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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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October 16, 2025
On the web
ACI Worldwide and BitPay Partner to Power Crypto and Stablecoin Payments for Global Merchants and Payment Service Providers
ACI Worldwide
"ACI Worldwide announced a strategic partnership with BitPay, the world’s leading cryptocurrency payments processor, to further expand its digital assets solutions for merchants and payment service providers (PSPs) through ACI's Payments Orchestration Platform. This partnership strengthens ACI’s commitment to digital currency innovation by expanding the platform’s established capabilities for merchants and PSPs."
October 15, 2025
Top Post
U.S. Faster Payments Council Releases Latest State of Play in U.S. Faster Payments Report
Faster Payments Council
"The U.S. Faster Payments Council (FPC), a membership organization devoted to advancing safe, easy-to-use faster payments in the United States, released the 2025 edition of its State of Play in U.S. Faster Payments report. The new State of Play report provides a comprehensive update on the market for instant and immediate payments services in the United States, with a focus on the various underlying payment networks. The 2025 edition includes detailed profiles of 10 networks and highlights their features, capabilities, and unique characteristics."
On the web
Watch How Scam Victims Lose Millions to a Con With a Modern Twist [Video]
CNN
"Scammers are convincing Americans to feed millions into ATMs that turn cash into cryptocurrency. CNN’s Kyung Lah confronts one crook who tried to steal thousands from her."
Mastercard Adds Features for B2B Payments
CPA Practice Advisor
"Mastercard has announced two new innovations – Commercial Connect API and clearing controls – to accelerate the same intuitive ease consumers have and unlock enhanced controls across B2B transactions. The solution will address industry-wide challenges of expanding services requiring multiple APIs by simplifying integration even further through one, scalable connection."
Salesforce Announces Support for Agentic Commerce Protocol in Collaboration with Stripe
The Globe and Mail
"Salesforce announced a collaboration with Stripe and OpenAI to build an Instant Checkout integration guided by the new Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP). The new Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP), co-developed by Stripe and OpenAI, provides a standardized framework for retailers and brands to interact with consumers through AI agents and facilitate a seamless, instant checkout experience."
Scaling Agentic Commerce With Trust
Mastercard
"As the digital economy evolves, a new frontier is emerging through agentic commerce, where AI agents can assist consumers with the buying process (agent-assisted commerce) as well as autonomously find and buy products, guided by the consumer’s intent (autonomous agentic commerce). This paradigm shift provides consumers and businesses with unparalleled convenience and efficiency — but it also presents new challenges related to trust, security and interoperability."
AI-Generated Fraud Adds New Pressure to UK Expense Processes
IBS Intelligence
"Expense management in UK businesses is proving to be a source of stress for employees while raising new challenges for finance leaders, according to research from spend management provider Soldo. Adding to the complexity is the rise of AI-generated expense fraud. Tools such as ChatGPT and Midjourney make it possible to create realistic fake receipts, and finance leaders are increasingly worried about this growing threat."
Using Digital Identity to Support Access to Payments
Atlanta Federal Reserve
"The rapid growth of digital payments, driven by technological advancements and a digitally dependent economy, has significantly enhanced financial access for consumers and businesses. However, some consumer segments may be distrustful initially of the technology and face barriers relating to stringent identity verification requirements. This paper explores possible digital identity technology solutions to support financial access amidst the expansion of digital payments and financial services while aiming to prevent fraud and ensure regulatory adherence."
On the wires
Circle K Launches Pro Digital+: A Next-Generation Fleet Payment Solution Powered by Car IQ
Business Wire
"Circle K is making fleet payments faster and easier through a strategic partnership with Car IQ, a pioneer in vehicle-based payment technology. Together, they have launched Circle K Pro Digital+, an innovative payment solution that eliminates traditional fuel cards and expands payment capabilities beyond fuel to include tolls and other vehicle-related expenses across the U.S."
October 14, 2025
Top Post
Mastercard Launches Merchant Cloud to Simplify and Support Commerce Growth in Global Acceptance Ecosystem
Mastercard
"Mastercard announced Merchant Cloud, a next-generation payments platform. The platform offers scheme-agnostic solutions for credential tokenization, guest checkout, fraud protection, identity verification, and approval rate optimization. It also provides customers with a variety of gateway services, such as omnichannel experiences, efficient transaction routing, and access to data insights."
Visa Introduces Trusted Agent Protocol: An Ecosystem-Led Framework for AI Commerce
Visa
"Visa Inc. unveiled Trusted Agent Protocol, establishing a foundational framework for agentic commerce that enables secure communication between AI agents and merchants during every step of a transaction. Trusted Agent Protocol ushers in a new era where AI can search, compare and pay on behalf of consumers. With the release of this protocol – developed in collaboration with Cloudflare – Visa reinforces its commitment to supporting seamless interactions in the evolving ecosystem of intelligent payments."
On the web
Hyper-Personalization 2.0: Evolution of Personalization in Payment Card Experiences
G+D
"At the forefront of the hyper-personalization revolution in payment cards is G+D’s Convego® Card Designer, an AI-powered tool that transforms how consumers engage with their cards. It allows users to generate completely original artwork for their cards simply by entering a text prompt – whether it’s “a city skyline at sunset” or even “a fluffy unicorn in space” – and then using AI to verify the design internally with an AI-powered screening functionality that gives the issuer the security to issue a card that meets their visual standards."
Stripe: Introducing Stablecoin Payments for Subscriptions
Stripe
"To better support the 30% of businesses on Stripe with recurring business models—including the majority of AI companies—we’re launching subscription capabilities for stablecoin payments. With this launch, businesses can let customers use their crypto wallets to pay for subscriptions, which then settle directly in fiat; manage fiat and stablecoin subscription payments together in the Stripe Dashboard; integrate stablecoin-based subscriptions with Stripe’s Optimized Checkout Suite and Stripe Billing; extend the benefits of stablecoin-based payments across their entire product suite."
OpenAI Partners With India’s Payment Authority to Bring UPI to ChatGPT
The American Bazaar
"India’s payment authority National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and fintech firm Razorpay have collaborated with OpenAI to launch AI-driven payments on ChatGPT. This initiative, which is in its pilot state, will enable people to make payments on ChatGPT via India’s homegrown payments network Unified Payments Interface (UPI)."
Coming Soon: Bilt Points for UWM Mortgage Payments
NerdWallet
"If you have a mortgage with United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM), the largest mortgage lender in the U.S., you may soon have a new way to earn Bilt Points. Starting in early 2026, the mortgage lender’s customers will be able to earn Bilt points with each on-time payment. Services will be added in a phased rollout, according to the issuer's announcement on Oct. 14, 2025."
Walmart Partners with OpenAI to Create AI-First Shopping Experiences
Walmart
"Walmart is ushering in the next generation of retail by combining its huge assortment, everyday low prices and delivery speed with the power of AI. The company announced a new partnership with OpenAI that will start with allowing customers and members to soon shop Walmart through ChatGPT using Instant Checkout. This is agentic commerce in action: where AI shifts from reactive to proactive, from static to dynamic. It learns, plans and predicts, helping customers anticipate their needs before they do."
Five Payment Trends to Help Power Your Business in 2025
JPMorgan
"The 2025 global macroeconomic outlook indicates a high degree of uncertainty amid the potential for dynamic interest rates and ongoing geopolitical risks. Treasurers should adopt a proactive approach to manage working capital effectively. As consumer demand for digital payments grows, treasurers should explore faster payment options to improve customer and vendor relationships. A robust data strategy is essential for treasurers to leverage data effectively and to support informed decision-making."
Block’s New Payments Push Takes Direct Aim at Credit Card Network Fees
Card Rates
"Financial services provider and technology company Block is making a push to motivate more merchants to use its services ahead of the annual surge in spending that occurs over the holiday season. The company is offering merchants a 1% rate for payment processing charges on all orders that users place via Block’s Cash App tool, according to a recent Bloomberg report. The company is also introducing solutions that help merchants extend rewards to customers and accept payments shoppers make in Bitcoin."
On the wires
EnKash Unveils India's First Unified Corporate Card Ecosystem for Businesses
PR Newswire
"EnKash, India's leading full-stack business payments and spend management platform, announced the launch of its Corporate Card Ecosystem. With this launch, EnKash introduces a unified ecosystem that integrates seamlessly with the company's broader product suite, including its award-winning Expense Management System, Corporate Cards, and UPI-based wallets for petty cash management solutions. Together, these create a completely new way for businesses to manage, track, and reconcile spends."
Visa, Mastercard Agree to $199.5 Million Settlement in Merchants’ Class Action
Reuters
"Visa and Mastercard have agreed to pay a combined $199.5 million to settle a nearly decade-old class action that accused them of forcing merchants to swallow some of the costs of fraudulent transactions involving counterfeit, lost, or stolen cards."
October 13, 2025
Top Post
Goldman, BofA, Citi, Other Global Banks Team Up to Explore Issuing Stablecoin
Seeking Alpha
"A number of major global banks have formed a consortium to explore issuing "a 1:1 reserve-backed form of digital money that provides a stable payment asset available on public blockchains," according to a press release on Friday. The group includes Banco Santander, Bank of America, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, MUFG Bank Ltd, TD Bank Group and UBS Group. The lenders are said to be in contact with regulators and supervisors in relevant markets."
On the web
Mastercard Payment Optimization Platform Uses the Power of Data to Drive More Approvals
Mastercard
"Mastercard unveiled a new service, the Payment Optimization Platform (POP), which is designed to improve approval rates for merchants using data to make intelligent decisions about transactions. Early pilot results show a 9% to 15% increase in conversions. Mastercard continues to roll-out POP with Adyen, NEOPAY, Tap Payments and Worldpay."
PhonePe PG, RuPay, and JioHotstar Collaborate to Simplify Subscription Payments with UPI AutoPay
Your Story
"At the Global Fintech Fest 2025, PhonePe Payment Gateway (PhonePe PG) unveiled its Subscription IQ, powered by UPI AutoPay on RuPay Credit Cards, in collaboration with JioHotstar. This initiative allows customers to set up UPI AutoPay mandates via RuPay Credit Cards, providing a seamless and reliable way to manage recurring subscription payments."
Elder Fraud Prevention Begins at Home
Atlanta Federal Reserve
"In 2023, Americans over the age of 60 were scammed out of more than $3.4 billion, according to the FBI's most recent Elder Fraud Report. Those reported losses were nearly 11 percent higher than they were in 2022. Investment, tech support, email, and romance scams were the most common among the schemes outlined in the report."
Monetary Authority of Singapore Launches PathFin.ai Knowledge Hub to Boost AI Adoption in Finance Sector
TNGlobal
"The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has launched the PathFin.ai knowledge hub to boost the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the financial sector. The knowledge hub features an initial set of successful use cases, curated by industry participants in key areas like sales and marketing, customer operations, risk management, and engineering and tech."
Alipay+ Expands Payments and Digital Ecosystem as Mobile Wallets Become a Catalyst for New Travel Habits and Inclusive Growth
Alipay Plus
"Alipay+ revealed three trends impacting tourism in 2025 and beyond. Alipay+ has expanded its payments ecosystem in three ways: Growing cross-border payment acceptance for Alipay+ to more than 100 markets, and expanding its partner ecosystem to 40, representing 1.8 billion users; supporting Bluecode (Europe), PayPay (Japan) and KBank (Thailand) users to pay with their banking and wallet apps when traveling abroad..."
How Do Consumers’ Fraud Experiences Vary with Their Financial Vulnerability?
Federal Reserve
"A sizeable share of U.S. consumers has been exposed to financial fraud. According to the 2024 Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking (SHED), in 2023, 21 percent of U.S. consumers experienced financial fraud involving their credit cards, bank accounts, or other financial products. In this Payments System Research Briefing, we examine how both the share of consumers who experienced financial fraud and the share who ultimately incurred fraud losses varies by consumers’ level of financial vulnerability."
On the wires
Klarna Strengthens Collaboration With Google to Support Agent Payments Protocol (AP2)
Business Wire
"Klarna announced its support for Google’s Agent Payments Protocol (AP2), an open standard designed to enable secure, agent-led payments across digital environments. The collaboration builds on Klarna’s long-standing relationship with Google, which includes integrations with Google Pay, Chrome’s autofill feature, Google Store, Google Play, and Google Cloud."
October 10, 2025
Top Post
Federal Reserve Board Announces Expanded Operating Days of Two Large-Value Payments Services, Fedwire® Funds Service and the National Settlement Service (NSS), to Include Sundays and Weekday Holidays
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
"The Federal Reserve Board on Thursday announced expanded operating days of two large-value payments services, Fedwire® Funds Service and the National Settlement Service (NSS), to include Sundays and weekday holidays. The Reserve Banks will implement this expansion in several years, no earlier than 2028 to ensure operational and industry readiness."
On the web
The Use of Artificial Intelligence for Policy Purposes
BIS
"The report examines how central banks, financial regulators and supervisory authorities are using AI for policy purposes. They regularly work with vast data sets and complex decision-making processes to safeguard monetary and financial stability and ensure the integrity of payment systems. New, advanced AI methods – including large language models that power generative AI – have created new opportunities to boost efficiency and effective policymaking."
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