Join us in New York on September 29-October 1 for our next Payments Boot Camp and Advanced Payments workshop!
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.
Search Payments News
August 14, 2026
Top Post
A PayPal Sale Is Back on the Table: What We Know About Stripe, Advent’s Bid
Yahoo Finance
"Stripe and Advent are reportedly in talks to acquire PayPal, according to the Wall Street Journal. Yahoo Finance's Josh Lipton outlines what we know so far. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the struggling payment company is in talks to sell itself to Stripe and Advent. Two companies offered 60 50 per share in July or $53 billion, which PayPal, remember, turned down, but now the journal is saying the companies have been in negotiations since then. PayPal shares spiking on that headline just before the close, finishing the day up nearly 2%."
On the web
Why Capital One Built Its Multi-Agent AI Platform Around Open-Weight Models [Video]
Venture Beat
"Kel Vanee, MVP of machine learning engineering at Capital One, spoke with Sam Witteveen, Senior Technology Contributor at VentureBeat, about how the bank built a scalable multi-agent AI architecture around deeply customized open-weight models rather than relying on an off-the-shelf foundation model. "At Capital One, we're not just using AI, we're building AI," Vanee said."
Chime Explores Stablecoins for Consumer Banking App
Investing
"Chime Financial Inc. is exploring how to bring stablecoins into its consumer banking platform, in the latest sign that the new form of money is evolving beyond crypto markets and into everyday payments, according to reporting from Bloomberg. The San Francisco-based fintech asked blockchain technology companies to submit proposals in late spring to provide "end-to-end" stablecoin wallet services, according to the report, citing people familiar with the plans and a document."
Citi Expands Customer Engagement and Commerce Media Capabilities with Addition of Kard
Citigroup
"Citi’s U.S. Consumer Cards business announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Kard Financial, Inc., a company that operates a commerce media and rewards platform that helps banks and fintechs deepen customer engagement through personalized offers. Kard provides a commerce media platform that connects financial institutions and merchants through verified transaction data and merchant-funded rewards."
Zelle® tag Adoption Tops 1 Million; Small Businesses Across America Enroll at a Rate of Nearly 3,500 Per Day in the First Half of 2026
Early Warning
"During the first half of 2026, small businesses enrolled in Zelle® tag at an average rate of approximately 3,500 per day, as enrollment tops 1 million small businesses. Small businesses with a Zelle® tag received nearly $5.8 billion across all of their enrolled payment credentials during the period, offering an early indication of how the feature can help businesses make it easy for customers to pay them."
August 13, 2026
Top Post
Three New Nacha Rules Approved
Nacha
"Nacha voting members have approved three new Nacha Rules—including one which took effect immediately, opening the ACH Contact Registry to the U.S. Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service (BFS). Another newly approved Rule will document the current set of characters that are accepted by the two ACH Operators. This Rule takes effect Jan. 1, 2027. The third approved Rule creates an exception to a separate, upcoming Rule concerning funds availability."
On the web
PayPal Antitrust Suit Dismissed: No Private Route to Challenge Platform Fee Inflation
Tech Times
"A federal judge permanently closed the door on the most ambitious consumer antitrust challenge ever brought against PayPal's merchant payment rules, handing the company a complete legal victory on August 12 and revealing just how difficult it is for shoppers to prove that a payment platform's fees secretly inflated the prices they paid. The ruling, issued by US District Judge Jeffrey S. White of the Northern District of California, ended a nearly three-year legal battle in Sabol et al. v. PayPal Holdings Inc. et al. (No. 4:23-cv-05100)."
Matera Releases Open Source X9.150 Payment QR Code Implementation to Accelerate Industry Adoption
Yahoo Finance
"Matera, a leading provider of modern banking technology, today announced the release of an open source implementation of the ANSI X9.150 Merchant-Presented Payment QR Code Standard, making it easier than ever for financial institutions, fintechs and developers to begin working with the new interoperability standard."
Modern Treasury Adds Physical and Digital Check Payments to Its Unified Payments API
Modern Treasury
"Modern Treasury today announced that its Payment Service Provider (PSP) now supports payments via physical and digital checks. Rather than integrating a separate check printing vendor or maintaining distinct reconciliation workflows, developers can use a single API to route payments across ACH, wires, RTP, FedNow, push-to-card, stablecoins, physical checks, and digital checks. The result is less operational complexity, faster implementation, and consistent payment tracking across every rail."
Account Takeover Fraud Mitigation Toolkit
The Federal Reserve
"Account takeover fraud has remained a persistent threat for financial institutions. Recent trends reveal not only an increase in account takeover fraud losses but also in the frequency and sophistication of account takeover schemes. The Federal Reserve supports the payments industry in the fight against account takeover fraud. This account takeover fraud mitigation toolkit offers a wide range of informative resources to help the industry."
Thunes Expands Web3 Infrastructure with EURC to Enable Instant Euro Treasury Funding
Thunes
"Thunes announced the expansion of its stablecoin liquidity management capabilities with the launch of EURC prefunding. By integrating Circle’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA)-compliant, euro-backed stablecoin EURC, Thunes is expanding its treasury funding capabilities and enabling its Network Members to optimise their treasury operations with 24/7 global value movement. Eligible Members can use EURC as their liquidity currency to prefund transactions and manage treasury flows with greater speed, flexibility and operational continuity."
American Express Expands Virtual Card Capabilities to Help Businesses Utilize Fast-Growing Commercial Payment Method
Business Wire
American Express announced new capabilities to help U.S. commercial customers with American Express® Virtual Cards. Amex Corporate customers can now create, manage and use Amex Virtual Cards in Amex’s software platform, @ Work, which customers can use to manage their Corporate Program. Customers who use Amex’s Business Travel Account with Virtual Payments (BTA), can now create, manage and use Amex Virtual Cards with solutions from Conferma, a leader in virtual payments technology.
Flywire Expands Trustly Partnership to Deliver Open Banking Payments Across the U.S. and Canada
Flywire
"Flywire Corporation announced expanded support for open banking payments in the U.S. and Canada with Trustly, allowing payers to conveniently authorize secure, large domestic and cross-border payments directly from their bank accounts and in their local currency. When choosing to pay with Trustly Pay by Bank, payers simply use their existing online bank login credentials during checkout – with no need to re-enter bank account information to complete the transfer."
PayU Launches Accessible Checkout For Visually Impaired Users [India]
CIOL
"PayU has launched an accessibility-focused payments checkout for blind and visually impaired users, adding screen-reader optimisation, adjustable interface settings and visual accessibility features to its payment gateway. the company said the checkout is designed to help users with visual and cognitive accessibility needs complete online payments more independently. PayU also said merchants using its payment gateway can enable the accessibility features without changing their existing integrations."
Sardine Product Updates: July 2026
Sardine AI
"Catching the right signal, not just more of it, is what separates a strong risk program from a noisy one. This month's release sharpens exactly that. Screening now checks aliases and trade names alongside the name on file, and crypto risk monitoring flags a real shift in a wallet's risk instead of re-checking every transaction. FinCEN 314(a) processing also moves entirely inside Sardine, so a request that used to route through a separate vendor now runs from start to finish in one place. Here's what shipped in July."
Introducing Zilch Extra, Zilch Plus, Pay Monthly and Advance
Zilch
"Members earn more rewards on everyday purchases, unlock priority customer support access to Zilch Advance. Zilch Extra: turns an Open Banking connection into sharper offers, spending insights, and rewards. Zilch Plus: pays members up to 6% back in rewards when using debit, and up to 1% when using credit. Zilch Advance: uses AI-enabled open banking and income verification to give eligible customers access to up to £100 of their salary up to seven days before it arrives. Pay Monthly: expands options to spread the cost of purchases over time."
Rise of AI Shopping Pushes Merchants to Protect Loyalty, Adyen Says
Yahoo Finance
"The increasing prevalence of AI chatbots handling consumer shopping is pushing merchants to uphold direct customer relationships over fears of losing their loyalty and repeated purchases. Adyen, has introduced a platform designed for enterprise merchants and AI-agent payments, and recently bought loyalty software firm Talon.One and billing provider Orb to strengthen its retention-focused services. These moves reflect the expectations that merchants will require robust tools to sustain customer retention and adapt to AI software companies charging usage-based fees."
Stablecoins Can Transform the Global South by Reimagining Digital Finance, Trade, and Development
Brookings
"Emerging markets are the key holders and users of stablecoins, and they are especially important in economies that have struggled to maintain resilience around payment systems and remittances. Stablecoin technology can help fix broken payment systems and increase financial inclusion and access, but they also present some financial stability risks. Consistent and clear regulation will be critical to maximize the impact of stablecoins and reduce risks such as deposit flight and illicit uses."
August 12, 2026
Top Post
Block Expands Square's Reach: Can Its Financial Strategy Pay Off?
TradingView
"Block Inc.’s XYZ Square is expanding its financial ecosystem to help small businesses. The refreshed Square Credit Card operating on the American Express network, offers unlimited 3% cash back on Square Bill Pay transactions and 1.5% on other purchases. The bigger change is the integration of the credit card with Bill Pay. Sellers can now use their Square Credit Card to pay expenses such as rent, insurance, marketing and inventory, even when vendors do not accept credit cards."
On the web
Coinbase Business Expands with AI Agent Payments and USDT Support
Crypto News
"Coinbase has announced new capabilities for its Coinbase Business payment service, introducing support for AI agent payments and $USDT (Tether) transactions. The move allows companies to accept payments from autonomous AI agents and from customers using the popular stablecoin, with settlements automatically converted to $USDC."
Solana Moves $650B in Stablecoins Onchain in One Month, Surpassing Ethereum
Crypto Briefing
"Solana processed $650 billion in stablecoin transactions in February 2026, the highest monthly stablecoin volume ever recorded on any blockchain. To put that number in perspective, it doubled Solana’s previous record set just four months earlier in October 2025. For the first time, Solana surpassed Ethereum in monthly stablecoin volume."
Gen Z Spotlighted in Newest Installments of Nacha Campaign Highlighting Direct Deposit and Direct Payment
Nacha
"From ease and convenience to safety and reliability, the benefits of both Direct Payment and Direct Deposit to members of Generation Z are highlighted in the latest installments of a campaign from Nacha. Featured on DirectDeposit.org and DirectPayment.org, the stories spotlight five Gen Zers for the ways they use Direct Deposit and Direct Payment—both powered by the modern ACH Network—to simplify their lives."
Sionic Launches Instant Bank Pay in U.S. Through Microsoft Marketplace
Business Wire
Sionic, a leader in real-time, bank-to-bank payments at the point of sale, announced the availability launch of its Instant Bank Pay service alongside Fraud Detection Service in Microsoft Marketplace, the unified online destination for customers to buy trusted cloud solutions, AI apps, and agents to meet their business needs. Sionic customers can now discover and deploy trusted solutions through Microsoft Marketplace, with smooth integration and streamlined management across Microsoft Azure and other Microsoft products.
On the wires
Bank of America Enters into a Joint Venture Agreement with Jio Financial Services Limited to Acquire up to 49.9% in Jio Credit Limited
PR Newswire
"Jio Financial Services Limited (JFSL) and Bank of America Corporation (BofA) announced that they have signed a definitive agreement whereby BofA will acquire up to a total of 49.9% interest as a joint venture partner in JFSL's wholly-owned NBFC (non-bank financial company) lending subsidiary, Jio Credit Limited (JCL) through a preferential allotment of equity shares and warrants. The venture will combine JFSL's digital reach and knowledge of the Indian market with BofA's global financial services expertise."
August 11, 2026
Top Post
RBC, BMO to Sell Moneris to Francisco Partners in $1.44 Billion Deal
MSN
"The Royal Bank of Canada and BMO Financial Group agreed to sell jointly owned Moneris Solutions to technology investment firm Francisco Partners in a deal valued at C$2 billion ($1.44 billion). Moneris, founded 25 years ago, is one of Canada's largest commerce solutions providers. BMO and RBC will each receive a 50% share from the sale. Moneris said that with access to Francisco Partners' global platform it will accelerate modernization and growth across small, medium and enterprise businesses in the Canadian marketplace.
On the web
Capital One Credit Card Shift to Discover Seen Limited
Investing
"Capital One’s conversion of credit card volumes to Discover is expected to be significantly smaller than the over $100 billion initially suggested when the deal was announced, according to Bernstein analysts. The company converted approximately $70 billion in debit card volumes from Mastercard to Discover earlier this year. At the time of the deal announcement, Capital One indicated it would migrate $175 billion in total volumes to Discover Card by 2027, with roughly $70 billion from debit and over $100 billion from credit."
MoneyGram Expands on Solana with Global Crypto-to-Cash Service
MoneyGram
"MoneyGram is bringing its cash-to-crypto infrastructure to Solana (SOL), extending the money-transfer company's push into blockchain rails to connect stablecoins and digital wallets with its sprawling global cash network. MoneyGram Ramps has become available to wallets, exchanges and developers building on Solana. The service lets users convert cash into digital assets or cash them out through MoneyGram's payment network without each crypto app having to build its own connections to banks and cash outlets."
Square Credit Card Levels Up: Rewards Built for Small Businesses and a New Way to Pay Vendors
Block
"Square announced an expansion of its Square Credit Card program and a new Square Bill Pay capability that enables sellers to fund vendor payments with their Square Credit Card, regardless of whether the vendor accepts cards. The updates give sellers a powerful way to manage cash flow, business expenses, and vendor payments from a single platform. Operating on the American Express network, the refreshed Square Credit Card now features unlimited 3% cash back on Square Bill Pay transactions and 1.5% cash back on all other purchases."
Why Agentic Payment Logic Belongs at the Payment Layer and What It Means for Merchant Control in an AI‑Driven Economy
Unite AI
"Integration is largely optimized at the level of connectivity between systems, rather than where decisions are executed. But the way a transaction is structured, routed, and controlled across systems has not been fundamentally reconsidered, further pushing the problem onto the merchant. Where should agentic payment logic live? If embedded in the shopping cart, the logic sits too close to the platform layer. If it sits with payment service providers, merchants retain execution but lose how transactions are routed across their systems."
On the wires
Swift Announces Step Forward in International Money Transfers for Consumers in the US with Bank of America and J.P. Morgan Among First to Go Live
Business Wire
"Individuals and small businesses receiving money from family, friends or businesses abroad will get a faster, clearer experience as Bank of America and J.P. Morgan go live with a new initiative from Swift, the organisation that connects more than 11,500 financial institutions in over 200 countries and territories. The initiative sets a standard for international retail transfers so consumers experience several key benefits: The full amount arrives. It arrives faster, near instantly. The fee and exchange rate are known so there are no surprises."
Take us with you
Payments on Fire is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, and other podcast apps and services.
Watch new video episodes on our YouTube channel.