Increase your payments knowledge today with our On-Demand Learning options. Learn on your schedule with a self-paced format and up to 1 year of access.
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.
Search Payments News
January 20, 2026
On the web
50 Stablecoin Statistics That Matter in 2026
Stablecoin Insider
"50 essential stablecoin statistics for 2026: $312B+ market cap, $33T transactions, Visa adoption, remittances, lending & more. The guide to the rise of the internet's dollar."
Why Central Banks Should Embrace Stablecoins
OMFIF
"Stablecoins are no longer a niche experiment. They now have a market value in excess of $300bn, with annual transaction volumes surpassing Visa and Mastercard combined. That momentum is likely to accelerate following the Genius Act in the US, which introduces federal regulation and allows banks to issue stablecoins."
Block, Inc. Surpasses $200 Billion in Credit Provided to Customers, Continuing to Address Global Lending Gaps
Block, Inc.
"Block, Inc. announced it has provided access to more than $200 billion to customers in global lending across its portfolio of credit products, including Cash App Borrow, Afterpay, and Square Loans.¹ Through this work, Block is proving that with the right technology, inclusive lending and responsible risk management aren't opposing forces; rather, they're the foundation of sustainable credit for the next generation."
On the wires
PayPal Introduces Free DIY Tax Filing for PayPal Debit Card Customers
PR Newswire
"PayPal announced a new partnership with april, a leading embedded tax technology platform, allowing U.S. PayPal Debit Mastercard® customers to file their 2025 federal and state tax returns for free using april's DIY tax filing service, saving approximately $1603 in typical costs. With this partnership, PayPal keeps financial management in one convenient destination while expanding the suite of financial tools that help customers get more out of their money."
January 19, 2026
Top Post
AI in Shopping: Implications and a Value-Creating Roadmap for Retailers
Snowflake
"Even a passing familiarity with the spate of announcements in recent months makes clear that while the AI-in-shopping foundation remains distinctly unsettled, the longer-term direction of travel is clear....While some retailers like Amazon are initially blocking shopping agents, that strategy is not a viable one for most other companies. As consumer behavior shifts and the path to purchase increasingly flows through AI tools, retailers will be confronted with rising complexity across three core operational areas: inventory and fulfillment; customer service; and returns."
On the web
Gaming Brand Goes Live With Truelayer’s Pay by Bank Technology
Open Banking Expo
"bet365, one of the world’s leading online betting and gaming brands, has gone live with TrueLayer’s Pay by Bank technology – giving players a faster, safer way to directly deposit from and withdraw to their bank accounts. In a major milestone for the igaming industry, bet365 has made Pay by Bank the recommended payment option in its checkout."
India, China, South Africa, Other BRICS Nations to Explore Digital Currency Link to Crush Dollar
Business Insider Africa
"India has proposed that BRICS nations explore linking their official digital currencies to simplify cross-border trade and tourism payments, a move that could gradually reduce reliance on the US dollar as geopolitical tensions intensify."
Worldline and YouLend Launch Cash Advance to Unlock Fast, Seamless Capital for Europe’s SMBs
Worldline
"Worldline and YouLend announced the launch of Cash Advance, an innovative financing solution designed to empower small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) with fast, data-driven access to capital. Cash Advance enables merchants to apply for funding through a simple, fully integrated user experience - eliminating traditional friction, paperwork, and uncertainty."
Cash Payments To Be Banned At Toll Plazas From April 1? [India]
NDTV
"India's highway travel is on the cusp of a digital transformation. The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is set to implement a ban on cash payments at national highway toll plazas from April 1. Commuters will be required to use either FASTag or UPI to pay tolls, aiming to reduce congestion and streamline travel."
PNC Bank CEO Says Stablecoins Must Choose: Be a Payment Tool or a Money Market Fund
CoinDesk
"PNC Bank CEO Bill Demchak said stablecoins that pay interest resemble money market funds and should face the same regulations. His comments came as lawmakers continue to debate whether stablecoins can offer yield under the GENIUS and Clarity Acts. Demchak warned against letting stablecoins serve as both investment products and payment tools without clear regulatory oversight."
Capital One Sweetens Settlement Deal
U.S. News
"Capital One has agreed to amended $425 million settlement that would result in more compensation for affected 360 Savings customers. The settlement would resolve a lawsuit accusing Capital One of creating two similarly named savings accounts – 360 Savings and 360 Performance Savings – that paid substantially different interest rates and leaving customers in the dark about which account they held. Plaintiffs said the resulting confusion caused customers to lose millions in potential interest."
Bank of America Warns Stablecoins Could Drain $6 Trillion from Bank Deposits
Phemex
"Bank of America has cautioned that the rise of stablecoins could lead to a significant shift in U.S. bank deposits, potentially draining up to $6 trillion from the banking system. During a recent earnings call, CEO Brian Moynihan highlighted concerns that stablecoin adoption might reduce banks' lending capacity and increase borrowing costs. Moynihan noted that while Bank of America is prepared to adapt, the broader financial system could face challenges as deposits move into stablecoin environments."
January 16, 2026
Top Post
FTC Asks Court to Hold Payment Processors in Contempt for Systematically Violating 2015 Order
Federal Trade Commission
"The Federal Trade Commission has asked a federal court to hold the operators of a payment processing operation in contempt for systematically violating their 2015 order with the agency over allegations they illegally processed credit card payments. “Cliq and its operators flagrantly violated an FTC order requiring reasonable steps to prevent and detect fraud,” said Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection."
On the web
Hong Kong Tightens Stablecoin Regulations for Non-Institutional Participants
Phemex
"Hong Kong has transitioned to a more stringent regulatory framework for stablecoins, impacting non-institutional participants significantly. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) now views stablecoins, particularly fiat-backed ones, as potentially systemic payment instruments. This shift requires issuers to obtain licenses from the Hong Kong Financial Services Authority (FSA) and meet high capital and reserve requirements, effectively filtering out non-compliant assets."
Stablecoins and the Dollar: Promise, Politics and Peril
London Business School
At a CEPR panel on The Dollar, Financial Fragmentation and Stablecoins, London Business School's Professor Richard Portes delivered a clear warning: stablecoins may be profitable and politically fashionable, but they are a weak and risky substitute for money. The conclusion was understated but firm. Europe does not need to chase US-style stablecoin expansion. Its strength lies in modernising what already works: regulated banks, central bank money and a monetary system built for resilience rather than hype.
Payments Fintech dLocal Plans Business Expansion into Asian Markets
Crowdfund Insider
"dLocal Ltd is set to significantly strengthen its footprint in Asia during 2026. The Uruguay-based fintech company, which enables global merchants to seamlessly connect with consumers in high-growth regions across Latin America and Asia, views the continent as a critical area for long-term expansion. In an interview at the Punta Tech Meetup conference in Uruguay, CEO Pedro Arnt highlighted the scale of opportunity in Asia, describing the initiative as a multi-year endeavor."
China-Led Cross-Border Digital Currency Platform Sees Surge in Transactions
The Business Times
"Transactions on a new China-led digital currency platform have surged to over US$55 billion, a new report shows. It is the latest sign that efforts to build alternatives to US-dollar-dependent global payment systems are gaining traction. Data crunched by the Washington-based Atlantic Council showed the prototype mBridge platform had now processed more than 4,000 cross-border transactions. It is being tested by central banks in China, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), among others."
Mobile Payments on the Rise, Cash Continues to Decrease [UAE]
Visa Middle East
"Across the UAE, payment habits continue to rapidly evolve, with more consumers embracing faster, more secure digital experiences. Visa’s third edition of its ‘Where Cash Hides’ report¹ shows 68% of UAE consumers are largely non-cash users, making most of their payments with payments cards or mobile devices. This is an increase of 7% compared with last year, highlighting a clear move away from relying on cash."
Education: Agentic Payments and Crypto’s Emerging Role in the AI Economy
Galaxy
"AI agents promise to transform the internet landscape. Already, continuous improvements in artificial intelligence have enabled agents to serve as coding assistants, shopping concierges, planning tools, and all other manner of subject-matter experts. They represent a powerful new primitive for how humans interact with the internet, mainly because they remove much of the need for humans themselves to directly engage with browsers and search engines."
On the wires
Visa Supports Chinese Cardholders to Add Cards to Apple Pay for a More Convenient and Secure Payment Experience
PR Newswire
"Visa announced its support for Chinese Visa cardholders to pay with Apple Pay. Together with Apple, Visa will enable Chinese cardholders to add Visa cards from participating banks to Apple Pay and make payments at overseas Visa-accepting merchants, in-store, in-app and online. Today, 79 percent of in-person transactions globally are made contactlessly with NFC."
January 15, 2026
Top Post
Senate Banking Committee Cancels Crypto Market Structure Markup
Coindesk
"The U.S. Senate Banking Committee will no longer be marking up its crypto market structure bill Thursday, after crypto exchange Coinbase publicly withdrew its support for the legislation on Wednesday and other rifts in the negotiation had already put it on unsteady footing. The market structure bill, aimed at defining how federal regulators oversee the U.S. crypto industry, was postponed late Wednesday and a new date was not set, according to a statement from committee Chairman Tim Scott."
On the web
Infographic: Fednow® Service 2025 Recap
FRB Services
"Momentum of the network is strong. Participating financial institutions are leveraging the service to meet demands, improve customer experience and gain a competitive edge. Nearly 1,600 participating financials institutions across all 50 states. Click to see more."
Scammers in China Are Using AI-Generated Images to Get Refunds
WIRED
"Online shopping platforms have long depended on photos submitted by customers to confirm that refund requests are legitimate. But generative AI is now starting to break that system....This problem isn’t unique to China. Forter, a New York-based fraud detection company, estimates that AI-doctored images used in refund claims have increased by more than 15 percent since the start of the year, and are continuing to rise globally."
Will Affirm's Smart Underwriting Shift Redefine BNPL Risk?
TradingView
"Affirm recently upgraded how it evaluates credit risk by embedding richer real-time financial signals into its underwriting process, like up-to-the-minute bank account balances and cash flow trends. Instead of relying mostly on static credit reports or past behavior, Affirm now adds dynamic data that shows how a consumer’s finances look at the moment they want to make a purchase. This upgrade is already live for Affirm Card users who link a third-party bank account or use an Affirm Money Account, and it will soon be offered more broadly to anyone who opts in to link their banking data."
Worldline Empowers Agentic Commerce With New AI Capabilities
Worldline
"Worldline is introducing new capabilities to connect AI agents to its global payment ecosystem, making payments agent-ready and enabling merchants to experiment with AI-powered workflows and commerce experiences. Worldline’s Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers on the Global Collect platform address this by acting as a secure bridge and translation layer between LLMs and Worldline’s APIs, enabling AI agents to initiate payment actions via natural language."
Digital Wallets Become the Fastest-Growing Payment Method in Brazilian E-Commerce in 2025, PCMI/EBANX Reports
EBANX
"Digital wallet usage in Brazilian e-commerce surged 20% last year, making it the country’s fastest-growing payment method in 2025, according to an EBANX analysis of Payments and Commerce Market Intelligence (PCMI) data. The Year-over-Year 2024–2025 increase exceeded Pix’s. Brazil’s flagship instant payment system grew 18% over the same period."
Mastercard, Visa and Revolut Lose Legal Challenge Over Card Fee Cap Plans [UK]
MSN
"Mastercard, Visa and Revolut have lost a legal challenge against the UK payments regulator's plans to introduce a cap on card fees on international transactions. The three firms brought a case at London's High Court after the Payments System Regulator (PSR) said in December 2024 that it would consult on introducing a cap on interchange fees."
China’s Digital Yuan Architect Accused of $8M Crypto Bribery Scheme
Cryptonews
"Yao Qian, the former architect of China’s digital yuan, accepted crypto bribes worth over $8 million while holding senior regulatory positions, Chinese state media revealed this week. The case exposes how corrupt officials exploited the same blockchain technology Yao helped develop to conceal illicit transactions through hardware wallets and anonymous transfers."
Jamie Dimon Warns a ‘Parallel Banking System’ Is Emerging—and It Could Put Trillions in Deposits at Risk
Inc.
"Stablecoins that offer interest-bearing rewards may increasingly resemble bank deposits. But unlike traditional deposits, they lack the regulatory safeguards that undergird the banking system. That gap, according to Jamie Dimon, risks creating what he calls a “parallel banking system.”"
Afterpay Data Reveals 96% of U.S. Customers Paid Off Black Friday Cyber Monday Purchases Early or On Time
Block
"Afterpay announced that 96% of its U.S. Pay-in-4 customers who shopped during the 2025 Black Friday and Cyber Monday period paid off their purchases early or on time. The data reflects a broader trend of consumers using Afterpay as a tool to manage holiday spending responsibly—without the burden of interest charges or revolving debt that often accompany traditional credit card purchases."
Take us with you
Payments on Fire is available on iTunes, Spotify, Google, Stitcher, Pocket Casts, and other podcast apps and services. Or just say “Alexa, play Payments on Fire podcast.”
