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September 18, 2026
Top Post
B2B Payments: A Gradual Shift from Checks to Electronic Payment Methods
The Federal Reserve
"Although U.S. business-to-business (B2B) payments have shifted from checks to electronic payments over the past decade, many businesses still make and receive B2B payments with checks. Electronic payment methods, which include wire, Automated Clearing House (ACH), instant payments, and credit and debit cards, have the potential to remove some of the manual processing; however, businesses face challenges to fully migrating to electronic payment methods."
On the web
Visa and ISG Launches Visa Payment Passkey to Enable Passwordless, Secure Digital Payments at GFF 2026
ANI News
"In-Solutions Global (ISG) in collaboration with Visa, recently announced at Global Fintech Fest (GFF) 2026 the launch of Visa Payment Passkey, enabling cardholders to authenticate online and in-app payments using device biometrics or a device PIN instead of one-time passwords (OTPs). With Visa Payment Passkey, banks and merchants on ISG's payments platform can offer FIDO-based, phishing-resistant authentication for card-not-present transactions — replacing SMS OTPs with a faster sign-in built directly into the checkout flow."
PayPal’s New Platform Lets Anyone Issue a Dollar Backed by a Dollar
Crypto News
"PayPal, M0, and MoonPay launched PYUSDx on September 9, letting any business issue an application-specific stablecoin backed by PayPal USD. Three issuers are live at launch which the companies say have collectively processed more than $100 million. The structure has two layers: PYUSD is issued by Paxos Trust Company, a federally regulated national banking association, and backed by dollar deposits and Treasuries. Tokens created on PYUSDx are not PayPal or Paxos products and cannot be sent, received, or used inside PayPal or Venmo."
PhonePe Brings UPI Payments to Feature Phones Without Internet
ETCIO
"PhonePe has introduced UPI 123Pay, a revolutionary service aimed at feature phone users.This innovative solution permits UPI transactions without the need for internet access,allowing seamless peer-to-peer and merchant payments. Additionally, an AI helpline offerssupport for registration and activation in various languages, significantly enhancing digitalpayment accessibility in rural and semi-urban regions."
Apple Pay Set to Launch in India Next Month with Axis Bank as First Partner
iThinkDifferent
"Apple Pay is on track to launch in India next month, starting with credit cards issued by Axis Bank. The move would finally bring Apple’s payment service to one of the few major economies where it still isn’t available. According to a report from Reuters , three people familiar with the plans said Apple is preparing a phased rollout that begins with a single banking partner rather than a broad, multi-bank launch."
Education: U.S. Currency Program Now Producing Nonsequential $1, $2, $5, $20 Straps
FRB Services
"In 2023, the U.S. Currency Program (USCP) began a multiyear process of modernizing its banknote production equipment, which will result in nonconsecutive sequencing of serial numbers on all new straps of U.S. currency. During the transition period, changes to serial number sequencing will be phased in by denomination. Until the transition is complete, both sequential and nonsequential straps may appear in orders of U.S. currency. The USCP is now producing $1, $2, $5 and $20 denominations on the new equipment."
Hyundai Card Eyes Larger Avalanche Stablecoin Rollout
Crypto News
"Hyundai Card says its Avalanche pilot settled a $20,000 intercompany transfer in roughly seven minutes. Hyundai Motor America converted dollars into USDT before sending funds to Hyundai Motor Mexico directly. Hyundai Card plans to test whether the operating model can handle larger transaction volumes reliably. Tether, Avalanche and Axiym supported the first pilot, while Hyundai led compliance and settlement design."
On the wires
Ant International Launches Industry's First Full-Stack AI-Native Solutions for Payment, Account, FX, Treasury and Growth Operations for Global Businesses
Business Wire
"In an industry first, Ant International launched a full stack of AI-native solutions for payment, account, FX, treasury and growth operations for global businesses. The AI-native product suite is built on a 2-layered security architecture, and our 2 proprietary foundation models: a payment foundation model, and a time-series transformer forecasting model for FX and liquidity. Underpinning the FinAI stack are also 2 major pillars for payment interoperability: Agentic Mobile Protocol and a blockchain-based wholesale settlement platform."
September 17, 2026
Top Post
Only 7% of Fashion Shoppers Trust AI to Buy for Them Today, Showing Merchants Must Build Confidence in Agentic Commerce
Business Wire
"Fashion and sportswear consumers are increasingly embracing AI throughout the shopping journey, particularly when it helps them find better value. However, new research conducted by YouGov on behalf of ACI Worldwide shows that trust, transparency and control remain critical requirements before consumers are ready to hand purchasing decisions to AI agents."
On the web
Mastercard Links up with Alchemy to Offer Agentic Shopping Option
Seeking Alpha
"Mastercard and Alchemy have teamed up to advance the use of agentic AI shopping for purchases, the companies said. Alchemy provides the tech that allows users to issue virtual payment cards to AI bots embedded with a slate of restrictions, such as spending limits and types of products that may be purchased. The company's AgentCard will support Mastercard payment credentials through an integration with Mastercard Agent Pay, giving developers a way to build AI agents that can safely complete purchases for users online, Alchemy said."
Citi and Mastercard Launch ‘Smart Subscriptions’ in the UAE
Mastercard
"Citi has launched Smart Subscriptions in the UAE, marking its first deployment of the solution anywhere in the world and selecting the UAE as its global launch market. Delivered in collaboration with Mastercard, the launch also makes Citi the first bank in the Middle East to go live with Mastercard's subscription management capability. The new feature allows Citi cardholders to view and manage all their digital subscriptions – from streaming services to meal deliveries – directly in the Citi banking app."
ACI Worldwide Expands ACI Connetic with Advanced Financial Messaging Technology to Power Intelligent, Future-Ready Payments
ACI Worldwide
"ACI Worldwide announced the expansion of ACI Connetic with a powerful cloud-native Financial Messaging capability, designed to help banks modernize payments infrastructure, simplify complexity, and scale real-time processing across domestic and cross-border networks. ACI’s advanced financial messaging technology delivers cloud-native, intelligent messaging that transforms how banks manage payments and other systemic messages across account-to-account (A2A) rails."
Nacha: 10 Years of Same Day ACH is Just the Beginning
Nacha
"The story of Same Day ACH is about much more than the numbers. It’s about how the payments industry came together to make ACH payments faster while preserving the reach, safety and reliability that have made the ACH Network the backbone of the U.S. financial system. The 2016 launch was just the beginning. And Nacha continues to provide enhancements. On Sept. 17, 2027, the Same Day ACH per-payment limit will increase tenfold from $1 million to $10 million."
BofA’s CashPro App Facilitates More than €100 Billion in Payments Approved by European Companies
Bank of America
"CashPro mobile token, Bank of America’s mobile authentication solution, replaces the need for a physical token. Together with biometrics, Q RQR Sign-In and push authentication, it enables corporate treasury users to access CashPro and approve transactions securely from their mobile devices. Bank of America recently enhanced the payment approval experience to provide greater visibility into payment details and make approvals more efficient."
Best Buy Opens Up Gift-Buying and Discover Through ChatGPT Ahead of Holidays
Digital Commerce 360
"Best Buy is bringing ChatGPT into its holiday shopping strategy, giving customers another way to find gifts and buy products without leaving the AI platform. In a Sept. 14 blog post, Best Buy noted that shoppers can “find gift ideas and shop Best Buy products through ChatGPT,” including completing purchases directly in the chat interface. The company listed ChatGPT among its broader plans for the upcoming holiday season, which also include an expanded online marketplace, faster fulfillment and new in-store technology experiences."
Grab to Acquire Majority Stake in Atome Financial, Accelerating Growth and Profitability of Financial Services Segment [SE Asia]
Grab
"Grab Holdings Limited and Atome and certain other parties have entered into definitive agreements for Grab to acquire a controlling 60% equity interest in Atome Financial in cash for $1.49 billion. The proposed transaction, if completed, would combine Atome Financial’s business – spanning Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) loans, consumer cash loans, BNPL cards and digital lending with Grab’s financial services business."
Block’s Juan Hernandez on Cash App Score, the Future of Credit and a New Lending Tool
Block
"This week, Block released a new illustrative macro sensitivity tool for Cash App Borrow, providing a first of its kind view into how the Borrow lending portfolio could respond as the economy changes. The tool provides a window into how shifting economic conditions could show up in originations and risk loss under different macro scenarios."
European Central Bank (ECB) Opens Digital Euro Pilot to Online and Mobile Merchants
BitKE
"The Eurosystem has launched a call for expressions of interest inviting e-commerce and mobile commerce (m-commerce) merchants operating in the euro area to participate in its digital euro pilot. The call follows the selection of payment service providers (PSPs) that will take part in the pilot. The pilot will give selected merchants an opportunity to work with the European Central Bank (ECB) and euro area national central banks to test a simulated digital euro ecosystem and provide feedback that could help shape the digital euro’s technical specifications."
September 16, 2026
On the web
PhonePe CEO Breaks Silence on UPI Charges
India.com
"The new Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) framework for UPI transactions will not impose any charges on customers. The move is necessary to make India’s digital payments ecosystem financially sustainable, PhonePe CEO Sameer Nigam said. The CEO clarified customers will continue to use UPI without any charges, while small merchants with an annual turnover of less than Rs 1 lakh will also remain outside the MDR regime. For larger shops, 96% of transactions, which are all below Rs 2,000, there will be no charge, according to him."
Mastercard and Trip.com Pave the Way for Agentic Commerce in the Travel Sector [Video]
Mastercard
"Mastercard and Trip.com have joined forces to showcase AI powered booking experiences for the travel sector. Powered by Mastercard’s Agent Suite for Merchants and in partnership with Network International, the organizations are showcasing how consumers will be able to search, book, and complete purchases through Trip.com’s AI agent TripGenie. By combining Trip.com’s travel ecosystem."
Pidgin Partners with Millennium Corporate Credit Union to Bring Unified Instant Payments to Nearly 300 Credit Unions
Business Wire
"Pidgin, a secure, unified instant payments platform built for the future of payments, has partnered with Wichita, Kansas-based Millennium Corporate Credit Union, giving its nearly 300 credit unions across the Midwest and beyond access to FedNow, RTP, and stablecoin capabilities as part of a single, scalable payments strategy."
Circle Launches Arc Mainnet, an Economic Operating System for the Internet
Circle
"Circle Internet Group, Inc. announced the public mainnet launch of Arc, an open Layer 1 blockchain purpose-built for financial markets, real-time money movement, and agentic economic activity. Arc launches with native integration into Circle’s full-stack platform; a founding validator cohort drawn from the institutions that run global finance; more than 100 applications; and more than 100 institutional and ecosystem builders spanning global banks, asset managers, payment networks, exchanges, custodians, DeFi protocols, wallets, and AI platforms."
BIS: Hidden by Complexity? Measuring Stablecoin, Crypto and Decentralised Finance Ecosystems
Bank for International Settlements
"Cryptoassets, stablecoins and decentralised finance (DeFi) generate vast amounts of publicly available blockchain data. Yet translating these data into meaningful measures of economic activity is challenging. We demonstrate that widely used indicators of DeFi activity are highly dependent on methodological choices and underlying assumptions. We use granular data to examine transfer values, token issuance, decentralised exchange activity and stablecoin holdings."
Digital Payments Linked to £88 Billion in Additional Sales for UK Businesses, Visa Report Finds
Visa
"Modern payment systems have enabled £88bn in additional sales for UK businesses since 2019, according to a new report from Visa and Public First. This is equivalent to around £2,500 per business per year over that period. The report examines the significant economic impact that digital payments have in the UK and the critical role they play in powering future growth. The research estimates that digital payments contributed £7.5 billion to the UK economy in 2024,"
PhonePe Crosses 11 Billion Monthly UPI Transactions in August; Google Pay Nears 8 Billion
CXO Digital Pulse
"PhonePe crossed the 11 billion monthly transaction mark on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in August, while Google Pay moved closer to 8 billion transactions, according to data released by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). The Walmart-backed digital payments platform accounted for 45.64% of the total UPI transaction volume in August. Google Pay accounted for 32.26% of the total UPI transaction volume and Paytm continued to hold the third position among UPI players."
On the wires
Travelxp Launches Marco, India's First Travel AI Agent That Can Book and Pay for Trips
EIN Presswire
"Travelxp, India's first content-led travel commerce platform, has launched Marco, an agentic AI trip concierge, the first of its kind from an Indian travel platform. Marco can discover, plan, book and pay for a trip on a traveller's behalf, within spending limits the preset by the traveller. Marco returns to the traveller for approval when a decision falls outside the limits they've set. Marco also stays active after booking - If a flight is delayed or prices shift, it can assess the impact on the rest of the itinerary and adjust connected bookings."
September 15, 2026
Top Post
Crypto Bill Falls Short in Early Hurdle on Senate Floor
The Hill
"A cryptocurrency regulation bill failed to advance on the Senate floor Tuesday, after all Democrats and a few Republicans blocked a procedural vote. The Senate voted 49-50 on a motion to proceed with consideration of the Clarity Act, failing to reach the required 60-vote threshold. It marks a major setback for the industry, which has long pushed for the measure setting up a regulatory framework for the crypto market."
On the web
Visa Finds New Stablecoin Partner in Velocity After Losing BVNK to Mastercard
Tech Times
"Velocity, a London-based stablecoin settlement and treasury platform, closed a $10 million add-on to its Series A on September 15, 2026, bringing the company's post-money valuation to $200 million. The investors in the extension, Visa Ventures, Circle Ventures, Haun Ventures, Ripple, and more represent nearly every power center in global payments and digital assets. The name at the top of that list: Visa, the world's largest card network, just backed a startup whose technology is designed to route corporate settlement off Visa's own traditional rails."
House Passes Revised Version of Common Cents Act
ABA Banking Journal
"The House yesterday passed a revised version of legislation to officially end penny production and provide a framework for cash rounding when exact change cannot be provided. The version passed yesterday includes new language requiring the Treasury Department to give Congress 60 days’ advance notice before discontinuing any circulating coin. It also allows the Treasury Secretary to explore a new metals composition for nickel manufacturing to save costs. The legislation now heads to the Senate."
Google Pay to Add Device Biometrics for Mastercard Payments in India
Biometric Update
"Mastercard and Google Pay plan to allow users in India to authenticate eligible card payments with a fingerprint or face scan on their smartphones. The optional biometric authentication feature will be available through participating issuing banks to customers with an eligible Mastercard saved in Google Pay. Mastercard says it is intended for utility bills, mobile recharges, and eligible online merchant checkouts. The companies expect to begin rolling it out by the end of 2026."
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