Industry

U.S. Faster Payments Council and ASC X9 Establish Joint Standards Steering Committee to Advance Faster Payments Standards Initiatives

Faster Payments Council

The U.S. Faster Payments Council and the Accredited Standards Committee X9 Inc. announced the formation of the FPC–ASC X9 Joint Standards Steering Committee, established to accelerate the adoption of faster payments by addressing standards-related barriers across the ecosystem. The Committee’s work represents the first phase of a long-term roadmap focused on alignment, prioritization of initiatives, expanded industry participation, and ongoing education to deliver tangible value to the faster payments ecosystem.

Industry

Education: Ripple vs SWIFT vs Visa: The Quiet Battle Over Cross-Border Payments

24/7 Wall St.

"Ripple now runs more than 300 financial institutions on the same ISO 20022 messaging standard SWIFT is adopting, letting it compete for bank settlement directly, though most of those banks still use its rails without touching XRP.  SWIFT is building a blockchain settlement ledger with more than 30 banks across 16 countries, going live with real transactions in 2026, putting messaging and settlement on one layer for the first time in its roughly 50-year history."

Industry

Minnesota to Ban Crypto ATMs in August

ATM Marketplace

"Minnesota is set to become the third state to ban crypto ATMs, following in the footsteps of Indiana and Tennessee. Governor Tim Walz signed the bill earlier this month, which will officially ban crypto ATMs from operating in the state on Aug. 1, according to a report by Yahoo. From 2023 to 2025, Minnesota had 134 complaints surrounding crypto ATM scams, which accounted for close to $1 million in losses. In most cases, the scammer would generate fake emergencies by pretending to be law enforcement, romantic partners or family members."

Industry

Google’s Latest Commerce Moves Deepen the Battle over Agentic Shopping

Digiday

"If Google’s announcements signal anything, it’s that the platform wants to own the shopper journey from discovery to purchase. Google unveiled Universal Cart, dubbed an “intelligent shopping cart that works across retailers and across services,” including Gemini and search. A person can add things to their cart whether using Google search, Gemini, YouTube or Gmail. Once added to the cart, Universal Cart finds deals and price drops using Gemini models. When the shopper is ready to buy, they can check out using Google Pay."

Industry

Banking Groups Urge Regulators to Consider Stablecoin Risks

Banking Exchange

"In a joint letter, the American Bankers Association, the Bank Policy Institute, the Consumer Bankers Association and the Independent Community Bankers of America outlined recommendations for federal regulators to include in their annual report to Congress on stablecoins. The group identified concerns, including the vulnerability of payment stablecoin issuers to runs and the contagion risk from the rapid redemption of payment stablecoins both within and outside the stablecoin industry, as key risks to the wider financial market."

Industry

ISO 20022: What Changes for Your Payments in November 2026

BNP Paribas

"From 15 November 2026, businesses must be prepared. SEPA and international payment messages will require structured or semi-structured addresses. Failure to comply may result in payments being delayed or even rejected. This change is part of ISO 20022. All businesses that initiate payments (whether domestic, cross-border or in foreign currencies) will be affected. The minimum information that must be structured in the payment message is the country code and the city name."

Industry

Tencent Announces Three Initiatives to Make Inbound Payments for International Visitors Easier Than Ever During APEC 2026

PR Newswire

"Tencent launched the "2026 Inbound Payment Service Upgrade Initiative" with three measures: a collaboration between TenPay Global, Tencent's cross-border payment platform, and PayPal World which enables PayPal users to complete payments at Weixin Pay merchants in China by scanning QR codes; a 90-day transaction fee waiver of 3% for first-time users who link an international bank card to WeChat, on daily spending up to RMB 1,000; and the rollout of in-app payment guidance in 16 languages."

Industry

Paypal’s Online Checkout Empire Is Under Siege as Rivals Squeeze Its Core Business

ABC News

PayPal, a pioneer in online payments, is facing significant challenges nearly three decades after its inception.The iconic online payments company is facing its biggest challenge in nearly three decades of existence. Its core business of customers using the app to check out when shopping online is barely growing and new management has bluntly warned investors that “significant changes” will be needed to fix the company’s problems.

Industry

FIDO Alliance: Building the Trust Layer for Agentic Payments with AP2 and Verifiable Intent

FIDO Alliance

"As the industry moves toward agentic payments, where AI agents initiate and execute transactions under delegated authority, there is a growing recognition that we need a common foundation for trust. The contributions of Google’s Agent Payments Protocol (AP2) and Mastercard’s Verifiable Intent (VI), co-developed with Google, into the FIDO Alliance represent a pivotal step toward establishing that foundation. This post explores how standardization within the Alliance could shape the future of AI-driven commerce."

Industry

Peer-to-Peer Payments in the U.S. 2026: Where the Volume, Profit, and Fraud Are Now

TechBullion

"Zelle, Venmo, and Cash App are simply the way money moves between people now. The combined transaction value across the three networks is well past $1.5 trillion a year. According to Early Warning Services, Zelle alone moved roughly $1 trillion across 2024. PayPal’s 10-K shows Venmo at approximately $293 billion in payment volume that year. Block’s 10-K reports Cash App inflows of roughly $283 billion."

Industry

Education: AI Shopping Assistant Guide 2026: Agentic Commerce Protocols

Opascope

"This guide covers everything an ecommerce leader needs to know: the two competing protocols, how they work, what they cost, where Amazon fits (and doesn’t), and how to track conversions in a channel with no click data."

Industry

Why 2026 Could Be the Breakthrough Year for Corporate Crypto

The Global Treasurer

"For a decade, corporate crypto was "just one year away." As regulatory frameworks like MiCA and the GENIUS Act take hold, the conversation is shifting from innovation-led experimentation to strategic finance reality. Tyler Betts explores why 2026 marks the definitive inflection point for stablecoins as a critical operational upgrade for global treasury."

Industry

Ferrari Accepts Bitcoin and Crypto Payments in US and Europe

Crypto Briefing

"You can now buy a Ferrari with Bitcoin. The Italian luxury automaker has rolled out cryptocurrency payments across its US and European dealer networks, partnering with BitPay to process transactions in BTC, ETH, USDC, and XRP. Ferrari’s setup with BitPay converts crypto payments into fiat currency instantly. The moment a buyer sends their Bitcoin or Ether, BitPay locks in the exchange rate and delivers a fixed amount in local currency to the dealer. No price swings between the time the transaction initiates and the time it settles."

Industry

US Payments Forum Spring Market Snapshot: Agentic Commerce, Tokenization Increases Complexity and Authentication Enters New Fraud Era

GlobeNewswire News Room

"The U.S. Payments Forum is tapping into industry trends in its 2026 spring market snapshot. The report includes insights from top payment organizations gathered during the Forum’s Spring Member Meeting in Houston, Texas, co-located with the Secure Technology Alliance’s Identity & Payments Summit. This snapshot explores the growing pressure to make agentic commerce feasible across the payments ecosystem, tokenization’s expanding operational challenges and the need to rethink authentication as fraudsters test the limits of biometrics and digital identity."

Industry

Federal Reserve Study Challenges Narrative Around Stablecoin Payments Growth

Finance Feeds

"A briefing from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City concluded that stablecoins remain overwhelmingly tied to crypto finance activity rather than real-world payments, with less than 1% of stablecoin usage linked to traditional payment functions. The report provides one of the most detailed attempts yet to estimate how stablecoins are actually distributed across the digital asset ecosystem. The findings challenge a growing industry narrative that stablecoins are already becoming mainstream payment infrastructure for businesses and consumers."

Industry

White House Pushes Fintech Integration Into US Banking Framework

Digital Watch Observatory

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order directing federal financial regulators to review rules and supervisory practices that may be limiting fintech and digital asset firms’ access to traditional financial services and payment infrastructure. Within 90 days, regulators must review existing rules and processes affecting fintech firms, particularly small and emerging companies. The review will examine barriers to partnerships with banks, credit unions, broker-dealers, investment advisers and other regulated institutions, as well as application processes for bank charters, deposit insurance, licences, registrations and authorisations.

Industry

Payments Fraud: What Finance Leaders Need to Know

FutureCFO

"In a world of sophisticated fraud tactics in payments, finance leaders are in need to face challenges. According to a guide published by software company Eftsure, accelerating AI capabilities, and complex international payment networks created an environment where traditional analogue controls are no longer sufficient. Eftsure mapped out a five-point control framework to address technology, processes, and people in regards with this matter:"

Industry

1 in 3 Americans Are Unable to Make Full Monthly Debt Payments, Achieve and money.com Survey Finds

PR Newswire

"About 34% of U.S. consumers are currently unable to make the full monthly payment of their household debts, according to a new joint survey from digital financial services company Achieve and Money.com. The findings reveal a widening gap in financial stability, with more than 1 in 4 Americans (28%) now describing their total unsecured debt load as unmanageable."

Industry

BNPL Moves Into the Conversation Layer of Commerce

Tearsheet

"The checkout button is starting to lose its original place in the buying process as payments move upstream into AI interfaces.     That shift is now surfacing inside Google’s ecosystem, where BNPL firms Affirm and Klarna are embedding installment payments into Google Search and the Gemini app through Google Pay. The integrations move BNPL directly into AI-driven shopping experiences, where discovery, comparison, and purchasing happen within a single conversational interaction rather than across separate search funnels and checkout pages."

Industry

Instant Payments Fraud Dispute Resolution: Guiding Principles for the U.S.

Faster Payments Council

"In the U.S., reported fraud and scam losses have been rising in recent years. This trend is occurring alongside the continued expansion of instant account-to-account payments across payment rails. The irrevocable nature of these rails creates challenges for dispute resolution, and lack of clarity about dispute resolution can affect user confidence and adoption. The principles outlined in this report offer industry guidance on designing dispute resolution frameworks for both consumers and businesses."

Industry

WSPN Launches W Agent: A Stablecoin Payment Skill Built for the AI Agent Economy [Singapore]

PR Newswire

"WSPN, the issuer of the WUSD stablecoin and a leading provider of Web3 payment infrastructure, announced the launch of W Agent, a new AI Agent payment skill that enables autonomous agents to discover merchants, place orders, and settle payments in stablecoins end-to-end. W Agent is among the very few that simultaneously cover payment and acquiring, support multiple chains, and preserve human approval in the loop."

Industry

Understanding the Hidden Cost of Faster Payments

Bank Info Security

"As FedNow expands into higher-value transactions with limits now reaching $10 million, banks are being forced to rethink their fraud strategy. To date, banks have managed to strike a balance between fraud prevention and customer convenience, often accepting a certain level of loss But real-time payments are collapsing the time for investigation. Transactions now become irrevocable within seconds, forcing banks to make fraud decisions before suspicious activity can be fully reviewed."

Industry

Crypto Industry Scores Win as Clarity Act Regulation Bill Clears Senate Hurdle

CNBC

"The Clarity Act, which would create regulation for the cryptocurrency industry, cleared the Senate banking committee. The bill is the top legislative priority of the crypto industry, as it would add predictable oversight and guardrails to the industry. The measure is opposed by banks, unions and law enforcement agencies. The measure has a long way to go before becoming law, given both powerful opposition and the fact that it would need to clear the full Senate as well as the House before heading to President Donald Trump’s desk."

Industry

How Dangerous Is Anthropic’s Mythos AI?

Schneier on Security

"Last month, Anthropic made a remarkable announcement about its new model, Claude Mythos Preview: it was so good at finding security vulnerabilities in software that the company would not release it to the general public. Instead, it would only be available to a select group of companies to scan and fix their own software. The announcement requires context—but it contained an essential truth. While Anthropic’s model is really good at finding software vulnerabilities, so are other models. The UK’s AI Security Institute found that OpenAI’s GPT-5.5, already generally available, is comparable in capability."

Industry

Shoppable Launches the First Universal Checkout MCP Server, Turning AI Assistants into a Multi-Brand Storefront

AiThority

"Shoppable announced the launch of its Model Context Protocol (MCP) server, the first universal checkout integration of its kind for AI assistants. The server allows brands, retailers, and publishers to connect their product catalogs directly inside AI conversations, enabling consumers to discover products from a catalog of more than 500 million items, build multi-brand carts, and complete purchases with one click. MCP is the open standard, originated by Anthropic, for connecting AI assistants to external data and services."

Industry

WeChat Statistics by Revenue, Users and Usage (2026)

Bitcoin World

"WeChat Statistics: WeChat, developed by WeChat, is one of the world’s most popular apps with over a billion users. It is not just a messaging tool but a complete digital platform for chatting, payments, shopping, and services. WeChat Pay supports payments across 78 countries and 36 currencies. India banned WeChat and 58 Chinese apps in June 2020, citing data transfer outside India as a national security risk after a border clash with China."

Industry

Retail AI Has a Data Problem: Here’s How to Fix It

CIO

"Retail CIOs are learning that without unified, real-time data, agentic commerce struggles to move beyond costly pilots into sustained revenue. The lesson for retail CIOs is that agentic commerce doesn’t work without a solid data layer. Who is this shopper across every channel they have touched? What is in stock, where, and for how long? What is in their cart from three days ago on a different device? An agent that cannot answer those questions in real time is an expensive search bar with a checkout button attached."

Industry

White House Crypto Adviser Patrick Witt Says CLARITY Act Expected to Pass Before July 4

FinanceFeeds

"White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt said the Crypto CLARITY Act is expected to pass before July 4. The proposed legislation, formally known as the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, is designed to establish federal rules governing digital asset exchanges, token classifications, custody providers, decentralized finance protocols, and market oversight responsibilities between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission."

Industry

7shifts Launches New Tip Payout Solution Through On-Demand Pay Product With Clair

PR Newswire

"7shifts, the leading scheduling and payroll platform for restaurant operators, today announced the launch of On-Demand Pay for Tips, a new product powered by embedded fintech leader Clair. The integrated solution allows restaurant employees to access a portion of their earned tips shortly after a shift, rather than waiting for a traditional pay cycle."

Industry

The Payment Infrastructure Layer: How Network Rules Already Govern Agentic Commerce

FBT Gibbons

"The most important rules governing agentic commerce may already be written. They are not in any statute, court decision, or regulatory guidance document specifically addressing AI agents. They are in Visa and Mastercard network operating regulations, EMV 3-D Secure authentication specifications, stored credential frameworks, and the emerging protocol layer that payment infrastructure providers are building right now to manage agent-initiated transactions before any formal legal framework requires them to."