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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April 23, 2025
On the web
Stripe Launches New Features for Businesses in Japan, Adds PayPay Integration
IBS Intelligence
"Stripe has launched a set of major product updates aimed at supporting businesses in Japan and international companies expanding into the Japanese market. Stripe is now making it easier for businesses to cater to local customer expectations by enabling support for PayPay, Japan’s widely used digital wallet with over 68 million users. Businesses can now accept PayPay for online purchases and benefit from faster payouts, receiving funds in as few as four business days—far ahead of the industry norm of month-end settlements."
Haboo Money Teams up With Griffin to Launch ‘Save-As-You-Repay’ Wallet
Open Banking Expo
"UK fintech haboo money has partnered with bank for fintechs Griffin to offer a “save-as-you-repay” wallet designed to give borrowers more control and flexibility over loan repayments, through the use of variable recurring payments (VRP) and behavioural “nudges”. The new save-as-you-pay wallet from haboo provides borrowers with flexible repayment options, by replacing direct debits with VRP, and aims to encourage responsible overpayments to help individuals pay down debt faster."
April 22, 2025
On the web
Curve Pay Launches on Android - The Wallet with Total Bank Coverage, Superior Spending Insights and Zero Foreign Exchange Fees
The Wise Marketer
"Curve Pay brings Android users unmatched spending visibility, comprehensive bank and card coverage, zero foreign transaction fees on all linked cards, and advanced money management tools, setting a new standard for convenience, security, and savings in mobile wallets."
Fast Payments in Action: Emerging Lessons From Brazil and India
Atlantic Council
"As the rise of instant payment systems transforms the global financial sector, more governments are considering launching their own central bank-led immediate payment systems. Pix and Unified Payments Interface (UPI), Brazil and India’s respective instant payment systems, provide two key lessons for governments interested in implementing new fast or immediate payment systems."
Digital Wallets Poised To Overtake Credit Cards in Hong Kong by 2030: Report
South China Morning Post
"A survey found that 42 per cent of Hongkongers use Alipay and 22 per cent use Apple Pay, but credit cards are likely to remain relevant"
Central Bank of Kenya Lifts 10-Year Ban on New Bank Licences
Techpoint Africa
"Starting July 1, 2025, the regulator will begin accepting applications for fresh banking licences, ending a moratorium that began in 2015 following the collapse of Dubai Bank and Imperial Bank, which shook public confidence in the sector."
April 17, 2025
On the web
Why Payment Orchestration Is Becoming a Necessity
TNGlobal
"In the last few years, digital commerce across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region has experienced unprecedented growth. The APAC region is a mosaic of highly localized markets—each with its own payment ecosystems, regulations, and consumer behaviors. For example: In Japan, Konbini (convenience store) payments remain common for online purchases. In China, Alipay and WeChat Pay dominate. In Australia, card payments still lead, but digital wallets are catching up fast."
April 16, 2025
On the web
Emirates NBD Becomes the First Bank in the UAE to Launch Visa+ Simplifying International Money Transfers
Zawya
"Emirates NBD has partnered with Visa to become the first bank in the UAE to launch Visa+ (Visa Direct Alias Directory) for its customers. This innovative service offers Emirates NBD’s customers a more convenient, secure and faster way to send money to Visa cardholders within the GCC, reshaping the remittance and money transfer landscape in the UAE."
Air India Adopts Agentic AI to Enhance Customer Experience
APAC Media
"Leveraging agentic AI, Air India has gone live with Agentforce to automate its core customer service processes. Refund requests often require multiple handoffs between Air India ‘s contact centre, the refunds team and the customer. This often slows down the resolution process. Air India is now reimagining this process through the adoption of agentic AI. The solution streamlines and accelerates the end-to-end handling of such requests."
China, Vietnam Promote Interconnectivity of QR Code Payments
YiCaiglobal
"China and Vietnam have agreed to promote cross-border QR code payments, based on the consensus reached by the two countries’ central banks on two-way connectivity cooperation. China UnionPay International, National Payment Corporation of Vietnam, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, and Vietcombank, signed a deal on April 14 to promote reciprocal acceptance of QR code payments, the People’s Bank of China announced yesterday."
April 15, 2025
On the web
Banked Acquires UK’s Vibepay To Accelerate Global Adoption of Pay by Bank
Disruption Banking
"Global Pay by Bank platform, Banked announced the acquisition of UK-based app VibePay, to accelerate global Pay by Bank adoption through innovative consumer and merchant incentives. Like Cash App and Venmo in the US, the company has gained a loyal Gen Z and Millennial following, pioneering ‘Conversational Commerce’ through an innovative blend of personalised offers, peer-to-peer payments and financial insights."
Japan’s Paypay Ties up With BigPay, 3 More Digital Payment Platforms
Nikkei Asia
"Japanese e-payment service PayPay has entered partnerships with four platforms operating in a combined six countries to better serve the influx of tourists visiting Japan. Users of BigPay and K PLUS, which are widely used in Thailand, Bluecode, used in Germany, and Kaspi.kz, used in Kazakhstan, will now be able to pay at Japanese stores by scanning PayPay QR codes. BigPay also operates in Malaysia and Singapore, while Bluecode is also used in Austria"
April 14, 2025
On the web
Digital Pound Experiment Report: Offline Payments
Bank of England
"This project aimed to assess whether it is technically feasible to implement an offline payment functionality for a digital pound. We worked with Thales, Secretarium, IDEMIA Secure Transactions, Quali-Sign and Consult Hyperion to assess different offline payment solutions. An ‘offline payment’ is a payment that occurs while neither payer nor payee has access to the central bank digital currency (CBDC) network, usually due to the lack of an internet connection."
April 11, 2025
On the web
AfricaNenda Foundation and Partners Celebrate the Successful Announcement of Rwanda’s Instant Inclusive Payment System – eKash
AfricaNenda
"The AfricaNenda Foundation, in collaboration with the Rwanda Information Society Authority, RSwitch, Ministry of ICT & Innovation, National Bank of Rwanda and RSwitch, successfully launched the second use case of eKash (Rwanda National Digital Payment System RNDPS) in February 2025. The unveiling of eKash’s interoperable merchant payments was highlighted at the Inclusive Fintech Forum 2025, where RSwitch introduced the Person-to-Merchant (P2M) use case."
April 10, 2025
On the web
BC Opens Consultation That Looks at the Market Power of Digital Wallets of ‘Big Techs’ [Brazil]
Finsiders Brasil
"Regulator wants to hear from the market by June 2 to discuss creating rules for card tokenization. The Central Bank is evaluating two options for regulating digital wallets. One would be to create a specific type of participation for “token applicants." The other option is for “token applicants” to be institutions authorized and supervised by the Central Bank, subject to direct regulation."
RBI Eases UPI Rules To Enable High-Value Merchant Payments [India]
IBS Intelligence
"The Reserve Bank of India has introduced a significant update to its Unified Payments Interface (UPI) framework by allowing banks and payment service providers more control over transaction limits for in-person payments at merchant outlets. Under the new guidelines, financial institutions can set their transaction caps for UPI-based payments at physical stores, provided they stay within the overarching limit defined by the RBI."
April 9, 2025
On the web
NPST Secures Multi-Year Contract from Central Bank of India to Scale Offline Payment Acceptance Network
NPST
"NPST, India’s leading provider of banking and payment technology solutions, has secured a strategic multi-year contract from the Central Bank of India to deploy its flagship Qynx platform—an industry-leading Payment Platform-as-a-Service (PPaaS) offering designed to scale offline payment acceptance across the country."
Paypal’s Xoom Partners With Tenpay Global To Offer Cross-Border Remittances to Weixin
Street Insider
"Weixin Pay users can now receive cross-border transfers from Xoom, a PayPal service and a pioneer in digital remittances. This new partnership between Tenpay Global, Tencent's cross-border payment platform, and Xoom allows Weixin Pay users to receive money directly into their Weixin Pay Wallet Balance or bank accounts linked to Weixin Pay through Xoom or PayPal's mobile app and website."
April 8, 2025
Top Post
EU May Launch Alternative to Visa and PayPal
RBC-Ukraine
"Europe must get rid of its dependence on American and Chinese platforms like Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, and Alipay and launch a payments revolution, stated European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, according to Business Today. Lagarde said that Europe needs to develop its own alternative to secure financial sovereignty."
On the web
Viva.com Expands Near Instant Payment Footprint Across Europe, With UK Launch of Mastercard Move
Viva
"Viva.com, the 1st Tech Bank in Europe for Businesses, has expanded its pan-European activation of Mastercard Move on its payments and banking platform to 24 countries, following the addition of the UK as an additional live origination market. This step enables businesses across 24 European countries to send and receive near-instant payments regardless of currency and geography, enhancing operational efficiency and customer satisfaction."
April 4, 2025
On the web
European Payment Alliance Advances Instant Cross-Border Transactions
Regtech Africa
"The European Payment Alliance (EuroPA) has initiated a major shift towards instant cross-border payments by integrating mobile transfer schemes such as Italy’s Bancomat, Spain’s Bizum, Portugal’s MB WAY, and Iberia’s Sibs. This development allows users across Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Andorra to send and receive money instantly using mobile phone numbers."
JP Morgan Seeks Merchant Banking Licence in Nigeria to Expand Local Operations
TechCity
"JP Morgan Chase & Co. is making a strategic move to deepen its presence in Nigeria by applying for a merchant banking licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). This development will allow the American financial giant to transform its existing Lagos representative office established in the 1980s—into a fully operational branch."
April 3, 2025
On the web
NPCI Developing 'Federated Model' to Counter Fraud Transactions Using UPI
The Times of India
"The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is piloting a 'federated model' in collaboration with banks to eliminate frauds using Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions. India's umbrella organisation for operating retail payments and settlement systems is also leveraging on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) tools to detect suspicious transactions through UPI."
Reserve Bank of India Raises ATM Fees
ATM Marketplace
"The Reserve Bank of India has raised the interchange fee for ATMs, raising them from 21 rupees to 23 rupees, an increase of about 2 cents, according to a report by Times of India. However, customers will be allowed five free ATM transactions per month at their bank, and three transactions at other bank ATMs in metro areas, and five in non-metro areas. This increase will take place on May 1."
India’s Credit Card Spend Slumps to 7-Month Low as Tax Season Squeezes
IBS Intelligence
"Credit card spending in India declined in February 2025, in line with historical trends. The latest industry data reveals a 9% month-on-month (MoM) drop in total card spending to Rs 1,672 billion ($19.52 billion), marking the lowest spending levels in seven months. However, on a year-on-year (YoY) basis, spending showed a 12% increase, albeit at a slower pace compared to previous months."
A Look to the Future: A Deep Dive into Account-to-Account Payments [UK]
EPAM
"The world of payments is undergoing a significant transformation, with a strong emphasis on offering account-to-account (A2A) payments as an alternative to traditional card payments...The UK government recognizes the immense potential of A2A payments and has outlined a vision to make them a ubiquitous payment method."
Payments Sector Concerned About Uncertainty Over ‘Split Payment’ [Brazil]
Finsiders Brasil
"The uncertainty surrounding how split payments will be implemented is causing concern in the payments industry. The model, provided for in the tax reform, will allow for the automatic collection of taxes at the time of the financial settlement of the transaction. The system is expected to start operating in 2027, but industry executives argue that clear guidelines for implementing this new model must be in place as soon as possible."
Kenya’s Payments Evolution: What Banks and Fintechs Can Learn From M-Pesa and Mobile Operators
Stanchion
"M-Pesa’s influence on the card-issuing market in Kenya is profound, driving changes in consumer behaviour, fostering competition, and promoting innovations that integrate mobile money with traditional banking products...Given the competition from M-Pesa, the banks seek to differentiate by enhancing customer experience through their digital banking solutions and personalised services, whilst continuing to streamline operations and reduce costs."
April 2, 2025
On the web
New UPI Rule Starting April 1: Here’s What’s Changing
MSN
"National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has issued an addendum to its previous circular on the Numeric UPI ID solution, introducing new guidelines to increase interoperability and customer experience for UPI number-based payments. These will be effective from April 1, 2025, and must be followed by UPI member banks, UPI apps, and third-party app providers (TPAPs)."
7-Eleven South Korea To Accept CBDC Payments in National Pilot Program
Cointelegraph
"South Korea’s 7-Eleven stores will accept payments in the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) until June, as the retailer participates in the test phase of its CBDC project. The convenience store chain will reportedly provide a 10% discount on all products paid for with CBDC during the test period."
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