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May 20, 2026
Top Post
White House Pushes Fintech Integration Into US Banking Framework
Digital Watch Observatory
US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order directing federal financial regulators to review rules and supervisory practices that may be limiting fintech and digital asset firms’ access to traditional financial services and payment infrastructure. Within 90 days, regulators must review existing rules and processes affecting fintech firms, particularly small and emerging companies. The review will examine barriers to partnerships with banks, credit unions, broker-dealers, investment advisers and other regulated institutions, as well as application processes for bank charters, deposit insurance, licences, registrations and authorisations.
On the web
PPRO Partners with Nubank to Enable Nupay, Unlocking Access to Brazil’s Digital Banking Ecosystem
PPRO
"PPRO announced its partnership with Nubank to provide merchants and PSPs with direct access to its native payment method, NuPay. With over 115 million customers in Brazil, NuPay enables seamless authorisation through a single click or biometric scan directly within the institution’s secure app environment. By eliminating the need to share card details with merchants, it enhances security, improves approval rates, and provides stronger protection against friendly fraud and chargebacks."
FIS Launches Enterprise Risk Suite on AWS to Provide Continuous Cloud-Native Delivery
FIS Global
"Global financial technology leader FIS® announced the launch of FIS Enterprise Risk Suite on Amazon Web Services (AWS). Upgrading risk software has always meant disruption and for firms managing risk in real-time, that’s a trade-off they can’t afford. This deployment on AWS reduces this by delivering a cloud-native risk management platform that keeps financial institutions on the latest version of the software, continuously and without operational disruption."
Google Launches Smart Digital Cart; Upgrades Agentic Commerce Standard
Chain Store Age
"Google continues developing new ways for consumers to leverage Agentic artificial intelligence while shopping. The tech giant is introducing a new intelligent digital shopping cart called Universal Cart and also adding new features to the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), an open standard for agentic AI-based commerce intended to cover the entire shopping journey from discovery and buying to post-purchase support, as well as a new agentic payments protocol. Highlights of Google’s new agentic shopping tools follow."
Stablecoin News: Japan Opens Stablecoin Market to Foreign Issuers from June 1
The Coin Republic
"Japan will recognize eligible foreign stablecoins from June 1, 2026. The FSA rules keep qualifying trust-type stablecoins outside securities treatment. RLUSD stays near $1 as Japan’s stablecoin market gains clearer rules."
Payments Fraud: What Finance Leaders Need to Know
FutureCFO
"In a world of sophisticated fraud tactics in payments, finance leaders are in need to face challenges. According to a guide published by software company Eftsure, accelerating AI capabilities, and complex international payment networks created an environment where traditional analogue controls are no longer sufficient. Eftsure mapped out a five-point control framework to address technology, processes, and people in regards with this matter:"
Stablecoins As the Missing Link in B2B Marketplaces
Circle
"Business-to-business (B2B) marketplaces are becoming increasingly important channels for global commerce. As these platforms expand across borders, currencies, suppliers, and financial institutions, the challenge is coordinating settlement, liquidity, and reconciliation across multiple parties and jurisdictions. When used for settlement, they can help marketplaces move value directly between counterparties, reduce reliance on traditional intermediary chains, and create a shared record of payment activity on blockchain rails."
dLocal CEO Says Payment Fragmentation Is Its Moat as Growth Momentum Builds
Yahoo Finance
"dLocal’s key moat is its ability to give global merchants one integration into more than 60 emerging markets, where fragmented payment systems and regulations often create major friction for expansion. CEO Pedro Arnt said the company is shifting from a more defensive rebuild phase to growth initiatives, with emphasis on new products like BNPL, alternative payment methods, merchant of record services, and omnichannel payments, while expanding in Southeast Asia and other regions."
May 19, 2026
Top Post
NMI Acquires Dwolla, Strengthening Its Embedded Payments Platform With Advanced Money Movement Capabilities
PR Newswire
"NMI®, a global leader in embedded payments infrastructure, announced it has acquired Dwolla, one of the best-known account-to-account (A2A) payment infrastructure providers, recognized for its API-first approach to money movement. The acquisition brings together NMI’s strengths in payment acceptance, channel distribution, onboarding and merchant lifecycle management with Dwolla’s API-first capabilities in account-to-account infrastructure, real-time payments, open banking and many-to-many funds flow."
On the web
Would You Let Robots Spend Your Money? Google Is Betting on It
The Verge
"Google is going all in on AI-driven shopping even as some competitors back off. At Google I/O, the company unveiled the latest iteration of its AI commerce tools: a “Universal Cart” that works across different retailers and Google products like Gemini — and eventually YouTube and Gmail, too. Users can add products to Google’s universal cart as they browse Search and chat with Gemini and then check out through Google. The cart will also track prices, provide in-stock notifications, suggest potential discounts, and alert shoppers to potential issues with their selections."
Zip US and InComm Payments Bring Flexible Payments to Gift Cards, Giving Shoppers a New Way to Pay
InComm Payments
"Zip and InComm Payments,announced a partnership that brings installment buying to the gift card category. Through the integration, eligible shoppers can purchase popular gift card brands directly in the Zip app. With 4.6 million active customers in the US and 29,000 merchant partners, Zip is bringing that same flexibility to gift cards, giving consumers more flexibility over how they manage their spending.¹"
Centerbase Selects AvidXchange as the Exclusive Partner to Power Embedded Payments
AvidXchange
"AvidXchange announced that it has been selected by Centerbase, a leading provider of legal practice management software, as the exclusive partner to power embedded payments through its Accounts Payable as a Service solution. This solution delivers a modernized payment workflow designed specifically for the operational, compliance, and security needs of today’s law firms."
Mastercard: How to Stop the Scammers Behind the Storefronts
Mastercard
"The growth of digital payments helped millions of legitimate businesses move online fast and gave people a convenient, safe way to shop from home. But the same tools that help a real merchant launch quickly also made it simpler for criminals to set up fake storefronts. Technology like generative AI has made it even harder for consumers to detect them, thanks to deepfake videos from non-existent satisfied customers, rafts of testimonials generated from a single prompt and professional-grade websites and ads."
PayPal Partners with Anthropic to Close the AI Gap for Small Businesses
PayPal Newsroom
"Eighty-two percent of small businesses surveyed say adopting AI is essential to staying competitive, but seventy-three percent say they don’t have the tools or training to do it. PayPal is partnering with Anthropic to close that gap. AI Fluency for Small Business is a free online course offering practical, expert-backed training built around real advice from small business owners. It’s a meaningful step toward our 2030 goal of supporting 25 million people and small businesses with the skills they need to thrive in the digital economy."
Plaid: What ChatGPT’s New Experience Signals for Digital Finance
Plaid
"OpenAI introduced a preview of a new personal finance experience in ChatGPT, powered by Plaid. Pro users in the U.S. can now connect their financial accounts with Plaid and get real-time answers and insights tailored to their actual financial picture, beyond generic guidance and information on best practices."
UK Banks Can Issue Wholesale Stablecoins. Retail Coins Must Sit Outside Bank
Ledger Insights
"The Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) has updated its guidance on how banks should approach stablecoins, e-money and tokenized deposits, superseding a 2023 Dear CEO letter on the same topic. The most notable shift is a lighter approach to wholesale stablecoins. Banks considering stablecoin issuance exclusively for wholesale customers are invited to engage with supervisors early, with the PRA signaling it will take a “proportionate approach” to assessing proposals."
Worldline and Klarna Partner to Enable Flexible, Online and In-Store Payments Everywhere
Klarna
"Worldline and Klarna announced the signing of a framework agreement to improve access to Klarna’s full suite of flexible payments across online and in-store points of sale serviced by Worldline. Worldline will integrate Klarna more deeply into its technology stack, and acquire transactions. The rollout will begin this year with the integration into the Global Collect platform, which is Worldline’s global online payment solution for international e-commerce players in the Travel & Digital sectors."
On the wires
1 in 3 Americans Are Unable to Make Full Monthly Debt Payments, Achieve and money.com Survey Finds
PR Newswire
"About 34% of U.S. consumers are currently unable to make the full monthly payment of their household debts, according to a new joint survey from digital financial services company Achieve and Money.com. The findings reveal a widening gap in financial stability, with more than 1 in 4 Americans (28%) now describing their total unsecured debt load as unmanageable."
May 18, 2026
On the web
RBI’s ‘Payments Vision 2028’ Ushers Structural Re‑Design of Ecosystem
Deccan Herald
"The vision document...seeks to build an open and interoperable card ecosystem with emphasis on merchant choice, smart tokenisation and orchestration, and transparent pricing. The vision document calls for innovation in card payments. This creates policy space for continued development of tokenised payment models, contactless and embedded experiences, stronger authentication and fraud controls and card-linked innovation aligned with security, inclusion, and efficiency objectives."
BNPL Moves Into the Conversation Layer of Commerce
Tearsheet
"The checkout button is starting to lose its original place in the buying process as payments move upstream into AI interfaces. That shift is now surfacing inside Google’s ecosystem, where BNPL firms Affirm and Klarna are embedding installment payments into Google Search and the Gemini app through Google Pay. The integrations move BNPL directly into AI-driven shopping experiences, where discovery, comparison, and purchasing happen within a single conversational interaction rather than across separate search funnels and checkout pages."
Bank of America to Pay $2.25 Million in ATM Fee Lawsuit
ATM Marketplace
"Bank of America agreed to pay $2.25 million via its class action lawsuit related to ATM fees at 7-Eleven locations. The class action lawsuit Schertzer, et al. v Bank of America, N.A., et al. alleged that the bank charged exorbitant ATM fees at transactions at FCTI Inc. ATMs, according to a report by WFTV. Both parties agreed to settle out of court, with Bank of America denying any wrongdoing. The lawsuit alleged that the bank would charge customers two out-of-network fees for balance inquiries."
Apple Pay India Rollout Delayed Amid Commission Standoff with Banks
CNBCTV18
"The delay comes despite the technology infrastructure for the launch being largely in place. According to one of Apple Pay’s India launch partners, the service could technically go live “the next day”, but talks with large credit card issuers remain stuck over commercial terms. Apple is reportedly seeking 20 basis points (bps) per transaction from partner banks, while large lenders are only willing to offer 15 bps, in line with the commission structure Apple follows globally, including in the US."
Lumin Digital Unveils Lumin Solaire, an AI-Native Intelligence Layer Embedded in Its Compounding Growth Platform
Lumin Digital
"Lumin Digital unveiled Lumin Solaire, an AI-native intelligence layer embedded across its platform. The Lumin Solaire intelligence layer is embedded directly within the platform, built into the architecture from the ground up rather than retrofitted on top. Leveraging a unified data foundation, Solaire operates across the entire system, continuously improving platform performance, member experience, and operational efficiency."
Bank of England: Extending RTGS and CHAPS Settlement Hours – Next Steps Towards near 24x7 Settlement
Bank of England
"Rapid innovation is driving a shift towards fast, resilient and always‑on payments. We aim to lead this transformation by delivering future‑ready infrastructure that enables private‑sector innovation, improves system‑wide outcomes and strengthens UK competitiveness. This consultation paper sets out our proposed direction for moving RTGS and CHAPS (the UK’s high-value payment system) settlement hours toward near 24x7 operation, and the key choices that will shape that journey."
Paytm Launches ‘Pocket Money’ for Teens to Make UPI Payments Without Bank Accounts
Indian Startup News
"Paytm has launched Paytm Pocket Money, a feature that allows teenagers to make UPI payments without needing their own bank account. The feature is built on the National Payments Corporation of India’s UPI Circle framework. It enables parents or trusted family members to provide controlled payment access through the Paytm app, while monitoring spending in real time. Teenagers can use the service for everyday transactions including school and college canteens, metro rides, cab fares, mobile recharges and shopping."
Australia’s Central Bank Plans Tokenization Sandbox in Project Acacia Roadmap
Ledger Insights
"The Reserve Bank of Australia and the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre have published the final report from Project Acacia, a tokenization research project exploring digital money and settlement infrastructure for wholesale asset markets. The project ran 20 use cases developed by domestic and international participants ranging from banks and fintechs to fund managers and exchanges. Twelve were live pilots involving real money and real assets, with the remainder operating as proofs of concept."
Mastercard and JD.com Announce Strategic Partnership to Support Business Growth Through Payments Innovation
Mastercard
"Mastercard and JD.com, a technology and service company with supply chain at its core, announced a strategic partnership to deliver innovations that build a more connected, secure and intelligent commerce ecosystem. JD.com and Mastercard will work together to further integrate and enhance global payment connectivity by developing a payment infrastructure to support JD.com’s international business development and enable broader use cases in global commerce."
May 15, 2026
On the web
Instant Payments Fraud Dispute Resolution: Guiding Principles for the U.S.
Faster Payments Council
"In the U.S., reported fraud and scam losses have been rising in recent years. This trend is occurring alongside the continued expansion of instant account-to-account payments across payment rails. The irrevocable nature of these rails creates challenges for dispute resolution, and lack of clarity about dispute resolution can affect user confidence and adoption. The principles outlined in this report offer industry guidance on designing dispute resolution frameworks for both consumers and businesses."
Lines, Pressure and Lost Profits: New Research from Global Payments Highlights the Cost of Order Anxiety at Restaurants
Global Payments Inc.
"Global Payments Inc. released new research revealing the hidden impact of stressful quick service restaurant (QSR) ordering moments, including that 60% of customers say they default to their usual order when rushed, likely ignoring special offers and new items. The survey of 2,000 U.S. QSR customers uncovers the hidden impact of "order anxiety" and how it may be silently shrinking restaurant revenues."
NCUA Announces Proposed Rule for Permitted Payment Stablecoin Issuer Standards
NCUA
"The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) announced a Notice of Proposed Rule Making outlining the operational and risk management standards for an NCUA-licensed permitted payment stablecoin issuer, as outlined in the GENIUS Act. "This proposed rule supports my view that credit unions will face no disadvantage compared to other entities regarding standards" said NCUA Chairman Kyle Hauptman. The proposed rule is available for review in the Federal Register, where stakeholders will be able to submit comments that will close on July 17, 2026."