedded finance and solutions at the largest U.S. bank."
On the web
A Cup of Coffee with Deposit Tokens… Bank of Korea's 'Digital Currency' Experiment
Bloomingbit
"The Bank of Korea and financial authorities will begin the 'digital currency experiment' for the first time next month. Bank deposits can be converted into 'deposit tokens' and used at convenience stores, cafes, bookstores, and more. The Bank of Korea, Financial Services Commission, and Financial Supervisory Service announced on the 24th that they will conduct a real transaction test of digital currency and open deposit token e-wallets with Korean nationality among users of seven banks from the 1st of next month to the end of June. Transactions are made through QR codes."
Gartner Warns Agentic AI Will Accelerate Account Takeovers
Infosecurity Magazine
"Within two years, AI agents will accelerate the time it takes threat actors to hijack exposed accounts by 50%, Gartner has warned. The analyst claimed that the technology would help to automate more of the steps necessary to accomplish account takeovers (ATOs), such as deepfake-driven social engineering and credential compromise. Agentic AI is widely hailed as the next major leap forward for the technology after generative AI (GenAI) made its impact in the past two years. "
Clear Partners With Stripe to Power Billing and Payments for Millions of Customers
Stripe
"Stripe announced that CLEAR—a leading identity verification platform trusted by over 30 million customers—is moving its payments and billing to Stripe. CLEAR is best known for its flagship membership, CLEAR Plus, which uses biometrics to speed up identity verification at airports. In recent years, CLEAR has expanded beyond travel to other sectors like healthcare and financial services."
The Subscription Generation Gap: Who Pays, Who Churns, Who Stays
Internet Retailing
"There’s a divide in how different generations use and value media subscriptions that aren’t discussed often enough. The divide is not just about what different generations consume—but how, why, and how long they stick around. Streaming, news, gaming, and even creator content… the ways people engage with subscriptions tell us a lot about their habits, preferences, and expectations."
FinCen to Track Money Transactions Near Mexico Border
ATM Marketplace
"Consumers in some regions will soon have cash withdrawals at money service businesses tracked. The US Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Network will mandate certain border regions near Mexico to report cash deposits and withdrawals of $200 or more, according to a report by Economic Times."
Amazon Is Now Charging Processing Fee on Bank Discount Offers: How Much It Is and How It Works [India]
MSN
"Amazon has introduced a Rs 49 processing fee for customers who use Instant Bank Discounts (IBD) of Rs 500 or more, effectively reducing the savings consumers receive through banking partnerships. The fee, which took effect yesterday, applies to all customers including Prime members and is non-refundable even if orders are canceled or returned."
On the wires
Porter Airlines, BMO and Mastercard Launch First Canadian Credit Card Program Granting Immediate Airline Loyalty Benefits
Business Wire
"Porter Airlines, BMO and Mastercard are announcing the launch of two new BMO VIPorter Mastercard credit cards – creating the first and only travel credit card program in Canada that grants immediate frequent flyer benefits for cardholders in an airline’s loyalty program, while enabling accelerated travel rewards. More than 30,000 people have joined the pre-launch waitlist since the program was announced in January 2025."
Fiserv Small Business Index™ for April 2024: Sales at Retail and Service Businesses Grow, Discretionary Spend Slows
Business Wire
"Fiserv, Inc. published the Fiserv Small Business Index™ for April 2024. The Fiserv Small Business Index is an indicator of the performance of small businesses in the United States at national, state, and industry levels."
Blackhawk Network (BHN) and Exchange Solutions Partner to Offer Robust Data-Driven Consumer Loyalty Program Capabilities
Business Wire
"Blackhawk Network is partnering with Exchange Solutions™, a leader in loyalty and personalized offers solutions, to help businesses enhance their customer engagement strategies through more efficient, tech-integrated loyalty programs. With this collaboration, Exchange Solutions pairs its loyalty program technology, features and functionality with BHN’s broad partner network and gift cards portfolio."
March 21, 2025
Top Post
JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon Emphasizes AI’s Potential To Cut Costs by 90%
CHOSUNBIZ
"We can perform all the tasks we've been doing at one-tenth the expense using artificial intelligence (AI)." At the Adobe Summit 2025, Jamie Dimon, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of JP Morgan Chase, said this. During the discussion, Shantanu Narayen, CEO of Adobe, posed a wide range of questions about the changes brought by AI and the outlook for the global economy, and Dimon shared his views on these topics."
How Agentic AI Will Transform Financial Services With Autonomy, Efficiency and Inclusion
World Economic Forum
"Agentic artificial intelligence (AI) goes beyond generative AI (GenAI) by enabling autonomous decision-making, collaboration, and learning to revolutionize financial services. While offering efficiency and innovation, Agentic AI raises concerns about labour disruption, privacy, market volatility and governance, necessitating robust oversight and ethical frameworks."
On the web
M-Pesa’s Impact on Digital Payments Beyond Borders
MSN
"M-Pesa started as a domestic mobile money platform in 2007, giving millions of unbanked Kenyans access to financial services. Fast-forward to today and the service has evolved into a financial powerhouse, extending its reach far beyond Kenya’s borders. The launch of M-Pesa Global was a game changer, allowing users to send funds to bank accounts, mobile numbers and Western Union locations worldwide."
Crypto Regulation Finally Coming to Australia With Exchanges Facing Bank-Like Rules
SmartCompany
"The Australian government has unveiled long-awaited crypto regulations, requiring exchanges and fintechs holding digital assets to meet financial services standards."
Gaming Growth Unlocked: Insights on Distribution, Payments, and Regulations in Asia
Coda
"Mobile gaming is shifting toward live-service models, and out-of-app platforms are unlocking new revenue streams. Since we first published on this topic with Niko Partners in 2023, this segment has grown rapidly, reshaping how publishers reach players and scale."
Agentic AI: What It Means for Business
Connected World
"While generative AI (artificial intelligence) has been the talk of tech for the past several years, agentic AI now offers new opportunities for business—and companies should be preparing for what comes next. Agentic AI builds on generative AI. Gen AI is simply the idea of turning large quantities of data into actionable intelligence. AI agents build on this capability."
DoorDash Will Soon Let Users Eat Now and Pay in Installments
BNN Bloomberg
"Buy Now, Pay Later services are typically used on large purchases, like furniture. But now one service is branching out into fast food. DoorDash is partnering with Klarna, a financial company that lets customers schedule small payments over a set period of time, in a new partnership announced."
Tink Hits 10,000 Merchant Milestone for Open Banking Payments
Tink
"We are excited to announced that 10,000 merchants have now chosen Pay by Bank via our Payment Service Provider (PSP) partnerships. Tink also recently hit a new €100M peak in a single day for its payment initiation services (PIS) across Europe, marking a tipping point in demand for Pay by Bank."
How Traditional Banks Are Making Embedded Finance Work Without Changing Their DNA
Tearsheet
"Legacy banks are embracing embedded finance to forge deeper relationships with clients and merchants beyond merely staying relevant. We deep dive into how J.P. Morgan Chase and Citi are building on their existing infrastructure to ramp up embedded payment investments, turning modern business needs into new opportunities, and what strategies have been working well in their favor."
Ant International Launches Embedded Finance Service for E-Commerce SMEs in Brazil
Ant Global
"Bettr, a leading AI-driven lending business under Ant International, announced its official launch in Brazil to expand small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) lending to support local and regional economic development by working with local partners. As a first move, it formed a strategic partnership with AliExpress to bring a new financing solution, Bettr Working Capital, to local merchants operating on AliExpress."
Visa and Misa Partner To Drive Digital Payments in Vietnamese Businesses
IBS Intelligence
"Visa and MISA, a provider of digital transformation solutions for finance, accounting, and enterprise management, have teamed up to empower Vietnamese businesses through comprehensive digital payment solutions. This collaboration aims to accelerate digital transformation within Vietnam’s business community, fostering greater financial inclusion and operational efficiency for enterprises of all sizes."
How We’re Enabling a Seamless Payments Experience for Corporates Around the Globe
Swift
"Corporates worldwide face a range of challenges in managing payments. Gaining visibility into the status of their cross-border transactions can be difficult, as can achieving transparency on FX rates and associated charges...By making our new FINplus service available to the corporate community, we’re introducing a payment instruction standard for corporates enabling them to reap the benefits of ISO 20022, such as improved reconciliation, better forecasting of payment flows, and improved working capital management."
March 20, 2025
On the web
Paytech Pioneer MuchBetter Launches B2B Account Offering: An Alternative to Traditional Banking for Underserved and Non-banked Businesses
FF News
"MuchBetter has announced an exciting expansion into the B2B sector with the launch of its own business account offering, MuchBetter Business (MBB). MBB caters to enterprises seeking access to business accounts in a wide range of currencies, without the friction, long lead times, or high fees associated with traditional banks. Powered by specialists in the gaming and high-risk industries, MBB understands the unique needs and challenges these sectors face."
Interlinking Fast Payment Systems to Enhance Cross-Border Payments
BIS
"The G7 supports responsible innovation that enables interoperability among new and existing cross-border payment systems; a level playing field for private sector competition and innovation; and the observance of relevant international standards. Emerging markets and developing economies have made considerable progress in fast payment adoption, laying the foundation for interlinking at the regional and international levels – thus enhancing cross-border payments."
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