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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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February 2, 2026
On the web
The Rise of Agentic AI: Empowering Canadian Consumers for the Next Era of Digital Assistance
Visa
"Agentic AI is poised to transform the way Canadians live, shop and manage their finances, yet most remain unaware of its potential. While nearly seven in 10¹ Canadians recognize generative AI tools like ChatGPT, only 27 percent are familiar with agentic AI: Intelligent systems that don’t just answer questions, but act on behalf of users to complete tasks, make purchases and manage complex decisions. This striking awareness gap is more than a statistic; it’s a call to action for businesses and policymakers."
NFC Forum Publishes Its Latest Technology Roadmap
Business WIre
"NFC Forum, the global standards body for Near Field Communication (NFC) technology announced its latest roadmap for the development of NFC Forum Standards and its corresponding technical capabilities. The six key roadmap priorities include: Faster Data Rates' Improving Reader Mode Interoperability; Security Advancements; Wireless Power Evolution; Multi-Purpose Tap; Digital Keys."
Intuit Partners with Affirm to Provide Pay-Over-Time Offering for QuickBooks Online
Intuit Inc.
"Intuit announced a new, multi-year partnership with Affirm. Under the agreement, Affirm will become the exclusive pay-over-time solution built into QuickBooks Payments,* further strengthening Intuit’s end-to-end financial management capabilities that help accelerate how businesses manage and grow their business."
Visa Confirms Shift to Ethereum for Stablecoin Settlements in Major Blockchain Push
TechStory
"In a bold move that bridges traditional banks and the decentralized web, Visa has made an announcement regarding its intention to further use the Ethereum network to facilitate the settlement of stablecoins. The payments giant, which processes trillions of dollars annually, is now actively utilizing the world’s most active smart contract blockchain to settle fiat-denominated obligations, signaling that public blockchains have finally graduated from “experimental” to “essential” infrastructure for global finance."
Payoneer Expands Capabilities in Mexico and Indonesia
Payoneer
"Payoneer Global Inc. announced the expansion of its global payment platform with new collection capabilities in Indonesia and enhanced local collection services in Mexico. These additions enable customers to transact and receive funds from local buyers and ecommerce platforms faster and more cost-effectively, helping businesses access new growth markets as global trade flows continue to evolve. Payoneer empowers small and medium-sized businesses in more than 190 countries and territories to do business globally."
On the wires
NCR Atleos Advances Dual-Sided ATM Concept with AI-Assisted Design, Sustainability and Operational Efficiency
Business Wire
"NCR Atleos Corporation announced an advancement in the dual-sided ATM concept, leveraging company expertise and AI-assisted design, to optimize form factor, sustainability and efficiency. Atleos has created a radically improved design, with the support of AI, that reduces footprint, shares critical components and enhances operational performance. The result is a smarter, more sustainable concept featuring: Two functional ATM screens positioned on opposite sides of the device for simultaneous customer transactions"
Equifax Launches Credit Abuse Risk Model to Help Protect Lenders Against the Rising Financial Impact of First-Party Fraud
PR Newswire
"Equifax® announced the launch of Credit Abuse Risk, a new predictive model that uses FCRA-regulated data and is designed to help protect lenders against first-party fraud and drive more confident lending decisions. Credit Abuse Risk was developed to uncover atypical patterns indicative of two types of fraudulent activities: loan stacking, when an individual quickly applies for multiple loans with no intent to repay those loans, and credit washing, when a person tries to remove accurate, but negative information from a credit report."
January 29, 2026
Top Post
Same Day ACH and Business-to-Business Payments Propel ACH Network Volume Growth in 2025
Nacha
"The ACH Network reached new highs in 2025 as both standard and Same Day ACH usage continued to grow, both in the number of payments and their value. Full year ACH Network volume totaled 35.2 billion payments, up nearly 5% over 2024. The value of those payments reached $93 trillion, an increase of almost 8%. Noteworthy milestones: December 2025 saw the ACH Network’s highest ever monthly volume of 3.22 billion payments, and the highest monthly volume of Same Day ACH payments of 172.1 million."
On the web
Stablecoins Aren’t a Crypto Strategy. They’re a Payments Strategy
Modern Treasury
"Stablecoins are no longer primarily associated with crypto trading or speculation. They are increasingly being used as core infrastructure in modern payment systems, powering real-world money movement at scale. Today, there is over $1 trillion in monthly stablecoin payment activity, according to Visa Onchain Analytics , driven by familiar payments flows like payroll runs, vendor payouts, cross-border settlements, and treasury movement. The speculation phase is over. Stablecoins are being adopted at scale because they function like traditional payment rails, thanks in large part to regulatory clarity."
Account Takeover Fraud: A Persistent Threat
Federal Reserve
"The wide availability of PII, new tools to automate account takeover, and the use of generative AI to make phishing and impersonation more convincing undoubtedly have contributed to the persistent threat of account takeover fraud. Given evolving uses for automation and AI in the fraud ecosystem, account takeover is likely to be a continued challenge for financial institutions and their customers for the foreseeable future. To help combat it, financial institutions can implement a layered approach to enhance account takeover detection and prevention."
Fiserv and Affirm Join Forces to Bring Flexible Payments to Debit
Affirm
"Fiserv, Inc. announced an exclusive collaboration with Affirm to bring pay-over-time capabilities to debit card programs for financial institutions. This collaboration empowers thousands of Fiserv U.S. bank and credit union clients to meet growing consumer demand for flexible payment options without needing to build new lending products."
BIS International Banking Statistics and Global Liquidity Indicators at End-September 2025
BIS
"Global cross-border bank claims expanded by $832 billion in the third quarter of 2025, reaching $45 trillion. The $730 billion Q3 2025 increase in cross-border bank credit was led by lending to borrowers in the United States ($284 billion); non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) were a prominent counterparty globally, especially those in the United States ($157 billion)."
January 28, 2026
On the web
Amazon Says It’s Closing Down Its Palm-Scanning System After Not Enough People Used It
Business Insider
"Amazon will be discontinuing Amazon One, its palm-authentication service, across all retail businesses. Users will be able to continue to use Amazon One at supported retail locations until June 3, Some locations may phase the services out before this date. The services will remain available to patients for check-in at healthcare locations until further notice. "In response to limited customer adoption, we're discontinuing Amazon One, our authentication service for facility access and payment," said an Amazon spokesperson."
PayPal: Crypto Goes Mainstream: 4 in 10 U.S. Merchants Accept Digital Assets
PayPal Newsroom
"Cryptocurrency payments are quickly moving into the mainstream of U.S. commerce. According to new research from the National Cryptocurrency Association (NCA), a non-profit organization dedicated to helping Americans understand and use crypto with confidence, and PayPal, nearly 4 out of 10 (39%) of merchants already accept cryptocurrency at checkout, and more than four in five merchants (84%) believe crypto payments will become common within the next five years, signaling a shift in how businesses respond to evolving customer preferences."
Fidelity Investments Starts Its Own Stablecoin in a Massive Bet That Future of Banking Is on Blockchain
Coindesk
"Fidelity Investments is launching its first stablecoin, the Fidelity Digital Dollar (FIDD), based on the Ethereum network. FIDD will be backed by reserves of cash, cash equivalents, and short-term U.S. Treasuries managed by Fidelity, in line with the new federal GENIUS Act's standards for payment stablecoins. The stablecoin targets use cases such as 24/7 institutional settlement and onchain retail payments, putting Fidelity in direct competition with dominant issuers like Circle’s USDC and Tether’s USDT while laying groundwork for future onchain financial products."
Visa Spending Study Shows How Americans Will Use AI to Plan, Book and Spend on Winter Sports
VIsa
"Visa released new U.S. insights from its multi-market Winter Sports Study, revealing a strong resurgence in winter travel interest ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics - and marking the first Winter Games where Gen AI is widely used by consumers for research and planning. The research shows that as interest in winter sports surges and domestic travel remains strong, AI is rapidly moving into the mainstream of how people discover destinations, plan trips and shop for winter experiences."
Next-Generation Treasury: Adyen and BCG Report Reveals How CFOs Can Turn Money Movement into a Strategic Growth Engine
Adyen
"The report shows that complexity and fragmentation have become a burden on corporate finance, turning the treasury function from a strategic asset into a bottleneck of system inefficiency and operational inertia. The report's core finding is clear: the growing number of banking and payment relationships an enterprise is forced to manage is directly hindering cash visibility, creating unnecessary burden on financial teams and ultimately muting returns on working capital."
Circle Expands USDC Payments Network to Europe, India
Altcoin Buzz
"The company announced that EU and India payouts are now live through a partnership with Saber money. The new corridors allow businesses and users to settle locally without navigating multiple integrations or complex banking arrangements. Europe payouts use euros via SEPA, the standard payment network across the region, while India payouts use INR through IMPS, RTGS, and NEFT, enabling near-instant settlement for local recipients."
On the wires
Papaya Global Launches Global Workforce Wallet Powered by Fireblocks
PR Newswire
"Papaya Global and Fireblocks announced a partnership to power real-time payouts for the world's banked and unbanked workforce. Banco Wallet, the new global workforce wallet, is powered by Fireblocks' secure digital asset infrastructure and unlocks payment capabilities for global employers, overcoming the limitations of legacy financial systems."
January 27, 2026
Top Post
Mastercard Unveils Major AI Shopping Change Coming for CBA, Westpac Customers: ‘Australia’s First' Transaction
Yahoo Finance
"Global payments giant Mastercard announced it will expand its agentic payments technology further in Australia with the completion of Australia’s first authenticated agentic transactions, which are transactions completed by an 'AI agent', using Commonwealth Bank and Westpac cards. Mastercard’s ‘Agent Pay’ technology, which was launched in the US last year, allows shoppers to ask an AI agent to search, find and buy items for them."
On the web
Elavon Collaborates with Microsoft to Introduce Elavon Live Payments
MarketScreener
"Elavon is collaborating with Microsoft to introduce Elavon Live Payments, a payments app for Microsoft 365 offered through the Microsoft Marketplace. Driven by the omni-channel capabilities of the Elavon Payments Gateway (EPG), Elavon Live Payments enables businesses and professional service providers to securely send invoices and collect customer payments with just a few clicks on a computer or mobile device."
Checkout.com Acquires Blue EMI, a Licensed Issuer of Euro Stablecoins, and Establishes Lithuania Technology Centre
Checkout
"Checkout.com announced the acquisition of Blue EMI, a regulated electronic money institution authorised to issue euro stablecoins. The company is also establishing a technology centre in Lithuania. Blue EMI is authorised by the Bank of Lithuania to provide payment services and issue euro-backed stablecoins designed for institutional use cases."
Mastercard Launches Agent Suite to Ready Enterprises for a New Era
Mastercard
"Mastercard announced a suite of services to help customers integrate agentic AI into their operations and accelerate toward this next frontier. Mastercard Agent Suite will combine technical support with customizable AI agents. Customers will be able to build, test, and deploy fit-for-purpose agents from Mastercard Agent Suite."
Adyen and Raptor Team Up to Simplify Operations for Singapore’s Service Sector
Adyen
"Adyen announced its partnership with Raptor, an established point-of-sale (POS) provider serving over 7,000 service and hospitality businesses in Asia Pacific since its inception in 2001. With payments integrated into its POS offerings, Raptor users are able to generate their own consolidated payment reports – gaining a full view of the cross-channel journeys of their customers, including their payment preferences."
Meta to Test Premium Subscriptions on Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp
TechCrunch
"Meta plans to test new subscriptions that give people access to exclusive features on it apps. The new subscriptions will unlock more productivity and creativity, along with expanded AI capabilities. Meta said it will offer a premium experience on Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp that gives users access to features and control over how they share and connect, while keeping the core experiences free."
On the wires
Zelle® Widens the On-Ramp for Community Banks and Credit Unions: 337 New Bank and Credit Unions Went Live or Signed in 2025
PR Newswire
"Zelle® reported that in 2025 it continued to scale its network, expanding access to more community banks and credit unions seeking real-time payment capabilities: 337 financial institutions went live or signed up to bring Zelle to their customers during 2025. 97% were community banks and credit unions with assets of less than $10 billion and that serve a broad range of Americans."
January 26, 2026
Top Post
Mastercard Launches Best-In-Class ‘Bin Sponsor Plus’ Programme to Support Next Generation of U.K. Fintechs
Mastercard
"Mastercard is introducing a new accreditation programme for BIN sponsors – established financial institutions which support Fintechs and any business interested in getting into payments by helping them to launch card programmes quickly and efficiently. The BIN Sponsor Plus programme is the first of its kind, intended to accelerate the growth of UK Fintechs and businesses entering the payments space by providing them with access to a vetted list of trusted partners and guidance on scaling efficiently. BIN Sponsorship provides a route to market without the time and investment associated with becoming an issuer."
On the web
The Financial Stability Implications of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Finance
BIS
"Remarks by Mr Tao Zhang, BIS Chief Representative for Asia and the Pacific, at International Financial Week, in conjunction with the Asian Financial Forum (AFF), Hong Kong, 26 January 2026."
January 23, 2026
On the web
Apple Cash Is Making Instant Transfers More Expensive Soon
9 to 5 Mac
"Starting February 18, Apple Cash instant transfers will cost more If you ever need to send an iPhone user some money, There are two aspects to the increase. The base rate of 1.5% is increasing to 1.7%, but the max fee is also going up. So if you’re transferring a large sum of money in an instant transfer, the new max fee will be $25, up from $15. And it will be easier to hit that maximum due to the higher 1.7% fee."
On the wires
Affirm Submits Applications to Establish Industrial Loan Company
Business Wire
"Affirm announced that it has submitted applications to the Nevada Financial Institutions Division and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to establish Affirm Bank, a proposed Nevada-chartered industrial loan company. The proposed bank subsidiary would enable Affirm to continue scaling responsibly while having an FDIC-insured institution. This would help Affirm expand access to honest financial products to more consumers."
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