Industry

Webinar: Know Your Agent (A New Problem for Old Defenses)

Fintech Takes

"For as long as the internet has had commerce, we've operated under the assumption that bots are bad. That era is over. TBD on whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing for financial services. AI agents are already shopping, paying, and moving money on behalf of consumers. Visa, Stripe, and Google have all shipped competing protocols in the last few months to let agents transact directly on bank rails. On July 29, hear from the people closest to this including Glenbrook: they’re deciding who's trusted, who's liable, and what "identity" even means for a non-human customer."

Industry

Why South African Banks Still Charge for Instant Payments

TechCabal

Three years after the launch of PayShap, South Africa’s real-time payment system, the technology behind instant bank transfers is no longer the issue. The question is why consumers are still paying to move their own money. Brazil’s Pix, launched in 2020, became the country’s dominant payment method by allowing consumers to send money instantly at little or no cost. India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI), processing billions of transactions every month while making free instant payments the norm.

Industry

State Fee Regulation Trends: Surcharging, Junk Fees, UDAP, and Interchange Fees

Global Advertising Lawyers Alliance

"States continue to devote attention to consumer protection and pricing transparency issues. During the 2025-2026 legislative cycle, legislatures across the country introduced, debated, enacted, and, in some cases, rejected legislation relating to surcharging, “junk fees,” interchange fees, and related pricing practices. Although the status of individual bills varies, these measures provide an illustration of the approaches states are considering and signal proposals are likely to continue in future legislative sessions."

Industry

Webinar: The Shortlist Economy - How AI Is Rewiring Buying Habits (and How Merchants Can Respond) | July 28, 2026

The Paypers

"Join PSE Consulting, Mastercard, Adyen, Layla.ai and Glenbrook, in partnership with The Paypers on July 28th, as we explore exclusive new consumer research based on a survey of 4,250 shoppers who use AI for online shopping across the UK, US, France and Germany. Our panel will unpack the findings and discuss what they mean for the payments and commerce ecosystem, including how businesses should prepare for AI-driven customer journeys and the growing role of agent assisted shopping outcomes."

Industry

Matera Introduces First-to-Market X9.150 Payment QR Code Software to Help Banks Accelerate Account-to-Account Payments

Business Wire

"Matera, a leading provider of modern banking technology, today announced the launch of its Payment QR Code software, the first solution compliant with the newly approved ANSI X9.150 Merchant-Presented Payment QR Code Standard. The platform enables financial institutions, payment providers and billers to deliver secure, interoperable account-to-account payment experiences across multiple payment networks, including FedNow®, RTP®, ACH credit transfers, the Zelle Network® and emerging digital payment methods such as stablecoins."

Industry

A-Comm Technologies, Inc. Opens Public Comment on Evidence Standard for Agentic Commerce

PR Newswire

"A-Comm Technologies, Inc. announced July 13, 2026 that the draft A-Comm Evidence Protocol (AEP) is open for public comment through August 14, 2026. Trustworthy agentic commerce needs three things human checkout never had to provide: observability into what an agent did and why, traceability from a consumer's intent to settlement, and auditability that any party can rely on in a dispute."

Industry

The Target Is Pix: Why the US Is Imposing Unprecedented Tariffs Over Brazil’s Free Payment System

Bitcoin News

"The U.S. imposed a 25% tariff on over $11 billion in Brazilian exports to counter unfair trade practices. The USTR claimed Brazil’s fee-free Pix system unfairly disadvantages American credit card operators. This unprecedented tariff marks the first penalty against a sovereign payment network to defend the dollar."

Industry

Visa Stablecoin Platform Adds OUSD for Institutional Clients

Crypto Daily

"Visa just put more weight behind stablecoins — and it’s not a minor tweak. The company rolled out a Stablecoin Platform built for institutions and said it’s starting with Open USD, or OUSD. It’s early. The platform is in beta with selected clients, and OUSD itself is slated to launch later in 2026. But the direction of travel is obvious: bring stablecoin plumbing up to the standard of card networks and treasury systems, then invite traditional players to try real payment flows without stepping into DeFi unassisted."

Industry

US Regulators Miss Genius Act’s One-Year Deadline for Final Stablecoin Rules

The Block

"The Treasury Department and the four primary federal stablecoin regulators reached the GENIUS Act’s July 18 rulemaking deadline without a final set of implementing regulations. Several proposals remain unfinished: comments on a joint customer identification rule are open until Aug. 21, an FDIC anti-money laundering proposal remains open until Aug. 4. The delay does not postpone the law’s Jan. 18, 2027 effective date, leaving regulators and prospective stablecoin issuers with a compressed implementation window."

Industry

Click to Cancel Law and What It Means in Connecticut [Video]

NBC Connecticut

Find it annoying trying to cancel subscriptions? A new law that went into effect in Connecticut is trying to help.

Industry

Fifth Conference on the International Roles of the U.S. Dollar: Stablecoins, Digital Payments, and the International Role of the U.S. Dollar

The Federal Reserve

"On June 22 and 23, 2026, the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York jointly hosted the fifth installment of the International Roles of the U.S. Dollar Conference. Building on previous conferences that examined the dollar's resilience amid geopolitical change, safe-asset demand, and evolving payment systems, this year's event centered on the implications of financial innovation, especially digital assets and stablecoins."

Industry

Delaware Enacts Banking, Money Transmission, and Stablecoin Modernization Package

Sheppard

"On July 6, 2026, Delaware Governor Matt Meyer signed three bills modernizing the state’s regulation of banks, money transmitters, virtual currency businesses, and payment stablecoin issuers. upon signing, although several provisions require implementing regulations. The legislation creates three complementary regulatory frameworks. Specifically, the package: Modernizes Delaware’s banking laws. Expands money transmission oversight. Regulates payment stablecoin issuers. Protects customer assets."

Industry

Volvo Group Tests Its Own Cryptocurrency for Supplier Payments

Crypto News

"Volvo Group tested a proprietary cryptocurrency to simplify supplier transactions inside a closed blockchain network. The project remains exploratory, with no timeline announced for full deployment across Volvo’s global operations. Blockchain could support supplier payments, product traceability and compliance records without relying on separate databases."

Industry

WOCCU Releases New White Paper on Stablecoins and the Future of Cooperative Finance

World Council of Credit Unions

"World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) has released a new white paper examining how stablecoins are reshaping the financial infrastructure that credit unions and other cooperative financial institutions rely on to serve their members. The white paper, How Digital Money Is Impacting Credit Unions, Part 1: Focus on Stablecoins, is the first in a planned three-part series exploring how emerging forms of digital money are affecting the global credit union movement."

Industry

Vought Calls for More CFPB Oversight, Says Open Banking Proposal Coming Soon

ABA Banking Journal

"The CFPB has been in legal fights over its implementation of Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act, the “open banking” rule that requires financial institutions to make a consumer’s financial information available to them or a third party at the consumer’s direction. Vought said the CFPB is “very close” to a proposed rule to replace its previous 1033 rule. The agency is timing the release of the proposal with possible Senate confirmation of [Brian] Johnson, he said."

Industry

US, UK Outline Recommendations to Align Stablecoin and Tokenization Rules

Decrypt

"The U.S. and UK have laid out a joint roadmap for aligning how they regulate stablecoins, tokenized assets, and digital money, a coordinated push by two of the world's largest financial centres to let blockchain-based finance move more easily across the Atlantic. The 10 recommendations, published by HM Treasury and the U.S. Treasury, come from the Transatlantic Taskforce for Markets of the Future."

Industry

Visa, Mastercard and Ripple Back X402 as Agent Payments Average 32 Cents

Crypto News

"Every major card network has signed on to a payment standard built so that software can pay software without a human involved. The Linux Foundation said that the x402 Foundation is now operating under formal governance with 40 members, and that Coinbase's contribution of the protocol is complete. When the web's architects wrote the rules for how browsers and servers talk to each other, they set aside a response code numbered ‘402’ and labeled it "Payment Required," expecting someone would eventually build payments into the web itself."

Industry

Federal Reserve Follows (To a Degree) FinCEN and Other Banking Agencies in Proposing Sweeping AML/CFT Program Reforms

Wilmer Hale

"On July 7, 2026, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System issued its own Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would substantially revise the anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) requirements applicable to Board-supervised banks under the Bank Secrecy Act. Although the Board’s announcement stated that the NPRM is intended to align with proposed changes made in the April rulemaking, in now issuing its own NPRM, the Board is taking a path by not including a provision of the April rulemaking that would see FinCEN as the gatekeeper of AML/CFT enforcement actions."

Industry

Linux Foundation Announces Operational Launch of x402 Foundation to Standardize Internet-Native Payments for AI Agents and Applications

PR Newswire

"The Linux Foundation announced the operational launch of the x402 Foundation, a new open-governance body formed to steward the x402 protocol – the open standard for internet-native payments over HTTP. The x402 protocol, contributed by Coinbase, embeds secure payment capabilities directly into web interactions so that AI agents, APIs, and applications can send and receive payments as seamlessly as they exchange data, with support for payment types ranging from traditional cards to stablecoins."

Industry

ABA Shows Support for the Common Cents Act

ABA Banking Journal

"The American Bankers Association expressed support for the Common Cents Act [H.R. 3074], which renews calls for officially halting the production of the U.S. penny for general circulation. ABA’s letter supporting the Common Cents Act said the legislation “would provide a clear and practical framework for cash rounding when exact change cannot be provided, while clarifying that checks, electronic fund transfers, credit cards, gift cards, money orders, and similar noncash payment methods are not subject to rounding.”"

Industry

U.S. Faster Payments Council Publishes White Paper on ERP-Embedded Instant Payments

EIN Presswire

"The U.S. Faster Payments Council announced the publication of a new white paper, From Bottleneck to Command Center: Embedding Instant Payments in Enterprise Resource Planning, developed by the FPC Business Benefits for B2B Instant Payments Work Group. The white paper explores how enterprise resource planning systems are evolving from traditional financial management platforms into payment command centers where instant payments, treasury functions, and financial automation can be embedded directly into day-to-day business operations."

Industry

New York City to Become First in US to Ban Deceptive Subscription Practices

The Guardian

"New York City has adopted a new rule that bans companies from using deceptive subscriptions to trap customers into paying for gym memberships, streaming services and other recurring charges, the city’s consumer protection office said. The new rule, which will start on 1 October, promises hefty fines and aggressive enforcement for violators. The city is also targeting so-called “junk fees” with a proposed rule that requires sellers to “advertise the total price for any good or service, including all mandatory additional charges and fees, up front”, according to a release shared with the Guardian."

Industry

Clarity Act Timeline: Can the U.S Crypto Bill Finally Pass in July?

Coinpedia Fintech News

"After missing its earlier July 4 target, lawmakers are preparing for another push as the Senate returns on July 13. However, political disagreements, ethics rules, and key crypto provisions still stand in the way. The expected timeline is, July 13–17: Senate Procedural Vote; Senate returns from recess and begins procedural work before holding a final floor vote. July 20–24: House and Senate Reconciliation Process.House and Senate work to resolve differences between their versions of the bill. July 27–August 7: On Trump’s Desk For Final Signature".

Industry

California Crypto Law Now Live: Unlicensed Platforms Risk $100K Daily Fines

Tech Times

"California's landmark Digital Financial Assets Law entered into force on July 1, 2026, requiring every exchange, custodian, stablecoin issuer, and Bitcoin ATM operator serving the state's crypto users to hold a valid license from the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation — or to have filed a complete application — or face civil enforcement that can reach $100,000 per day. The DFAL covers any firm engaging in digital financial asset business activity with California residents, regardless of where the firm is based."

Industry

Louisiana’s New Debit Card Surcharge Ban on August 1, 2026: What Businesses Need to Know

The Yeeld

"Payment fee regulation is increasingly being shaped by state legislatures, not just card-network rules, and Louisiana has just added a new requirement for businesses to track. On June 2, 2026, the governor signed SB254 into law, and beginning August 1, 2026, retail businesses operating in the state will be prohibited from charging an additional fee for customers paying with a debit card."

Industry

What New Rules for Agentic AI in Payments Might Look Like

Pinsent Masons

"We would expect to see new rules around consent and authorisation frameworks for agentic transactions – the existing ‘strong customer authentication’ (SCA) requirements under payment services regulations (PSRs) were designed for human-initiated payments and are not well suited to autonomous agents executing multiple transactions on a consumer's behalf. There will also need to be a clear liability allocation regime for when agentic transactions go wrong – whether through error, hallucination or fraud..."

Industry

BIS Paper Floats FMI Style Oversight for Blockchain Sequencers, Middleware

Ledger Insights

"The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) published a Bulletin exploring why blockchain activity has fragmented across dozens of separate networks rather than converging on one or two. Buried in the policy section is its most consequential point. Some of the plumbing that connects these networks is becoming systemically important, and the BIS floats the idea of overseeing the operators much like financial market infrastructures (FMIs)."

Industry

‘Prove You’re Human’ Is the Wrong Security Question in Agentic Commerce

ITWeb Africa

"For 20 years, payment security treated bots as the enemy. Agentic commerce just flipped that assumption upside down. Over the last year, agentic commerce has shifted from a conference concept to reality. Visa enrolled local banks in its Agentic Ready programme, Mastercard unveiled Agent Pay, and OpenAI and Stripe integrated Instant Checkout.  By March 2026, Mastercard and Google open-sourced Verifiable Intent. Three questions to ask now..."

Industry

The New Monetization Layer for Agentic AI

The National CIO Review

"Agentic AI is changing the economics of enterprise technology. Unlike traditional software, where customers typically pay for seats, modules, or annual licenses, agentic AI platforms operate through continuous, dynamic, and often unpredictable consumption. This creates a new commercial challenge for AI providers and enterprise technology companies: how do you price agentic AI in a way that is scalable, profitable, transparent, and aligned to customer value?"

Industry

ABA Files Amicus Brief Urging N.Y. Supreme Court to Dismiss Zelle Lawsuit Against Early Warning Services LLC

ABA Banking Journal

"ABA filed a coalition amicus brief urging the Supreme Court of NY to dismiss a lawsuit against EWS for allegedly failing to protect Zelle users from fraud. The brief underscored that EWS employs robust security measures to offer an accessible payment service and that the relief NYAG seeks would undermine those efforts. EWS and participating institutions use safeguards such as encryption, identity verification, transaction monitoring, and consumer education. Also, 99.98% of payments occur without any reports of suspected fraud or scam activity."