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March 12, 2026
On the web
Revolut Launches UK Bank
Revolut
"Following a successful mobilisation period, the PRA has lifted restrictions on Revolut’s banking licence, and given approval to launch its UK bank, Revolut Bank UK Ltd. Revolut Bank UK Ltd is set to roll out new banking services for its 13 million UK customers, with deposit accounts protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). Current accounts to roll out gradually for new customers in the coming weeks; nothing currently changes for existing customers to ensure smooth transition."
Zelle® and Bank of America Partner to Accelerate Delivery of Charitable Donations to Nonprofits
Bank of America
"Zelle® and Bank of America announce a first-of-its-kind application of Zelle to enable charitable disbursements from Donor Advised Funds (DAFs). The new capability allows nonprofits to receive charitable grant funding in near real time, replacing the traditional multi-week, paper-based process with fast and reliable digital payments using the Zelle network. This new capability is part of Zelle® Forward, the network’s innovation agenda."
Finzly Unveils Token Galaxy: Unifying Money Movement for Traditional and Tokenized Banking
Finzly, Inc.
"Finzly announced the launch of Token Galaxy, a new suite within its BankOS platform designed to help banks operate seamlessly across traditional and tokenized forms of money, with the freedom to connect to multiple blockchains, issuers, and consortia as they choose. Finzly is bringing stablecoins and tokenized deposits alongside traditional assets into the same operational environment on its platform BankOS – its modern operating system that serves as the innovation core for several leading banks."
Mastercard Move Expands China Connectivity With New Bank of Shanghai Collaboration
Mastercard
"Mastercard announced a collaboration between Mastercard Move, its money movement platform, and Bank of Shanghai (BoS) to enable seamless, bi-directional payment flows between China and global markets. As international trade, migration and education continue to grow, people and businesses increasingly rely on fast, predictable and transparent global payments. The integration of BoS into Mastercard Move streamlines these cross-border flows, giving SMEs, students and families a more efficient way to move money into and out of China, strengthening a vital financial bridge between China and the world."
Supercharged: AI and the New Age of Disruption
Citigroup
"Technology has always had the power to reshape societies. But the current wave of disruption – driven by advances in artificial intelligence – is unfolding at dizzying pace and on an unprecedented scale.Unlike previous technological revolutions, which generally took decades, AI is firing change across industries, institutions and societies in real time.It’s a challenge just to keep up. This Citi Institute report focuses on a few areas of disruptive technology, taking in innovations themselves, but also the shifts they will drive."
March 11, 2026
On the web
Amazon Opens up New AI-Enabled Buy for Me, Shop Direct Options for Merchants
Digital Commerce 360
"As Amazon’s agentic commerce strategy continues to evolve, the online retail giant is building out its Buy for Me and Shop Direct tools as well, now with new options for third-party feeds that connect merchants with those buyer experiences. The Buy for Me option introduced a means for Amazon to help a shopper initiate associated purchases faster, using artificial intelligence (AI)."
Amazon Wins Court Order to Block Perplexity’s AI Shopping Agent
CNBC
"Amazon won a temporary injunction against Perplexity to block its Comet AI browser from scraping its website. The company sued Perplexity in November, accusing the startup of concealing its AI shopping agents. A federal judge ruled that Amazon provided “strong evidence” that Perplexity’s Comet browser accessed its website without its authorization."
Wells Fargo Files ‘WFUSD’ Trademark Covering Crypto Trading, Payments and Tokenization Services
The Block
"Wells Fargo has filed a U.S. trademark application for “WFUSD” covering digital asset software, crypto exchange services, software for processing stablecoin and other digital asset transactions, and tokenization platforms. The application follows the bank’s prior investments in crypto infrastructure and a recent report from its investment institute classifying digital assets as an “investable” portfolio option."
Cross-Border Payment Technologies: Innovations and Challenges
BIS
"Cross-border payments (XBP), particularly remittances and retail transactions, remain more costly, slower, less accessible, and less transparent than domestic payments. The continued inefficient XBP arrangements, in contrast to progress made in domestic payments using new technologies and innovative models, reflect that private actors alone cannot overcome the many market failures that hinder XBP."
Early Warning Submits Comments on the Future of Fed’s Check Service
Early Warning
"Early Warning Services, LLC, submitted a comment letter responding to the Federal Reserve Board’s Request for Information on the future of its check services, urging a measured transition that preserves nationwide stability while also supporting a shift to digital payment alternatives. In its letter, Early Warning emphasized that the Federal Reserve plays a unique role in providing nationwide reach, predictable settlement, and system-wide coordination. Any modernization effort should avoid abrupt changes that could shift costs, increase disputes, or disproportionately impact community banks, credit unions, small businesses, and underserved populations."
Mastercard Advances Its Agentic AI Strategy With Virtual C-Suite, Bringing Executive Level Intelligence to Small Businesses [Video]
Mastercard
"Mastercard is advancing a new era of AI with capabilities that span the full commerce lifecycle, from understanding how money moves to predicting risk and opportunity to recommending and executing next best actions. Mastercard’s growing suite of AI-powered capabilities is designed to pioneer the shift from insight to action — all with privacy, trust, and human oversight at the core."
Mastercard Launches New Crypto Partner Program
Mastercard
"Digital assets are entering a new phase. Introducing the Mastercard Crypto Partner Program - a new global initiative that brings together more than 85 crypto‑native companies, payments providers, and financial institutions to create a forum for meaningful dialogue and collaboration as this space continues to mature. Recognizing how much there is to learn from the innovators building on chain every day, the program will allow expertise and insights to flow both ways as we shape the future together."
Biocatch Unveils DeviceIQ: Redefines How Banks Evaluate Device Risk in the AI Era
Biocatch
"BioCatch announced the launch of DeviceIQ, a comprehensive new device identification and intelligence product transforming how financial institutions evaluate the trustworthiness of devices used for digital banking. DeviceIQ includes a series of first-of-its-kind capabilities designed to help banks not only reliably recognize devices in this environment but also evaluate real-time device health, re-determining for every digital banking session whether a device — recognized or not — can be trusted."
On the wires
BofA AI and Digital Innovations Fuel 30 Billion Client Interactions
PR Newswire
"AI-driven solutions, global payments, and personalized financial planning tools have propelled Bank of America clients' digital engagement to record levels. Clients connected with their finances approximately 30 billion times last year through a combination of digital logins and proactive alerts, marking a 14% year-over-year increase. More consumers and businesses moving money digitally: Zelle adoption reached 25 million active users. Zelle users sent and received a record 1.8 billion transactions worth a record $556 billion in 2025, growing 16% and 18% year-over-year respectively. "
March 10, 2026
On the web
Meta Quietly Trials Agentic Commerce Within Meta AI
Fashion Network
"Meta is stepping up its push into conversational commerce by integrating shopping features into its Meta AI assistant. The Menlo Park-based group is currently rolling out a dedicated interface in the US that turns user queries into a complete end-to-end shopping journey. Although the final payment button is not yet live in the test versions, the technical architecture appears to confirm Meta's intention to keep users within its proprietary environment rather than redirecting them to third-party sites."
Mirakl and J.P. Morgan Payments to Power Agentic Commerce at Enterprise Scale
EIN Newsdesk
"Mirakl, the operating system for intelligent commerce, and J.P. Morgan Payments announced a strategic global agreement to enable agentic commerce for merchants at enterprise scale. Together, Mirakl's agentic commerce solution (Mirakl Nexus) and J.P. Morgan Payments' advanced payment infrastructure will power streamlined, secure transactions as AI agents transform how consumers and businesses shop."
March 9, 2026
On the web
Do Discounts Make an Impact at the In-Person Point of Sale?
Atlanta Federal Reserve
"Behavior patterns or habits, rooted in neuroscience, are often performed automatically. For example, when you approach a cashier at the grocery store, you may reach for your credit card without thinking. Is there anything that would persuade you to reach for your checkbook or debit card instead? If you're thinking that the incentives for making a change would need to be strong, you're not alone. In a recent analysis with Oz Shy and Joanna Stavins, stated preferences and inertia lead us to use our favored payment methods. Discounts or surcharges offered at the point of sale intended to influence us to use other payment methods may not overcome those habits. The analysis uses data from the 2024 Survey and Diary of Consumer Payment Choice."
Visa Intelligent Authorization Modernises Payment Processing for Banks and Financial Institutions, Unlocking ‘Era of Innovation’
Visa
"Visa announced the launch of Visa Intelligent Authorization, a new capability on the Visa Acceptance Platform that enables acquirers (banks and other financial institutions that process payments for merchants) to modernise their payment processing through a single API connection. Visa Intelligent Authorization helps address these challenges by providing a modern authorisation capability that can process transactions across major card networks through a single integration. The solution delivers 99.999% uptime1 and achieves an average approval rate of 96.3% globally, both industry‑leading benchmarks. It can be used as an acquirer’s main processor or as a complement to extend their capabilities."
Circle Moves $68 Million in Just 30 Minutes by Using Its Own Stablecoin for Internal Payments
Coin Desk
"Stablecoin issuer Circle settled $68 million across its eight entities using USDC, circumventing banking rails with transfers completing in under 30 minutes, CEO Jeremy Allaire said. The firm said the workflow replaces bank wires that typically take one to three days to clear. Broader product updates to Circle Mint aimed at multi-entity treasury operations are expected in March."
March 6, 2026
Top Post
OpenAI Drops Plan for Direct Checkout Inside ChatGPT
The Keyword
"OpenAI is halting plans to support direct product checkout inside ChatGPT, according to The Information. The report says low buying activity inside ChatGPT is a major reason for the change. Internal findings suggest users often search for products but rarely complete purchases in ChatGPT. Technical hurdles, such as real-time product data synchronization across millions of retailers, made in-chat purchases difficult to scale. Fraud prevention further complicated efforts to run a full e-commerce checkout directly inside ChatGPT."
On the web
Mastercard Conducts First Live Agentic Transaction in Malaysia with CIMB, Maybank and RHB Pilot
Mastercard
"Mastercard announced the completion of a pilot that delivered its first authenticated agentic transactions in Malaysia, marking a major step forward for trusted AI‑powered commerce. The pilot was conducted with CIMB Group Holdings Berhad, Malayan Banking Berhad and RHB Banking Group using Mastercard Agent Pay and was initiated by AI agents in a controlled pilot environment, ensuring security, transparency and full consumer control. The pilot demonstrated how AI can support consumers to complete everyday tasks — such as transportation — securely and seamlessly."
PPRO and PayPal Enable Swish Payments for Global eCommerce
IBS Intelligence
"PPRO has partnered with PayPal to enable Swedish mobile payment service Swish on PayPal’s platform, allowing millions of Swedish consumers to use their preferred domestic payment method when shopping with international online merchants. The integration connects Swish’s user base of around 8.7 million people to PayPal’s global merchant network, enabling them to pay at thousands of online stores worldwide using a payment method already widely adopted in Sweden."
March 5, 2026
On the web
Splitit Backs Google's Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), Advancing Agentic Commerce with Card-Linked Installments
Yahoo Finance-Cision
"Splitit, the global leader in card-linked installment payments, announced its backing of Google's Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), an open standard that provides the building blocks for agentic commerce, enabling AI agents to complete purchases on behalf of consumers. Built with Shopify, Target, Walmart, Etsy, and Wayfair, and endorsed by dozens of major players, UCP is designed to support the entire shopping journey, from discovery to checkout and post-purchase experiences."
Finastra Launches AI-Based OperatorAssist to Transform How Banks Address Payments Handling
Finastra
"Finastra announced the launch of OperatorAssist, an AI-powered solution that is available to add to its payment hub user interface, designed to reduce errors, speed exception handling, and lower operational costs across the payments lifecycle."
Nacha’s Top 50 ACH Originators and Receivers of 2025 Now Available; Total ACH Payment Volume in 2025 Exceeded 42 Billion
Nacha
"The Nacha Top 50 rankings of financial institution originators and receivers of ACH payments for 2025 are now available. Among originating financial institutions, the Top 50 handled ACH volume of 30.7 billion payments last year, up 4.7% from 2024. They accounted for 91.4% of the ACH Network’s total commercial payments volume. The Top 50 receiving institutions had ACH payment volume of 23 billion, an increase of 6.4% over 2024. These institutions accounted for 65.1% of total volume on the ACH Network, inclusive of payments received from the federal government."
Revolut Files for US Bank Charter, Names Duransoy as US CEO
Yahoo Finance
"Britain's Revolut applied for a U.S. bank charter and appointed former Visa executive Cetin Duransoy as its new CEO for the United States, the fintech company announced. Revolut, which has about 70 million clients in 40 markets, is setting its sights on the lucrative U.S. market. If its applications are approved by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Revolut plans to broaden its U.S. business to gather deposits, make loans, issue credit cards and facilitate payments."
BNY and SWIFT Launch Blockchain Ledger
Banking Exchange
"BNY has partnered with global financial messaging network SWIFT to develop a blockchain-based ledger designed to enhance cross-border payments and support the settlement of tokenized assets. Rather than replacing existing systems, the initiative will focus on building an interoperable layer designed to complement SWIFT’s established global messaging network."
Santander and Mastercard Complete Europe’s First Live End-To-End Payment Executed by an AI Agent
Santander
"Banco Santander and Mastercard announced the successful completion of Europe’s first live end-to-end payment executed by an artificial intelligence (AI) agent, representing the first agentic payment carried out within a regulated banking framework and marking a significant milestone in the application of AI systems capable of initiating and completing transactions on behalf of customers. Santander carried out the transaction in a controlled environment using Mastercard Agent Pay."
ACI Worldwide Launches Card Payments on Cloud-Native ACI Connetic, Advancing Unified Payments Platform
ACI Worldwide
ACI Worldwide announced the launch of ACI Connetic for Cards, a next generation, fully integrated, modernized card payments suite within ACI Connetic, the industry’s first unified cloud-native payments hub, bringing together account-to-account (A2A), card payments and AI-driven fraud prevention on one platform.
March 4, 2026
Top Post
Drew Edmond Named Partner at Glenbrook
PR Newswire
"Glenbrook Partners, a leading strategy consulting firm focused exclusively on the payments industry, is pleased to announce the promotion of Drew Edmond to Partner. Drew joined Glenbrook in 2018 and has been instrumental in advising leading merchants, payment providers, and financial institutions on optimizing payments performance and navigating ongoing change across the payments ecosystem."
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