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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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December 16, 2025
Top Post
Visa Launches Stablecoin Settlement in the United States, Marking a Breakthrough for Stablecoin Integration
Visa
"Visa Inc. announced the launch of USDC settlement in the United States, marking a major milestone in the company’s stablecoin settlement pilot program and strategy to modernize its settlement layer underpinning global commerce. For the first time, U.S. issuer and acquirer partners can settle with Visa in Circle’s USDC, a fully reserved, dollar-denominated stablecoin. Initial banking participants include Cross River Bank and Lead Bank, which have started settling with Visa in USDC over the Solana blockchain. Broader availability in the U.S. is planned through 2026."
On the web
FDIC Proposes Application Process for Banks Seeking to Issue Stablecoins
ABA Banking Journal
"The FDIC proposed rulemaking to establish a process under which banks and savings institutions can seek agency approval to issue stablecoins through a subsidiary, as allowed by the GENIUS Act passed by Congress earlier this year. According to a staff summary of the proposal, institutions would be required to submit applications with a description of the proposed payment stablecoin and the proposed activities of the subsidiary of the applicant..."
OCC Approves Trust Charters for Stablecoin Firms: What It Means for Regulated Digital Payments
Modern Treasury
"On Friday, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced it has granted conditional approval for five digital-asset firms—including major stablecoin platforms and institutional custody providers—to establish national trust banks. This development arrives in the wake of the GENIUS Act, which introduced clearer guardrails for stablecoin reserves, disclosures, and operational standards. While these charters do not permit deposit-taking or provide FDIC insurance, they represent major federal action in defining a supervised pathway for stablecoin issuance, custody, and blockchain-based payments."
Announcing 2026 Federal Reserve Financial Services Fees and Payment System Enhancements
Federal Reserve
"Federal Reserve Financial Services (FRFS) customers can expect in 2026 ongoing enhancements to the services, including, helping combat payments fraud: Payee Name Verification an addition to the FedDetect Notification Services; A FedNow pilot program is underway for an upcoming network intelligence tool that will allow financial institutions sending transactions over the FedNow Service to do a “pre-check” on receiver accounts before making an instant payment & support of expanding APIs. To continue providing a level of service, some prices are being adjusted, and some are unchanged."
Klarna Launches Agentic Product Protocol: The Open Standard That Makes 100M+ Products Instantly Discoverable by AI Agents
Klarna
"Klarna announced the launch of its Agentic Product Protocol, a new open standard that makes every product on the internet easily discoverable and understandable by AI agents. As AI becomes the new interface for commerce, Klarna’s Agentic Product Protocol gives AI systems access to a live, structured feed of more than 100 million products and 400 million prices standardized across 12 markets. The protocol establishes the structured foundation that allows agents to find, compare, and recommend real products."
Central Bank of Liberia Launches Transformational Inclusive Instant Payments System (IIPS) Powered by Mojaloop
Mojaloop
"The Mojaloop Foundation and the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL), in collaboration with Singapore-based ThitsaWorks and The AfricaNenda Foundation, announced the launch of the Liberian Inclusive Instant Payments System (IIPS), a modern real-time interoperable payments platform powered by Mojaloop, the open-source payments infrastructure built to advance digital financial inclusion. IIPS will principally enable mobile money transfers between two Mobile Network Operators, Lone Star Cell MTN and Orange Liberia."
EBANX: Six Months After Its Launch, Recurring Pix Is Growing at 41% per Month, Unlocking a New Market for Subscription-Based Global Players
GlobeNewswire News Room
"Six months ago, approximately 60 million potential consumers in Brazil were mostly unreachable for subscription-based services, from video and music streaming to design and marketing platforms. The country’s Central Bank launched in June a new feature to allow consumers to make this type of payment through Pix, Brazil’s instant payment system used by 95% of the adult population and the number one method in e-commerce transactions. Called Pix Automático, this feature is expected to continue growing as a subscription payment method, with monthly increases projected at 34% in subscriptions and 41% in volume by its first anniversary."
How Banks Can Avoid the Dangers of AI Slop
ABA Banking Journal
"Phrases like “AI slop,” “hallucinations” and “confabulation” have entered the conversation. At the end of the day, they all point to the same thing which is the potential for mistakes or poor content when using AI. “AI slop,” in particular, refers to low-quality or generic output. A practical example of successful change and achieving this balance between AI and human expertise can be seen at Santander in Brazil, one of the country’s largest banks with more than 70 million customers."
UK Treasury to Regulate Cryptocurrency Under New Legislation
MSN
"The UK is set to introduce new legislation by 2027 that will bring cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, under a regulatory framework akin to traditional financial products. The Treasury has unveiled plans for these new laws, which will mandate crypto firms to adhere to a specific set of standards and rules. These will be rigorously overseen by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)."
Mastercard and LoanPro Announce Partnership to Modernize Lending
Mastercard
"Mastercard and LoanPro today announced a new strategic partnership to launch Loan on Card, a solution designed to enable lenders to deliver loans to approved consumer and small business borrowers through virtual and physical card-based experiences. Set to launch in 2026, Loan on Card will provide borrowers with instant access to funds that can be used anywhere Mastercard is accepted."
Families Paid Nearly $1,200 in Tariff Costs This Year
Financial Regulation News
"Every American family has paid nearly $1,200 in tariff costs since President Donald Trump took office, a recent Joint Economic Committee – Minority report finds. The committee combined official U.S. Treasury Department data on tariff revenue collected during the first 10 full months of Trump’s second term with independent private sector estimates on the percent of each tariff dollar American consumers paid. The committee found that consumers paid nearly $160 billion in tariff costs between February and November for an average of nearly $1,200 per family. The average increased from $54.65 per household in February to $181.29 in November."
Three US Banks Account for 75% of Global Banking AI Patents
Banking Exchange
"Despite a rise in AI patent filings across banking, activity remains highly concentrated, with only three US banks responsible for 75% of all AI patents filed globally by the sector. Evident’s Banking AI Patent Tracker revealed that while the number of patents filed by major banks grew at 78% CAGR over the last decade, Capital One, Bank of America, and JPMorgan Chase accounted for 75% of all patents filed."
NPP Adoption Climbs as Australia Shifts to Real-Time Payments
Australian Payments Plus
Australia’s payments system is transforming as consumers, businesses and government agencies increasingly move to real-time, data-rich digital payments. According to the RBA’s latest Retail Payments data, in the 12 months up to October 2025, 1.82bn transactions were processed through the NPP, a near 14% uplift year on year. AusPayNet has updated timing considerations for the decommissioning of BECS [Bulk Electronic Clearing System]. While large-scale transitions take time, Australia’s move to real-time, data-rich payments is already well advanced.
On the wires
Fireblocks and Zepz Join Forces to Scale Stablecoin Remittance Adoption for WorldRemit and Sendwave
PR Newswire
"Zepz, the global payments group behind WorldRemit and Sendwave, will leverage Fireblocks, the enterprise platform securing more than $4 trillion in digital asset transfers annually, to help scale stablecoin-powered remittances to consumers at scale. Serving more than 9 million users across 130 countries, WorldRemit and Sendwave will use Fireblocks to enable near-instant, lower-cost cross-border payments."
Paxos Selects Mesh To Enable Trusted Crypto Deposits
PR Newswire
"Mesh, the leading crypto payments network, announced a partnership with Paxos, the leading regulated blockchain infrastructure and tokenization platform. This integration will allow Paxos to deploy Mesh's technology across its customer base, in order to enable seamless crypto deposits from verified sources."
F.N.B. Corporation at Forefront of Industry with Launch of Automated Payment Switch Technology
PR Newswire
"F.N.B. Corporation, the holding company for First National Bank, announced it is among the first wave of banks to introduce Payment Switch, a service that enables customers to automatically move their recurring ACH or Debit Card payments to FNB using the FNB Direct Mobile Banking App. Payment Switch makes it easier for customers to establish a relationship with FNB, advancing the Company's strategy to become the primary bank for its clients."
SUNRATE Launches Payment Solution on Walmart Marketplace to Simplify Global Collections for E-Commerce Sellers
PR Newswire
"SUNRATE, the global payment and treasury management platform, announced that international e-commerce sellers can collect payments from Walmart Marketplace directly into their SUNRATE Accounts. Through this partnership, global sellers can access a streamlined collection service powered by SUNRATE's decade of expertise in cross-border payments. Key benefits include: Cost Efficiency with FX Protection & Faster Onboarding."
December 15, 2025
Top Post
PayPal Submits Applications to Establish an Industrial Bank to Expand Access to Financial Services for U.S. Small Businesses
PayPal
"PayPal Holdings, Inc. announced it has submitted applications to the Utah Department of Financial Institutions and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to establish PayPal Bank, a proposed Utah-chartered industrial loan company."
On the web
Merchant Groups Voice Their Objections to the Latest Visa-Mastercard Swipe Fee Settlement Offer
Digital Transactions
"Merchant groups late Friday filed written complaints regarding the latest settlement offer in their two-decades old lawsuit against Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. challenging card swipe fees. Key concerns those filing the complaints have with the latest settlement offer are interchange rates, Visa and Mastercard’s honor-all-cards rule, and surcharging, all of which contribute to creating what merchants see as an anti-competitive card-acceptance market."
Stablecoins and Financial Stability
Richmond Federal Reserve
"The United States has introduced a new stablecoin regulatory framework, but concerns over the cryptocurrency’s place in the global economy remain. Skeptics and supporters alike agree that stablecoin adoption is likely to increase in the coming years. An important question, however, is whether it will attract new users looking for a new form of payment."
Enhancing Cross-Border Payments: State of Play and Way Forward
BIS
"The G20 Roadmap for enhancing cross-border payments has created significant momentum. Most international policy actions are completed, providing a solid foundation for addressing persistent cross-border payment challenges and fostering a more inclusive global payments ecosystem. However, it is unlikely that the end-2027 targets envisaged by the G20 will be achieved on time, and improvements in outcomes for end users have so far been modest."
Stripe Launches the Agentic Commerce Suite to Help Every Business Thrive in the Ai-Enabled Commerce Era
Stripe
"Stripe introduced the Agentic Commerce Suite, a solution to help businesses get ready to sell through multiple AI agents. Businesses including ecommerce platforms will use Agentic Commerce Suite to capitalize on the new paradigm of agentic commerce. Stripe recently launched the Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP), an open standard for agentic commerce."
Visa Launches ‘Stablecoins Advisory Practice’ to Help Banks and Businesses Build Strategies
Visa
"Visa announced the launch of its Stablecoins Advisory Practice. The new value-added service offering by Visa Consulting & Analytics (VCA) provides actionable insights and recommendations to guide banks, fintechs, merchants, and businesses of all sizes on market fit, strategy, and implementation. As the stablecoin market cap surpasses $250 billion, Visa’s settlement volume has accelerated, reaching a $3.5 billion annualized run rate as of November 30. Businesses are turning to Visa’s new Stablecoins Advisory Practice to unlock growth opportunities."
JPMorgan Launches Tokenized Money-Market Fund on Ethereum: WSJ
The Block
"JPMorgan Chase is rolling out its first tokenized money-market fund on Ethereum, seeding the private vehicle with $100 million of its own capital, according to the WSJ. The move adds to a growing push by major financial institutions to bring traditional investment products onchain following recent U.S. regulatory developments."
OCC Conditionally Approves 5 Crypto Firms for National Trust Bank Charters
Axios
"The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency gave conditional approval for Circle, issuer of the USDC stablecoin, and Ripple, creator of the Ripple USD stablecoin and the XRP payments token, to set up new national trust banks. The OCC also granted conditional approval for BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets and Paxos to convert from state-regulated trust companies to nationally regulated trust banks."
December 12, 2025
On the web
Understanding the Use of Passkeys in Payments
EMVCo
"A passkey is a consumer-facing term for a Fast Identity Online (FIDO) authentication credential. Passkeys allow a user to authenticate themselves on a device with the same process that they use to unlock it, such as a biometric, a PIN or a pattern. Passkeys are FIDO cryptographic credentials that are tied to a user’s account. They can be bound to a particular device (known as device-bound passkeys), or may be synced across a user’s different devices."
Mobile & Digital Wallets: Updated U.S. Landscape and Strategic Guidance (2025 Edition)
U.S. Payments Forum
"The U.S. Payments Forum developed a white paper to provide clear, timely guidance for stakeholders navigating today’s rapidly evolving mobile and digital wallet landscape. The paper outlines the dominant wallet models in use today—including device wallets, EMV® Secure Remote Commerce (Click to Pay), platform and PSP server wallets, QR code wallets, and emerging crypto/Web3 wallets—and explains the technologies that enable them. Topics include interaction methods, credential storage, tokenization, cloud-based architectures, passkeys and biometrics, and the growing role of mobile identity credentials such as mDLs."
Alipay and Rokid Open Up ‘Look-And-Pay’ Smart Glasses Function to Developers
South China Morning Post
"Alipay and artificial intelligence glasses maker Rokid have jointly unveiled a smart glasses payment solution on the Rokid Lingzhu AI development platform, giving developers an easy path to build payment functions into their applications.Based on the Model Context Protocol (MCP), an open-source standard that connects AI applications to external systems, the service allowed developers to easily integrate pre-built capabilities, such as receiving payments, by adding plug-ins."
OCC Approves Paxos Application to Convert to OCC Trust; Paxos to Complete Conversion Imminently to Become a Federally Regulated Blockchain Infrastructure Provider
Paxos
"Paxos, the leading blockchain infrastructure platform for innovative institutions and enterprises, announced it has received approval to convert its New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) limited purpose trust charter to a national trust charter overseen by the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). Upon conversion, all of Paxos Trust Company’s US-based activity will be subject to OCC supervision."
Bidding Farewell to the Penny – Square Enables Cash Rounding in the U.S.
Square
"To help sellers get ahead of the transition away from the penny, and ensure a smooth holiday shopping season, Square is now piloting cash rounding functionality with sellers in the U.S. This functionality is already offered in Australia and Canada, which haven’t had pennies in circulation since 1992 and 2013, respectively. Cash transactions will be automatically rounded to the nearest 5¢. Square enables back-end transaction reporting to assist sellers with reporting the total dollar amount of tax collected."
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