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March 30, 2026
On the web
Banks Eye Crypto Specialists
Global Finance Magazine
"Traditional finance is rapidly integrating stablecoins as an “always-on” payment rail. Barclays’ January 2026 acquisition of a stake in Ubyx, a US startup specializing in stablecoin clearing, highlights this. The strategic investment allows the bank to accept any regulated stablecoin and instantly convert it into a “par value” bank deposit. This aligns with Barclays’ existing participation in a 10-bank consortium, including Goldman Sachs and UBS, exploring a regulated stablecoin pegged to G7 currencies. Ubyx functions as an interoperability and clearing layer, enabling banks to accept stablecoin transactions without managing the underlying crypto."
Zelle® Expands MDI Access Program to Jack Henry®, Broadening Access to Fast, Reliable Digital Payments
Early Warning
"The Zelle® Network announced the second year of its Minority Depository Institution (MDI) access program: Renewing its collaboration with Velera to bring Zelle to MDI credit unions. Velera is the nation’s premier payments credit union service organization and an integrated financial technology solutions provider. Expanding the program through a new partnership with Jack Henry to bring Zelle to additional MDI banks and credit unions."
Mind the Gap: AI Adoption in Europe and the U.S.
Federal Reserve
"For three decades, American workers have been pulling ahead of their European counterparts. Between 1995 and 2025, output per hour increased by 88% in the U.S. versus just 30% in the 20 countries using the euro. Now, a new wave of technology is arriving. Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have the potential to reshape work across many sectors of the economy. As with the ICT revolution, the economic impact of AI will depend critically on how quickly and broadly workers and firms adopt it. Will the U.S. again pull ahead, or will Europe be able to close the gap?"
Phixius by Nacha Adds Advanced Fraud Solutions as Fourth Data Responder
Nacha
"Phixius by Nacha—a secure, peer-to-peer payment information network—announced today that Advanced Fraud Solutions is now live on the Phixius network as a data responder. This addition makes Advanced Fraud Solutions the fourth data responder on Phixius, further expanding the breadth of account validation coverage available to Phixius users."
On the wires
Nium Launches Dual-Network Stablecoin Card Issuance Platform Enabling Businesses to Spend Digital Dollars at Hundreds of Millions of Merchant Locations Worldwide
PR Newswire
"Nium launched its stablecoin card issuance platform. The solution enables companies holding stablecoins to issue spending cards on both the Visa and Mastercard networks through a single API integration, allowing stablecoins to be used at hundreds of millions of merchant locations globally."
March 27, 2026
Top Post
Mastercard Tests AI-Driven Payments in Puerto Rico
News is My Business
"Mastercard said it completed live end-to-end transactions using artificial intelligence-powered shopping agents across Latin America and the Caribbean, including in Puerto Rico, where Oriental Bank and Evertec participated. The company said that means an AI assistant can now do more than recommend a product or service, it can complete an actual purchase for a customer using existing payment infrastructure and the cardholder’s consent. Mastercard said the transactions were carried out in controlled environments using Mastercard Agent Pay, the company’s platform for what it calls agentic commerce, in which AI systems can search for products, recommend options and complete purchases on behalf of users."
On the web
Now Available: Advanced EMV 3DS Products and Emerging Use Cases
U.S. Payments Forum
"The U.S. Payments Forum has released the fourth and final brief in our EMV® 3DS Mini-Series: Advanced EMV 3DS Products and Emerging Use Cases. This final installment explores how EMV 3DS continues to evolve to support new authentication methods, emerging payment models, and shifting fraud dynamics. The brief highlights advanced capabilities such as decoupled authentication, the use of FIDO authentication data, and Secure Payment Confirmation (SPC)—all designed to improve security while reducing friction in the customer experience."
ISO 20022 Milestone for November 2026: Unstructured Addresses to Be Removed
Swift
"As the global payments community continues its transition to ISO 20022, the new global standard for cross-border payments, a new milestone is on the horizon. A key component of the transition will be the removal of unstructured postal addresses, planned for November 2026 as part of the SR 2026 standards release. The removal of unstructured addresses will improve data quality in cross-border payments. Structured address data allows for greater straight-through processing, more effective compliance screening and enhanced transparency across the payments chain."
Walmart Introduces Tailored ChatGPT Environment
Chain Store Age
"Walmart is expanding the shopping features available to its customers in the ChatGPT model. The new experience lets Walmart shoppers go directly from discovery in ChatGPT into a customized Walmart environment that supports account linking, loyalty and Walmart payments. This new experience is now available in web browsers, with app access in iOS and Android scheduled to follow shortly."
March 26, 2026
Top Post
Visa Launches Enhanced Subscription Manager, Giving Consumers Greater Control Over Recurring Payments
Visa
"Visa unveiled an Enhanced Subscription Manager solution, a new value‑added service within its Digital Issuer Solutions business. Visa is collaborating with Pinwheel , a leading provider of in‑app bill management capabilities. Enhanced Subscription Manager helps issuers respond to consumer demand by offering a consolidated, easy-to-integrate solution that elevates the user experience. Issuers can give cardholders greater subscription visibility, easy payment switching methods and cancellation capabilities, all without leaving their banking app."
On the web
Cornell Tech Partners With Mastercard to Advance AI Governance Standards
Cornell Chronicle
Cornell Tech has launched a research collaboration with Mastercard to advance methods for evaluating and auditing generative artificial intelligence systems. Supported by Mastercard’s AI Governance program, the project will examine how to improve transparency and real‑world benefits from generative AI.
The research effort includes a core team of Cornell Tech faculty members who are leaders in the fields of algorithmic fairness, AI evaluation, the ethics of technology and human-AI interaction.
Mastercard Explores Sale of Payments Unit It Bought From Nets in 2019, FT Reports
Mastercard
"Mastercard is seeking to sell the real-time payments unit that it acquired from Denmark's Nets Group in 2019 for $3.2 billion, the Financial Times reported on Thursday. The credit card giant has hired investment bankers to lead a sale of the business that could draw interest from private equity groups, the report said. Mastercard is likely to fetch a lower valuation than the price it paid, the report said."
EMVCo Publishes Electric Vehicle Open Payments Solution
EMVCo
"EMVCo has published Version 1.0 of the Electric Vehicle (EV) Open Payments Use Case document, which outlines an interoperable open payment solution for EV charging. The use case document explains how EMV Secure Remote Commerce (SRC) technology – which simplifies the digital payment process to help make it more consistent, convenient and secure – can be used to integrate card-based payments at EV charging stations supporting ISO 15118 Plug and Charge."
Stripe Brings a New Checkout Experience for Facebook
Stripe
"Stripe announced it is helping bring a new checkout experience to Facebook. It enables buyers to purchase products from businesses like Fanatics and Quince in just one click, whether from a business’ website or within the app after clicking on an ad. Businesses can opt into selling via ads in Facebook through a toggle in the Stripe Dashboard, and link their Meta ads account. Once enabled, when a buyer sees an ad on Facebook and taps the “Buy now” button, Meta surfaces a native checkout powered by Stripe."
Meta Goes Deeper Into Shopping, Tests Creator Commissions on Instagram and New Buy Button Within Ads
Retail Brew
"Meta is making product changes to make it easier for users to find and buy products across Facebook and Instagram with new tweaks and tools. Meta is giving creators more ways to recommend products across Facebook and Instagram. On Instagram, creators will have a new tag feature that they can use to flag items from a brand’s catalog or through affiliate links directly in their Reels, turning any Instagram video into a digital storefront. Meta wants to turn creator content into a sales channel for brands and retailers and a new opportunity for creators to monetize their content."
In Data We Trust? Emerging Policy and Supervisory Approaches to AI Data Use in Financial Services
BIS
"Data play a critical role in the transformation of the financial sector through artificial intelligence (AI). While challenges in data management are not new, they pose significant barriers to the wider adoption of advanced AI systems, such as generative AI (gen AI). Key concerns include data privacy, quality and security, which are further intensified by third-party dependencies and market concentration among major service providers. Effectively managing data-related risks is essential to ensure that AI adoption in financial services fosters innovation while upholding trust, resilience and financial stability."
March 25, 2026
Top Post
Visa to Bring Privacy-Preserving Payments to Canton Network
Visa
"Visa announced it will join the Canton Network as the first major global payments company to serve as a Super Validator, to help extend privacy‑preserving blockchain infrastructure to banks and financial institutions around the world. Visa will be one of 40 Super Validators on Canton. That move goes straight to a core challenge for financial institutions: the same transparency that gives blockchains their appeal can clash with privacy expectations financial institutions operate under. Canton Network, a blockchain built for regulated finance, has privacy built in from the beginning, so organizations can use shared infrastructure without exposing sensitive information."
On the web
Shopify: Millions of Merchants Can Sell in AI Chats
Shopify
"Starting this week, millions of merchants can sell to ChatGPT users via Agentic Storefronts. Agentic Storefronts give merchants out-of-the-box access to major AI channels—ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, AI Mode in Google Search, and the Gemini app—managed centrally from the Shopify Admin. And, with Agentic plan, now publicly available, brands not using Shopify for ecommerce can add products to Shopify Catalog to reach shoppers and sell across these same AI channels."
Google Just Launched a New Gemini-Powered Dark Web Monitoring Service
IT Pro
"Google has announced the launch of a new AI-powered dark web monitoring service, allowing enterprise security teams to keep tabs on emerging threats and exposed information. The new dark web intelligence capabilities, offered through Google Threat Intelligence , use Gemini to analyze threat actors activities relevant to particular organizations. The new AI capabilities aim to streamline threat intelligence operations, according to Google, removing the need for enterprises to manually input and update keywords on an as-they-go basis."
American Express Refreshes Business Card Line With Eight New, Enhanced Features, Including AI
MSN
"American Express introduced its new Graphite Business Cash Unlimited card and will debut a new Corporate Cash Back Card in the fall as it seeks to keep existing business customers and attract new ones. During the year, the company plans to release eight new or enhanced products that are designed to simplify financial operations and improve productivity for businesses. The updates include new expense management software and a new ChatGPT Business statement credit for the U.S. Business Platinum and Business Gold Card."
Ripple Targets Brazil Growth With Full Payments & VASP License
The Crypto Times
"Ripple has launched its comprehensive suite—payments, custody, prime brokerage, and treasury—for institutional clients across Brazil. The firm is also officially applying for a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license with the Central Bank of Brazil (BCB). This comes amid Ripple’s native dollar-pegged stablecoin, RLUSD, officially surpassing a $1.55 billion market capitalization."
March 24, 2026
On the web
How Adding Send for Instant Payments Spawned Good Surprises for BofA
Digital Transactions
"Bank of America went live with the ability to receive RTP transactions in November 2018 and added the send function the following March. BofA set out to design the send component “smartly.” “It was, let’s build this with the end in mind. Let’s build this smartly. Let’s not just build it for what we are seeing right in front of us,” Lee said. That was accomplished, she added. As for wire revenue—Bank of America, according to its online fact sheet, processes an average of $1.9 trillion in wire transfers per day globally—the addition of instant payments did not erode it."
Six Infrastructure Fronts Reshaping Fintech Payments
JPMorgan
"Infrastructure investments across payments, fraud detection, AI and networks form an interconnected system. Smart sequencing creates compounding advantages rather than isolated wins."
Solana Debuts Solana Developer Platform With Mastercard and Western Union as Early Users
The Street
"The Solana Foundation announced the launch of the Solana Developer Platform (SDP). This new "one-stop-shop" is designed specifically for large enterprises and financial institutions to build and launch financial products on the Solana blockchain using simple APIs. By grouping the best infrastructure tools into a single, unified interface, the platform aims to help big businesses get to market in a way that is efficient, compliant, and easy to scale."
Worldpay, Now Global Payments, Joins EPI to Roll Out Wero Instant Payments Across Europe
IBS Intelligence
"Global Payments Inc. announced its Worldpay business has joined the European Payments Initiative (EPI) as a Principal Member, enabling clients to begin offering Wero – the pan-European instant payment solution – over the coming months. As an EPI member, the company’s clients will be able to accept Wero payments across Europe, giving consumers more choice and flexibility at checkout. Enabling Wero builds on the company’s ongoing effort to expand its leading European payment acceptance capabilities and deliver innovative solutions for clients worldwide."
Feedzai Unveils RiskFM AI Foundation Model for Financial Crime Prevention
Feedzai
"Feedzai unveiled RiskFM (Risk Foundation Model), the industry’s first Tabular Foundation Model purpose-built for financial data and risk decisioning. RiskFM marks a fundamental shift in how financial crime is detected and prevented. For decades, institutions have relied on rules and manually-engineered machine learning models built one customer at a time. RiskFM changes that as a purpose-built frontier model that spans across fraud detection, anti-money laundering (AML), and broader risk decisions across the entire financial crime lifecycle."
March 23, 2026
Top Post
Federal Reserve Payments Study (FRPS)
Federal Reserve
"The Federal Reserve Payments Study (FRPS) is an ongoing effort to estimate aggregate trends in noncash payments in the United States, offering a periodic benchmark of developments in the U.S. payments system to policymakers, the industry, and the public."
On the web
Splitit Launches Splitit Go™, Extending Card-Linked Installments to Field Sales
PR Newswire
"Splitit announced the launch of Splitit Go™, a mobile solution that brings credit-card-linked installments into face-to-face sales environments, including field services, in-store purchases, consultations, and other in-person transactions. Contractors, medical providers, automotive service centers, and specialty retailers often discuss large purchases directly with customers, where affordability concerns can delay or prevent a sale. Splitit Go allows merchants to introduce installment options instantly when a purchase decision is made."
March 20, 2026
Top Post
Visa Launches ‘Agentic Ready’ Programme to Advance Agentic Commerce in Europe
Visa
"Visa announced the launch of Visa Agentic Ready, a new global programme, designed to support the payments ecosystem as it prepares for a new era of agentic commerce. Launching first in Europe, including the UK, this builds on Visa Intelligent Commerce. In its first phase, Visa Agentic Ready focuses on issuer readiness, providing issuing partners with a structured pathway to test and validate agent-initiated transactions, working in close partnership with Visa and selected merchants to explore how these transactions could operate securely, at scale, in controlled production environments."
On the web
Klarna Card Reaches 5 Million Active Customers
Klarna
"Klarna announced that the Klarna Card has reached 5 million active customers globally, underscoring rapid adoption as consumers shift towards new forms of payment which provide more control over day-to-day money management. The card draws from the customer's own funds for everyday spending, with the option to spread the cost of a specific purchase, like a large appliance or a flight, when it makes sense to do so. The result is a card that offers genuine spending control without the long-term debt obligations that come with traditional credit cards."
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