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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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June 9, 2026
Top Post
US Judge OKs Visa, Mastercard $38 Billion Swipe Fee Settlement
U.S. News & World Report
"A U.S. judge on Tuesday granted preliminary approval to Visa's and Mastercard's revised $38 billion settlement with merchants who accused the card networks of charging too much to process payments on their credit cards. U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan in Brooklyn, New York ruled nearly two years after a different judge rejected a proposed $30 billion settlement as too small. The settlement announced last November was intended to end litigation that began in 2005, when merchants accused Visa, Mastercard and banks of conspiring to violate U.S. antitrust laws, including through the collection of "swipe fees."
On the web
Nuvei Is In Talks To Buy Payoneer For $2.7 Billion
Finimize
Nuvei, a Canadian payments company, is in advanced talks to buy Payoneer, a cross-border payments firm, for about $2.7 billion, Reuters reported. Reuters says the $2.7 billion price includes Payoneer’s cash, which implies about $2.3 billion in enterprise value – notably above Payoneer’s roughly $1.7 billion market value.
Klarna Launches High-Yield Savings Account, Turning Everyday Spend Into Everyday Savings
Klarna
"Klarna announced the launch of Klarna Savings accounts in the U.S. - FDIC-insured accounts with no minimum deposit, no monthly fees, direct deposit, and interest rates above 3% APY¹, available directly in the Klarna app and provided and held by WebBank, member FDIC."
Volante Launches “Vol360i” Agentic AI
Volante Technologies
"Volante Technologies announced that its Payments Platform and PaaS operations are now powered by its “Vol360i” Agentic AI. The core upgrade unlocks autonomous and semi-autonomous collaboration to reduce manual intervention, significantly increasing straight-through processing (STP) rates to over 95%, accelerating exception resolution, and proactively managing SLA performance. Vol360i has four main operating principles guiding Volante’s agentic framework to deliver a frictionless payments experience: Prevent Agents, Repair Agents, Predict Agents, Sense Agents."
The Future of Payments in Africa: Smarter, Connected, & Powered by AI [Video]
CNBC Africa
"Africa is rapidly moving beyond basic digital transactions to build an intelligent, interconnected financial network. Driving this shift is the integration of artificial intelligence, evolving cross-border infrastructure, and next-generation commerce tools that promise to redefine how money moves across the continent. Joining CNBC Africa to discuss the upcoming wave of transformation is Dr. Reda Helal, Managing Director & Co-Head of Processing Services – Africa at Network International."
Interswitch Partners with Temenos to Scale Digital Banking Services Across Africa
Temenos
"Temenos and Interswitch Group, a payments and digital commerce company in Africa, announced a collaboration, wherein Interswitch will adopt Temenos technology to enhance its digital banking capabilities, supporting its growth and expanding access to modern financial services across the continent. Interswitch will use Temenos solutions – across core banking, digital banking, payments, wealth management and financial crime – to provide cloud-hosted and on-premises managed services to banks and financial institutions across Africa."
Stripe Powers Lloyds’ New Suite of Payment Tools for UK Small Businesses
Stripe
"Stripe announced a partnership with Lloyds, the UK’s largest digital bank. Lloyds will use Stripe to power Lloyds Accept, a new suite of payment tools for UK small businesses—giving them access to the same payments infrastructure like Amazon or OpenAI. Lloyds Accept is integrated into the Lloyds Business Account, and enables small businesses to accept payments however they trade: in-person with modern terminal devices, through Tap to Pay, or via payment links for online sales."
HSBC, Mastercard Pilot Agentic B2B Payments in Singapore
Tech In Asia
"HSBC and Mastercard said they were piloting agentic commerce for business-to-business (B2B) procurement and payments in Singapore. The proof of concept links a multinational corporate buyer, Singapore-based procurement platform SourceSage, and ecommerce supplier FortyTwo through Mastercard Agent Pay, tokenised payments, and merchant discovery and referral tools. HSBC said the pilot would let trusted digital agents automate parts of purchasing and payment while keeping controls and oversight in place."
June 8, 2026
Top Post
Apple Is Fixing the Headache of Splitting the Bill with Its New Siri in Camera Feature
TechCrunch
"There’s nothing worse than going to a dinner with a group of friends, opting out of drinking to save money, but then having to pay for friends’ martinis when the group decides to split the bill evenly. You don’t want to come off cheap and make everyone wait while you recalculate the bill. Apple unveiled a solution for that at WWDC 2026. With the feature, you can point your iPhone camera at a receipt. Then Siri mode in the Camera app will make each item selectable to keep track of who got each item, and send people separate Apple Cash payment requests depending on what they ordered."
On the web
South Carolina Enacts Digital Asset Protections and Regulatory Framework Exempting Developers and Miners from Licensure
JD Supra
"On May 19, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster signed into law S. 163, establishing a regulatory framework for digital assets and cryptocurrency in the state. The law prohibits any state governing authority from accepting or requiring payment using central bank digital currency (CBDC) or participating in any test of CBDC by the Fed or other federal agency."
Visa Launches “Agentic Ready” Program in UAE to Accelerate Agent Led Commerce
Visa Middle East
"Visa announced the launch of its global Agentic Ready program in the United Arab Emirates, supporting the local industry’s appetite for advancing AI-driven commerce. This launch is part of a broader rollout of the Agentic Ready program across Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa (CEMEA). In its first phase, Visa Agentic Ready enables issuers to test and validate agent-initiated transactions in a controlled, production-grade environment, helping them prepare for broader adoption as demand grows."
On the wires
Zoooom Launches Stripe-Powered 'Secure Payments' for Private-Party Car Sales
PR Newswire
"Zoooom announced the launch of Secure Payments, a fully integrated, Stripe-powered checkout that allows private-party car buyers to pay by bank wire, credit card, or installments through Klarna—and enables sellers to get paid securely—without ever leaving the platform. Zoooom becomes the first platform to deliver a fully verified peer-to-peer automotive marketplace where the buyer, the seller, and the vehicle's title are all authenticated before a single dollar moves."
June 5, 2026
Top Post
JPMorgan, Citi, and BofA Build Blockchain Network to Challenge Stablecoins Dominance
Coinpedia Fintech News
"The stablecoin market has grown from a crypto experiment into a potential threat to traditional banking. Therefore, now, JPMorgan, Bank of America, Citi, and other major lenders are jointly preparing a blockchain-based deposit network designed to keep customer money inside banks. According to reports, America’s largest banks are working on a shared tokenized deposit network that could launch in the first half of 2027 through “The Clearing House”, a payments company owned by major U.S. banks."
On the web
OQC, JPMorganChase and AMD Commence Research Collaboration to Develop New Quantum-AI Platform in London
JPMorganChase
"OQC, JPMorganChase and AMD today announced a research collaboration leveraging a new and dedicated Quantum-AI Data Centre, built by OQC in London. JPMorganChase researchers will test near-term quantum and hybrid quantum-classical computing applications via a secure enterprise environment to examine how quantum computing, AI and high-performance classical infrastructure can work together on complex financial services challenges."
Colorado Bill To Cut Sales Tax from Interchange Calculation Vetoed
Digital Transactions
"Colorado’s SB 26-134, a bill that would have eliminated sales tax as part of the interchange-fee calculation, has been vetoed by Gov. Jared Polis. SB 26-134, similar to the Illinois Interchange Fee Prohibition Act, would have taken effect Jan. 1, 2028, had Polis approved it. The contentious Illinois law, which has been delayed again to a July 1, 2027, implementation, differs in that it also excludes gratuities."
Visa And Mastercard Collaborate On New Stablecoin Platform
Yahoo Finance
"Credit card giants Visa and Mastercard are reportedly close to introducing a new stablecoin platform. Media reports say that global payment network Stripe and U.S. cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global (NASDAQ: $COIN) also plan to participate in the stablecoin platform. Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies whose value is pegged to another asset, usually the U.S. dollar."
Adyen Selected as Payment Services Provider for GOV.UK Pay
Adyen
"The Government Digital Service (GDS) has appointed Adyen as the new payment services provider (PSP) for non-Crown card payments and pay by bank services. GOV.UK Pay, the government’s online payment service built by GDS, enables public sector organisations to take payments quickly, securely and accessibly. The new agreement will see public sector organizations, including local councils, armed forces and police, transition from Stripe to Adyen for their GOV.UK Pay processing."
New Enhancement to Nacha’s Risk Management Portal Helps FIs Keep ACH Contacts Current
Nacha
"A new enhancement is now live, giving financial institutions an easy and reliable way to verify that their ACH Contact Registry information is accurate and up to date. FI Administrators that navigate to the ACH Contact Registry landing page will be prompted to verify their mandatory contact information via a new feature, only if they are compliant with the Nacha Rules:"
Small Business Sales Edge Upward in May as Foot Traffic Continues to Slow, Fiserv Data Shows
Fiserv, Inc.
"Fiserv, Inc. has published the Fiserv Small Business Index for May 2026, indicating that U.S. small business sales growth in May was driven primarily by higher average ticket sizes amid persistent cost pressures, while consumer foot traffic continued to soften. Small business sales rose (+0.7%) year over year, driven by average tickets that climbed +3.1% compared with 2025. Transactions declined (-2.4%) year over year, marking the seventh consecutive month of declining foot traffic. Compared with April, sales were flat (+0.0%) and transactions declined slightly (-0.2%)."
Introducing Cash App TAGS: A New Way to Pay
Business Wire
"Cash App is launching a new payment form factor that’s changing the shape of money. Cash App Tags are NFC-enabled, physical payment accessories that let customers pay without having to reach for their phone or card. The first-edition Cash App Tag—the pearlescent Cash App Wand—is now available for Cash App Card holders to purchase in the app, while supplies last."
Education: J.P. Morgan Payments: How Payments Ate the World [Video]
JPMorgan
"It’s 2010. The fastest way to move money on the same day from New York to London is to catch a flight and carry it with you. Over 90% of all transactions globally still happen in cash. Ecommerce is a niche industry, and sales are less than five percent of global retail. It’s crazy that this was only 15 years ago. Now, two-thirds of all payments globally are digital—around 1.5 trillion transactions per year. With a simple tap of a card people can pay for a practically limitless array of goods and services from virtually any location on the planet. So how did we get from there to here? This is the story of how payments ate the world..."
June 4, 2026
Top Post
Bank of America to Launch Cross-Border Real-Time Payments, Expanding Global Payment Choice [Video]
Bank of America
"Bank of America announced plans to launch a cross-border real-time payments solution that will enable its corporate, commercial and financial institution clients to send and receive funds instantly through Swift or the bank’s flagship digital platform, CashPro®. The service will offer real‑time payment tracking, full-principal preservation and lower costs. The service is expected to launch next quarter and will support high‑volume, low‑value international payments and use cases such as international remittances, gig‑worker payouts, and e‑commerce marketplace vendor payments, among others."
On the web
Flutterwave Partners With Blockchain Network Tempo to Cut Costs on African Payments
Tech Labari
"Africa’s largest payments company is betting on blockchain to fix one of the continent’s most persistent financial headaches: the high cost and slow speed of moving money across borders. Flutterwave, which processes transactions across 34 African countries, announced on Wednesday a partnership with Tempo, a blockchain network backed by Stripe and Paradigm, to build a stablecoin-based infrastructure for cross-border payments into and across Africa."
New Gold-Backed Visa Card Lets Users Earn 6% Cashback
Yahoo Finance
"Popular digital assets company Tether announced the launch of a gold-backed neobanking Visa card in collaboration with the digital banking and investment platform Fasset on June 3. Tether said the card allows users to earn 6% cashback in the form of its XAUT stablecoin."
Instant Payment Platform Tops One Million Daily Transactions: EthSwitch
The Reporter Ethiopia
"EthSwitch, Ethiopia’s national payment switch, said its instant payment platform processed more than one million transactions in a single day, marking a milestone in the country’s push to expand digital payments and financial inclusion. The platform, EthioPay-IPS, handled transactions worth more than five billion Birr on the record day. The announcement comes as Ethiopia accelerates efforts to modernize its financial sector and expand digital financial services."
Visa and Brale Explore Private Stablecoin Settlement for Institutional Payments
Visa
"Visa announced a collaboration with Brale to explore stablecoin-based settlement using SBC, a U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin issued by Brale, on the Canton Network. The proof of concept will evaluate how privacy-enabled blockchain infrastructure can support faster, more programmable settlement while helping financial institutions and payment companies maintain control over the visibility of sensitive settlement transaction data."
CORA Group Acquires Finastra’s Phoenix Core System, Malauzai Digital Banking and Fusion Analytics Businesses
Finastra
"CORA Group, a portfolio of Jonas Software, an operating group of Constellation Software, announced that it has acquired Finastra’s U.S. Mid-Market banking business, which includes core banking, digital banking and related businesses. The solution brands include: Phoenix Core Banking System, MalauzAi Digital Banking, Analyzer IQ, and Enterprise Content Management (ECM)."
Fireblocks Flow: Enabling Merchants to Accept Stablecoin Payments
Fireblocks
"Fireblocks Flow, is a stablecoin acceptance infrastructure for PSPs and fintechs. Plug Flow into the checkout or deposit flows already running, and start accepting stablecoins and crypto from any wallet and settle in the stablecoin of your choice. Businesses will increasingly receive payments in stablecoins. Consumers will keep paying from whatever wallet or asset they use. Flow is the infrastructure that makes both possible."
Revolut Plans 2027 US Bank Launch With Stablecoin Services Built In From Day One
Converge
"The British neobank, with 70 million customers and a $75 billion valuation, will pair FDIC-insured accounts with stablecoin access on a single platform — a tier-one fintech entering US banking with stablecoins designed in, not bolted on."
June 3, 2026
Top Post
Cuba to Suspend Visa, Mastercard Transactions Due to U.S. Sanctions, Central Bank Says
The Globe and Mail
"Cuba will suspend Visa and Mastercard transactions starting June 6, its central bank said, citing sanctions imposed by the United States that in recent days have led a swath of foreign businesses to sever ties with the Caribbean island. Cuba’s central bank said a foreign partner that had previously processed credit card transactions for Cuba had decided to limit operations following a U.S. executive order on May 1 that vastly broadened sanctions on commerce with Cuba."