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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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May 29, 2026
Top Post
Visa: Expanding our Long-Term Commitment to Europe
Visa
"Payments are a fundamental foundation of Europe’s economy. Today we are further strengthening our commitment to Europe by announcing several new long-term strategic investments totalling €500m over the coming decade to significantly expand our European presence. At the core of these investments is the establishment of a new data processing centre, based in the Eurozone, to increase the resilience, security and local processing of European payments, always backed up by Visa’s core global payments platform."
On the web
Visa Compelling Evidence 3.0: What Merchants Need to Know
Chargeback Gurus
"In an effort to keep up with the changing landscape of payments and fraud, credit card networks make frequent changes to the rules and policies governing the chargeback process. Most of these changes are relatively minor, but every once in a while they roll out a major update. One major update Visa has implemented is Visa Compelling Evidence 3.0."
How to Survive the Swift ISO 20022 Hybrid Address Translation
RedCompass Labs
"Nearly a third of banks are still working with unstructured customer addresses. The problem extends beyond their own records. Corporate clients, ERP systems, and treasury platforms all need to be aligned before November 2026. There are two areas of impact: Parties (the debtor and creditor) and Agents (the financial institutions in the payment chain). Both will be affected. Banks relying on translation services to convert MT to MX messages face problems come November 2026. MT messages need the right ingredients to be translatable. Get the mix wrong, and the payment fails."
AI-Powered Virtual Assistants Struggle with Complex Tasks in Bank and Credit Card Apps and Websites, JD Power Finds
JD Power
"The nation’s banks and credit card providers are rapidly expanding the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-powered virtual assistants across their mobile apps and websites, but the technology can sometimes introduce more headaches than solutions. While virtual assistants handle simple, transactional tasks effectively, they struggle to support customers through more complex scenarios, according to a series of recent studies of bank and credit card mobile app and online users, released by JD Power."
TrueLayer Expands Into Credit Following Acquisition of in3
TrueLayer
"TrueLayer, Europe's leading Pay by Bank network, announced the acquisition of in3, a Dutch fintech specialising in consumer credit via bank payments. The deal makes TrueLayer the only Pay by Bank network in Europe to offer both debit and credit at checkout, and means consumers will be able to choose to pay immediately or over time through the same Pay by Bank experience."
May 28, 2026
On the web
ISO 20022 Milestone for November 2026: Unstructured Addresses to Be Removed
Swift
"As the global payments community continues its transition to ISO 20022, 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."
World Bank Study Highlights Role of Digital Payments in Expanding Business Finance
TechAfrica News
"A new study by the World Bank has found that the rapid digitalization of payments is fundamentally reshaping access to credit for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), particularly in developing economies. The report, titled “Firm Credit Constraints and Electronic Payments: A Global Analysis,” shows that digital transaction data is becoming a powerful alternative to traditional financial records, enabling lenders to assess businesses that were previously considered too risky or “data-sparse” to finance."
Alipay Wants AI Agents to Handle Your Payments. But Who’s Really in Control?
TechWire Asia
"AI Wallet is Alipay’s answer to that. Searchable directly within the Alipay app, it lets users manage tasks that AI agents execute before and during payment, and review spending afterwards, a control layer sitting between the user and the agent. Token Pay offers a consolidated solution for global subscription payments, token top-ups within AI agents, and related transaction needs, the kind of payment flows that existing infrastructure wasn’t designed to handle cleanly."
SoFiUSD Becomes the First Stablecoin Issued by a US National Bank to Launch on a Banking Platform
Business Wire
"SoFi Technologies, Inc. announced today that SoFiUSD, a bank-issued U.S. dollar stablecoin, is available for SoFi members to buy, sell, hold, and convert directly within the SoFi app. This marks the first time that a U.S. national bank-issued stablecoin is available directly on a banking app. By expanding SoFiUSD to its nearly 15 million members, SoFi is building the bridge between traditional banking and digital assets."
Ballerine: The Agentic Commerce Readiness Report 2026
Ballerine
"The merchant supply side is not ready, and the scale of the gap is larger than published estimates. Most merchants cannot be reliably verified by an AI agent, most PSPs have not adopted the protocols that make agent transactions safe, and the financial liability that accumulates in between sits in places no one in the payments stack has agreed to own."
Visa Expands Commercial Solutions Hub with Integration of Visa Accounts Receivable Manager
Visa
"Visa Inc. announced an expansion of the Visa Commercial Solutions Hub (VCS Hub), further strengthening how issuers and suppliers connect to scale virtual card programs. Through a new integration with Visa Accounts Receivable Manager (Visa AR Manager), eligible issuers gain built-in access to end-to-end processing designed to reduce operational friction and accelerate commercial card growth."
ROLLER Partners with Adyen to Empower Over 3,000 Venues with Fast, Embedded Financing through Capital
Adyen
"Adyen announced that ROLLER, the leading all-in-one venue management platform for the leisure and attractions industry, has successfully launched ROLLER Capital with Adyen. The integration allows ROLLER to provide its users with fast, flexible business financing directly within its platform, using Capital, Adyen’s embedded finance offering. The partnership has already seen US$1 million in business loans provisioned during the initial rollout to a select group of customers."
May 27, 2026
On the web
Amazon Starts Selling Its AI Shopping Technology to Other Retailers
CNBC
"Amazon has been using homegrown artificial intelligence technology to help users compare products and buy or reorder items on their behalf. Now the company is licensing that technology to other retailers, as it vies to be the backbone of AI shopping across the web. The new service allows retailers to launch their own AI shopping tools tailored to their storefront, catalog and branding “in as little as 60 days,” Amazon said."
Project Agorá: A Shared Programmable Platform for Wholesale Cross-Border Payments
BIS
"Project Agorá is a collaboration convened by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and the Institute of International Finance (IIF) to explore how tokenisation can enhance wholesale cross-border payments. The collaboration included seven central banks and more than 40 financial institutions. It delivered a prototype demonstrating that tokenised commercial bank deposits can be combined with tokenised central bank reserves on a shared platform and enables multi-currency settlement of wholesale cross-border payments."
Block’s Cash App Rolls Out USDC Payments to 15 Million Users This Week
Crypto Briefing
"Cash App became one of the largest consumer platforms to offer stablecoin payments. Block began rolling out USDC send-and-receive functionality to roughly 15 million users on May 27, covering about 25% of its nearly 60 million monthly active users. The feature settles transactions on the Solana blockchain and lets users instantly convert USDC to their existing USD Cash balance. Anyone, not just other Cash App users, can send USDC to a Cash App account using a standard Solana wallet address."
Robinhood is Now Open to Agents
Robinhood
"The future of agentic finance has arrived at Robinhood. Robinhood launched Agentic Trading and the Agentic Credit Card, enabling AI agents to trade and make credit card purchases on your behalf. Whether executing a specific trading strategy, or simply buying the cheapest flight available, you can build agents to help manage your investments and spending safely and autonomously. You can now give your agents direct access to Robinhood without the workarounds or unofficial APIs holding you back elsewhere."
Google Is Adding Two New AI Features for Retailers
Retail Brew
"Google is rolling out two new tools in Merchant Center—where retailers upload and manage their product listings so they appear across Google Search, Shopping, and now AI surfaces like Gemini—to help retailers and brands get discovered in AI conversations. “Conversational attributes” let retailers update their product descriptions to match the more natural, conversational way people search in the AI era. The new tool is now available globally."
Bank of Canada Joins BIS Project Agorá to Test Improvements in Wholesale Cross-Border Payments
Bank of Canada
"The Bank of Canada is joining the Bank for International Settlements’ Project Agorá, an initiative exploring how tokenization could improve wholesale cross-border payments. The project has successfully tested the feasibility of a multi-currency unified ledger that enables atomic settlement of cross-border wholesale transactions. The Agorá prototype combines tokenized commercial bank deposits and wholesale central bank money on a programmable platform with the aim of improving the speed, efficiency, transparency and accessibility of international payments."
New Wells Fargo Study Finds Parents Use Money Rewards to Motivate Kids
Wells Fargo
"A new study from Wells Fargo finds that many parents are willing to use money rewards to motivate their kids to achieve results. From good grades to positive behavior, parents say money is a key tool to incentivize, teach, and reinforce values. The study shows that nearly three-quarters of parents (72%) give their children money as a reward, with academic performance standing out as the top incentive for payment."
PPRO and Coinbase Announce Strategic Collaboration to Bring Stablecoin Payments to Merchants
PPRO
"PPRO and Coinbase announced a strategic collaboration to bring a complete stablecoin payments suite to merchants and PSPs in the U.S. market. The partnership allows merchants to seamlessly accept stablecoin payments without having to manage crypto complexity directly. As one of the first movers into stablecoins, PPRO is unlocking access to 150 million stablecoin holders globally for eligible merchants."
Mastercard Secures New York BitLicense to Support Stablecoin and Digital Payment Infrastructure
CoinDesk
"Mastercard has secured a New York BitLicense, allowing it to conduct digital asset activities under one of the toughest crypto regulatory regimes in the United States. The approval advances Mastercard’s strategy to build blockchain-based payments and settlement infrastructure, with a particular focus on stablecoins and tokenized deposits."
Visa Expands Commercial Solutions Hub with Integration of Visa Accounts Receivable Manager
Business Wire
"Visa Inc. announced an expansion of the Visa Commercial Solutions Hub (VCS Hub), further strengthening how issuers and suppliers connect to scale virtual card programs. Through a new integration with Visa Accounts Receivable Manager (Visa AR Manager), eligible issuers gain built-in access to end-to-end processing designed to reduce operational friction and accelerate commercial card growth."
On the wires
Nium and Circle to Connect USDC Settlement with Global Payouts
PR Newswire
"Nium and Circle Technology Services, LLC, an affiliate of Circle Internet Group, Inc. and operator of Circle Payments Network (CPN), announced a partnership to connect stablecoin settlement with last-mile global payouts. As part of the partnership, Nium joins CPN as a global payout partner, providing financial institutions on the network with direct access to Nium's payout infrastructure across more than 190 countries and in 100 currencies."
May 26, 2026
On the web
AvidXchange Powers Embedded AP Payments for Acumatica Customers
AvidXchange
"AvidXchange announced the launch of embedded AP payment automation within Acumatica, powered by AvidXchange’s Accounts Payable as a Service solution. This launch follows the announcement of AvidXchange’s recent selection as Acumatica’s strategic partner to power payment automation for its mid-market customers, bringing deep expertise, a dedicated team of experts, and an extensive supplier network to deliver an embedded, streamlined payment experience."
Alipay Builds Out AI Payment Ecosystem for Consumers, Developers and AI Firms
The Asian Banker
"Alipay introduced its full-stack AI payment solution to partners across industries, ranging from AI companies to traditional retailers, and debuted two new services — the world’s first AI Wallet and Token Pay — to support the agentic economy’s rapid growth. This launch extends Alipay's next-generation AI payment infrastructure, building on its consumer-facing product Alipay AI Pay and its business-facing AI payment processing product."
On the wires
Marqeta Expands Account and Money Movement Offering in Europe, Building on Strong Regional Momentum
Business Wire
"Marqeta, Inc. announced that it has expanded its portfolio of account and money movement tools into 30 additional European countries through its collaboration with Banking Circle. The company’s expanded offering enables businesses across Europe to enrich their card programs with embedded virtual accounts and multi-rail payment capabilities, creating more personalized experiences that drive deeper customer engagement."
May 22, 2026
Top Post
Should Visa & Mastercard Investors Worry About UK & Europe's Moves?
Yahoo Finance
"Britain’s Payment Systems Regulator, or PSR, has stepped up scrutiny of card networks after years of complaints from merchants over rising card costs. The regulator is now consulting on a proposed regulatory financial reporting framework that would require Visa Inc. and Mastercard Incorporated to disclose detailed information tied to their UK operations. The consultation focuses on margins, profitability and the economics behind scheme and processing fees charged across the card ecosystems."
On the web
Visa Tests Stablecoin Settlement And AI Commerce To Shape Future Fees
Yahoo Finance
"Visa has launched a stablecoin settlement program in Canada, including a trial with Wealthsimple. The program aims to integrate blockchain based payments into existing card settlement flows. Visa is also expanding its Agentic Ready program for AI powered commerce and payments."
Mastercard Is Asking Brazilian Payment Processors To Share A Costly Bill
Finimize-Bloomberg
"Mastercard is pressing some of Brazil’s largest payment processors to absorb part of nearly 5 billion Brazilian reais (about $997 million) in card payments linked to Will Financeira after the fintech collapsed. Bloomberg, via MT Newswires, reports that Mastercard – the card network behind Will Financeira’s cards – became responsible for reimbursing merchant acquirers (the firms that process card payments for stores) for those transactions. It has already repaid roughly half, but it’s proposing a recovery “waterfall” to limit what’s left."
Jack Dorsey on Intelligence, Velocity, and the Next Chapter for Block at J.P. Morgan
Block
"At the J.P. Morgan Global Technology, Media and Communications Conference this week, Block Co-Founder and CEO Jack Dorsey joined J.P. Morgan’s Tien-Tsin Huang for a conversation about how Block is evolving into an intelligence company and how that shift is already driving faster execution across Square and Cash App."