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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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August 18, 2025
On the wires
Payoneer and Stripe Partner to Deliver Enhanced Online Checkout Experience for SMBs from Around the Globe
PR Newswire
"Payoneer announced a strategic partnership with Stripe. The collaboration marks an expansion of Payoneer's Online Checkout offering for cross-border merchants looking to sell direct-to-consumer. Launching in key markets within the Asia Pacific (APAC) region first, including China and Hong Kong, the upgraded Payoneer Checkout capabilities — will empower Businesses to accept a broader range of payments methods via online webstore checkout including Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) options like Affirm and Klarna, and digital wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay."
Nacha’s Payments Innovation Alliance Releases Spanish-Language Resources to Help Prevent Consumer Financial Fraud
Business Wire
"Nacha’s Payments Innovation Alliance has released three new Spanish-language educational resources to help financial institutions inform and protect Spanish-speaking consumers from common financial scams. The materials aim to reduce exploitation by raising awareness of mobile scams and “money mule” activity."
August 15, 2025
On the web
FIS Launches Investor Services Suite to Transform Investor Servicing Lifecycle
FIS Global
"FIS® has launched FIS® Investor Services Suite, an end-to-end solution designed to transform the investor servicing landscape for financial institutions, as well as alternative and traditional fund managers. The solution helps optimize end-to-end processing for swift customer onboarding and enhanced investor screening, and will make it possible to automate the investor lifecycle, helping to improve operational efficiency and support the ability of clients to meet their regulatory obligations."
Visa Expands Click to Pay Across Asia Pacific with 2C2P, Adyen, AsiaPay and Worldpay
Visa
"Visa announced the expansion of Click to Pay across Asia Pacific through strategic partnerships with payment enablers 2C2P, Adyen, AsiaPay, and Worldpay. By allowing customers to retrieve their saved, tokenised payment details using a mobile number or email alias, Click to Pay eliminates the need to manually enter card information. Transactions are tokenised, merchants benefit from improved security and experience an average uplift of 2.5% in payment success rates."
Airbnb Launches “Reserve Now, Pay Later” for US Stays
Dataconomy
"Airbnb has launched a “reserve now, pay later” feature for US users, enabling them to book accommodations without immediate upfront payment. This option allows guests to defer the full payment until a later date preceding their check-in. The company stated that the payment must be completed before the conclusion of a booking’s free cancellation window. This policy ensures that hosts retain sufficient time to secure alternative reservations if a guest cancels."
Zelle® Responds to New York Attorney General's Copycat Politically-Motivated Lawsuit
Early Warning
"Zelle® released a statement regarding the politically-motivated lawsuit filed by the New York Attorney General that fails to acknowledge that scams don’t start on Zelle; they start with criminals manipulating people long before dollars move."
Paxos to Pursue National Trust Charter with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
Paxos
"Paxos announced that it has filed an application to convert its New York Department of Financial Services trust charter into a national trust charter under the supervision of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. This strategic move will place Paxos under federal oversight and underscores its consistent commitment to maintain the highest regulatory standards of any blockchain infrastructure and tokenization platform globally."
On the wires
Citigroup Considers Custody and Payment Services for Stablecoins, Crypto ETFs
Reuters
"Citigroup is exploring providing stablecoin custody and other services, a top executive told Reuters, in a further sign sweeping policy changes in Washington are spurring major financial firms to expand into the cryptocurrency business. The U.S. bank is among a handful of traditional institutions, including Fiserv and Bank of America, considering pushing into stablecoins after Congress passed a law paving the way for the crypto tokens to become widely used for payments, settlement, and other services."
August 14, 2025
On the web
A Tale of Two Types of Credit Card Customers: Financially Healthy Cardholders Drive Gains in Satisfaction While Financially Challenged Cardholders Struggle, J.D. Power Finds
J.D. Power
"Volatility in everything from financial markets to the prices of consumer goods has started to influence the way credit card customers use their cards. According to the J.D. Power 2025 U.S. Credit Card Satisfaction Study,SM released, more than half (53%) of cardholders are currently carrying revolving debt and 56% are classified as financially unhealthy."
Federal Reserve Unveils Two Online Toolkits for Scams and Check Fraud Mitigation
FRB Services
"With payments fraud on the rise, the Federal Reserve has released two new toolkits: the Scams Mitigation Toolkit and Check Fraud Mitigation Toolkit. The toolkits are intended to support education and increase awareness about scams and check fraud, enable the payments industry to better identify and fight them, and foster industry collaboration on fraud and scams mitigation."
Block Unveils Proto Rig and Proto Fleet, Marking a New Era in Bitcoin Mining
Block
"Block, Inc. unveiled Proto Rig, a first-of-its-kind modular bitcoin mining system, and Proto Fleet, a free and open-source fleet management software. The announcement, made during an event held at Proto customer Core Scientific's facility in Dalton, GA, where Proto Rigs are mining as part of their fleet, represents a significant step toward decentralizing bitcoin mining hardware, opening access to more builders, and increasing network resiliency."
Buy Now, Return Later: Retailers Pay for Customer Loyalty
Bank of America Institute
"Consumers want the flexibility to return products, but this is costly for retailers. A 2024 National Retail Federation (NRF) survey of large U.S. retailers put the total cost at $890 billion, with the return rate in 2024 more than double that in 2019. Bank of America credit and debit card data also suggests still-high rates of return across retailers of all sizes, at 4.5% in 2025 year to date (YTD)."
The Hidden Risks of Sepa Instant Cash Pooling
RedCompass Labs
"You’re doing the hard work to comply with SEPA Instant. But there’s one thing most banks are overlooking: cash pooling. Why does it matter? Many banks sweep or pool leftover balances from a customer’s multiple accounts into a single master account—usually once a day, often around 7 PM."
Riskified Joins Forces with HUMAN to Help Merchants Embrace Trusted AI Shopping Agent Commerce
Riskified
"Riskified announced a new partnership with HUMAN Security, a leading cybersecurity company, with a shared vision to advance a unified security framework that helps merchants win and grow safely via emerging agentic channels. The partnership underscores their joint commitment to leverage their respective industry-leading AI platforms and expansive network insights to secure the next era of digital commerce."
On the wires
Worldpay and Trulioo Collaborate to Embed Trust in the Agentic Commerce Era
Business Wire
"Worldpay® announced they are partnering with Trulioo to introduce new safeguards for AI-powered agent-led commerce. As AI agents play a growing role in shopping on behalf of consumers, verifying agent identities and capturing clear, auditable shopper consent are critical to maintaining trust, preventing fraud and meeting evolving regulatory requirements. Worldpay and Trulioo will innovate to deliver advanced tools to ensure that merchants, payment providers and consumers can trust agent-based transactions."
Jack Henry's Initial Launch of Tap2Local will Empower Financial Institutions and Their SMB Customers with Fast, Seamless Digital Payments
PR Newswire
"Jack Henry™ announced the launch of Tap2Local™, a digital payments solution that enables banks and credit unions to meet the needs of their small and medium-sized business customers. Developed in collaboration with Moov, the cloud-native Tap2Local solution offers merchants many distinguishing features. Those include the ability to accept debit and credit card payments directly through tap-to-pay on both iOS and Android devices. Transactions are processed through all major card networks. Tap2Local is offered exclusively through banks and credit unions."
Xsolla and Adyen Partner to Power Global Game Payments and Introduce Xsolla Payment Service Provider to Give Developers Full Control of Payments, Checkout, and Revenue Strategy
Business Wire
"Xsolla, a global commerce company helping developers launch, grow and monetize their games, announces today a strategic partnership with Adyen, a leading financial technology platform, to power seamless and scalable payment experiences for game developers around the world. This partnership supports the launch of Xsolla Payment Service Provider (PSP), a new payment solution designed for studios that want to operate as their own Merchant of Record (MoR) while leveraging Xsolla’s unique payment and game tech infrastructure."
August 13, 2025
On the web
Wirex Expands WEB3 Payments in Europe With Visa-Backed EURC Settlements
Yahoo Finance=Cision
Wirex, a leading Web3 money app, has announced it is supporting EURC settlements through Visa's stablecoin settlement pilot, marking a significant milestone in the evolution of blockchain-based payments in Europe. Following the successful completion of a testing phase, Wirex is now live with EURC settlement capabilities via the Visa Network. This collaboration enables near real-time settlement using EURC, a fully backed stablecoin issued by Circle and pegged 1:1 to the euro.
Klarna to Launch as a Payment Option in Autofill on Chrome, Expanding Work with Google Pay
Klarna
"Klarna will soon be available as a payment option within autofill on Chrome for eligible users in the U.S. Starting later this year, U.S. Chrome users will soon see Klarna’s interest-free Pay in 4 available in Autofill for purchases over $35, enabling a smoother, more flexible checkout experience. Financing will also be available for higher ticket items with monthly repayments made over a longer period of time, starting at 0% APR."
Money Travels: 2025 Digital Remittances Adoption Report
Visa
"Visa’s Money Travels: 2025 Digital Remittances Adoption Report underscored that globally digital apps are firmly the preferred method for people to send and receive remittances. Thanks to their ease of use and security features, apps are the favoured way to send and receive payments in every country surveyed, with the overall indication that there will be an increase in sending remittance in the future."
On the wires
Affirm Expands Work With Google Pay, Integrates With Autofill on Chrome
Business Wire
"Affirm announced that it is expanding its collaboration with Google Pay and making its payment options available via autofill on Chrome. This announcement builds on Affirm’s launch on Google Pay in 2024, which enabled eligible consumers to pay over time with Affirm wherever the Google Pay button is accepted. Now, using autofill on Chrome, eligible shoppers can pay over time with Affirm quickly and conveniently, at more places where they shop."
August 12, 2025
On the web
Stripe’s Mysterious New Blockchain Could Rival Ethereum
Crypto Economy
"Stripe is discreetly developing a payments-focused blockchain named Tempo in collaboration with the crypto venture firm Paradigm, as indicated by a recently deleted job listing. Tempo is described as a high-performance, payments-focused layer 1 that will run code compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine, which means developers can port existing smart contracts and tooling with minimal friction."
One-Third of Consumers Make Urgent or Same-Day Bill Payments, Finds ACI Worldwide Speedpay Pulse Report
ACI
"The need for faster payments is surging, with three out of ten consumers now making urgent or same-day bill payments—84% of whom are Gen Z and Millennials, according to the 2025 ACI Speedpay Pulse Report, published by ACI Worldwide, an original innovator in global payments technology. Out of the 25% consumers who would consider paying for faster payment processing, 79% are Gen Z and Millennials. Younger consumers are setting a new standard for bill pay, shaped by a culture of on-demand services and instant access."
Google Pay Gains More Versatile Integrations
Android Police
"Google Pay is getting a substantial upgrade today, and the changes aren’t just cosmetic. They’re designed to make paying for stuff online faster, smarter, and in some cases, cheaper. The first change is all about squeezing more perks out of the cards you already carry. Chrome’s credit card autofill has shown rewards info before, but only for a limited set of cards. That number is now jumping to over 100 in the U.S., so the next time you’re about to check out online, Chrome can tell you which card gets you the best points, miles, or cashback for that particular purchase."
Wise and Google Join Forces to Make International Payments More Accessible
Wise
"Wise will be joining Google’s new remittance experience as one of the key providers. Consumers in the U.S. will soon be able to access Wise's services, powered by Wise Platform, Wise's global infrastructure for banks and enterprises, on Google Wallet online or by searching for select currency exchange rates on Google Search. This feature will be rolled out as a test to Google users in the U.S."
New Lloyds Banking Feature Lets You Deposit Cash in Shops With a Barcode
MSN
"Lloyds customers will soon be able to scan a barcode generated in their banking app to deposit cash into their bank accounts. The banking giant has launched a new 'barcode cash deposit' feature which will allow customers to deposit cash at over 30,000 PayPoint locations around the country."
‘Future Will Be Combination of Traditional and Crypto Payments,’ Says Visa’s Crypto Chief as Stablecoin Market Hit $269B
Crypto News
"Visa’s head of crypto, Cuy Sheffield, predicts the future will combine traditional and crypto payments as the stablecoin market reaches $269 billion, growing 62% over the past year with potential to expand to $2 trillion within three years. The payments giant has surpassed $200 million in cumulative stablecoin settlement volume while positioning itself as a bridge between traditional finance and digital assets rather than viewing stablecoins as a threat to its core business."
Thredd Becomes First Issuer-Processor to Offer Real Time Control Over B2B Travel Payments Through the Mastercard Wholesale Program
Thredd
"Thredd, a leading next-generation global issuer processor, today announced it has become the first to offer its travel agency customers real time payment control through new flexible product codes made possible through the Mastercard Wholesale Program (MWP). This new capability enables Thredd’s customers to better respond to supplier needs based on geography, product type and volume, while optimizing business-to-business travel payments through greater visibility, adaptability, and control."
On the wires
Klarna Cashed In on ‘Buy Now, Pay Later.’ Now It Wants to Be a Bank
Bloomberg
As the payments giant prepares an IPO, it’s trying to persuade millions of consumers to use its debit cards.
Paytm’s Unit Gets Indian Central Bank Nod to Operate as Online Payment Aggregator
Reuters
"Indian fintech firm Paytm's Payment Services unit has got 'in-principle' approval from the country's central bank to operate as an online payment aggregator. In August 2024, the company had said it would submit an application with the Reserve Bank of India to seek a payment aggregator license. That move came seven months after the central bank ordered it to wind down its payments bank."
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