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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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September 12, 2025
On the web
Ripple Expands Footprint into Spain Through New Agreement with BBVA
Ripple
Ripple announced an agreement with BBVA to provide its digital asset custody technology to the Spanish bank. The move supports BBVA’s recent announcement of its new crypto-asset trading and custody service for bitcoin and ether, which it has made available to retail customers in Spain.
Taco Bell on Layaway? Doordash Introduces Installment Payment Options
MSN
"You can now buy Taco Bell and more on layaway, thanks to DoorDash’s latest partnership. The San Francisco-based food delivery service announced Thursday that it is teaming up with Klarna, the Swedish buy-now, pay-later company. The collaboration will allow DoorDash users to pay for their orders in several flexible ways. Customers can choose to pay in full at checkout, split payments into four equal interest-free installments, or delay payments to a date that works with their payday schedule."
ACH Operations #3-2025-Automating the Request for Proof of Audit
Nacha
"For over a decade, Nacha has been contacting financial institutions to request proof of an ACH Rules compliance audit of the financial institution and, if applicable, its Third-Party Senders, in accordance with Article One, Subsection 1.2.2 (Audits of Rules Compliance). Until now, this has been a manual process, which has limited the number of participants contacted. Beginning in October 2025, automation of this process through Nacha’s Risk Management Portal (riskmanagementportal.nacha.org) will enable Nacha to contact more financial institutions."
On the wires
EBANX Launches Integration with Capitec Pay, enabling Open Banking for Cross-Border e-commerce in South Africa
PR Newswire
"EBANX has announced the integration of Capitec Pay, South Africa's leading open banking-based, real-time payment method. This move marks EBANX's first open banking solution outside Brazil and makes EBANX one of the first global Payment Service Providers (PSPs) offering Capitec Pay for cross-border e-commerce."
September 11, 2025
Top Post
Mastercard Unveils New Tools and Collaborations to Power Smarter, Safer Agentic Commerce
Business Wire
"Mastercard is working with AI and commerce leaders including Stripe, Google and Ant International’s Antom to make secure agentic transactions accessible and scalable for digital merchants and platforms globally. By the holiday season, all U.S. Mastercard cardholders will be enabled for the Mastercard Agent Pay program, with global rollout to follow shortly thereafter. Ahead of this, Citi and U.S. Bank Mastercard cardholders will be the first to have the opportunity to experience AI-enabled shopping as agentic commerce providers and enablers like PayOS and other industry players go live."
On the web
Zelle Owner Early Warning Services Exploring Stablecoin for Retail Bank Customers
Yahoo Finance
"Early Warning Services, the company behind the Zelle payments network, plans to explore issuing its own stablecoin for retail bank customers in the coming weeks, according to people familiar with the matter. This undertaking, which would likely start with a small-scale test project, would give customers at some of the country’s biggest US banks a way to use stablecoins in everyday payments. The Clearing House is also considering stablecoin initiatives, but those haven't yet moved beyond discussions, sources added."
Alipay, Luckin Coffee Launch Conversational AI Payments in China
Tech in Asia
"Alipay has launched an AI agent payment feature now available on Luckin Coffee’s app and Alipay mini-program in China. The update allows users to order and pay for coffee through a single conversation with Luckin’s AI assistant, Lucky AI, without needing to switch to a separate payment page. This marks the first time in China that an AI agent handles both ordering and payment within one conversational interface, according to Alipay."
Asian E-Wallets, Ant International Launch Payment Safety Partnership to Protect Cross-Border Digital Transactions
ant-intl
"Payment leaders in Asia are initiating the Digital Wallet Guardian Partnership, designed to further strengthen the protection of global wallet payments, as digital wallets rapidly become the preferred choice for everyday transactions among consumers in Asia and around the world. Ant International and financial technology provider, AlipayHK, and TNG eWallet will focus on three areas of collaboration under the partnership: Technology innovation, knowledge collaboration, and stakeholder engagement."
Mastercard, NCR Atleos, and ITCard to Enhance Contactless Experiences at ATMs
Mastercard
"Mastercard in collaboration with NCR Atleos and ITCARD, can provide cash securely withdrawn – and other services accessed - using your phone—no PIN required. Multiple countries in Europe have already deployed contactless ATMs. However, when using their mobile phone, the cardholder is asked to enter their PIN in addition to authenticating themselves via mobile wallet using biometrics. The Consumer Device Cardholder Verification Method (CDCVM) streamlines this process, verifying a cardholder’s identity using a mobile device for contactless payments. The consumer authenticates themselves on their phone before tapping the ATM to start their transaction thereby streamlining interactions at the ATM."
Transforming Payments: Paytently and Mastercard Unveil New Open Banking Solution
Open Banking Expo
"Paytently, the specialist payments orchestration platform, has launched Paytently Open Banking powered by Mastercard Open Finance, an account-to-account payment option at checkout that lets customers pay directly from their bank and helps merchants increase conversion rates and improve cash flow."
September 10, 2025
Top Post
India Delays Crypto Regulation Amid Concerns of Systemic Risks
CoinCentral
"RBI warns that regulating cryptocurrencies could legitimize the sector and increase systemic financial risks. India has not fully regulated crypto, fearing that it may disrupt its financial system by legitimizing digital assets. Despite its hesitation, India has imposed taxes on crypto gains and set rules for global exchanges operating locally. RBI notes that stablecoins’ widespread use could weaken India’s digital payment systems, including UPI."
On the web
Empowering the Next Generation: How Cash App Is Building Safe Financial Access for Teens
Block
"Cash App's teen product goes beyond basic banking. Access to a broad suite of financial products helps teens build practical financial experience in a controlled environment. With sponsorship, teens aged 13-17 can: send and receive money with other teens and verified adults; use a customizable debit card; build savings; start investing in stocks and bitcoin; manage direct deposits from jobs; deposit cash when needed."
Consumer Checkpoint: Early Wrinkles for Younger Spenders
Bank of America Institute
"Total credit and debit card spending per household increased 1.7% year-over-year (YoY) in August, after a gain of 1.8% YoY in July, according to Bank of America aggregated card data. Seasonally adjusted spending per household rose 0.4% month-over-month (MoM), the third increase in a row. We continue to see stark differences in income and spending growth across income cohorts, with the divergence in after-tax wage and salary growth widening again in August. Spending growth is weakest amongst younger generations and Gen X."
Virtual Card Market on Track to Triple By 2030: Here’s What It Means for Global Travel Commerce
Hotel News Resource
"The financial systems that underpin travel and hospitality have always been intricate. Over the past few years, digital payment innovations have emerged to address challenges, and one in particular is now gaining critical momentum: the virtual credit card (VCC). This design offers two important advantages. First, it sharply limits the potential for fraud. Second, it enables transaction-level control."
On the wires
Global Payments Launches Genius™ in the UK
Business Wire
"Global Payments Inc. announced Genius is now available for quick service restaurant (QSR) and fast casual customers in the UK. Built for speed and scale, Genius packs all the features – including Point of Sale (POS), Kitchen, Back Office, Payments, Drive Through, Digital Signage and more – in one platform that meets the complex needs of quick service and fast casual restaurants, while also delivering enhanced configurability that enables Global Payments to bring its feature-rich POS platform to customers across a broader range of business needs and sizes."
Paychex Introduces New Financial Management Solution Powered by BILL to Simplify Payroll and Payments for SMBs
Business Wire
"Paychex, Inc. announced a new financial management solution for accounts payable provided by BILL, a financial operations platform for small and midsize businesses (SMBs). Launching through Paychex Flex®, Bill Pay, Powered by BILL, integrates payroll, HR, and accounts payable and empowers SMBs to manage their people and payments in one seamless experience."
September 9, 2025
Top Post
FedNow® Service Will Raise Transaction Limit to $10 Million to Meet Increased Demand, Unlocking Higher-Value Use Cases
Federal Reserve
"The FedNow Service network transaction limit will increase from $1 million to $10 million in response to growing commercial demand, effective November 2025. The increased limit will enable financial institutions and businesses to support higher-value use cases and reflects an increasing need for speed and certainty in the modern payments ecosystem."
On the web
PhonePe, GPay Hit Record UPI Volumes in Aug, but Smaller Apps Eat Into Market Share
CNBCTV 18
"Digital payment leaders PhonePe and Google Pay registered their highest-ever transaction volumes in August 2025, even as their combined market share slipped, highlighting the growing traction of smaller UPI apps and the deepening adoption of merchant payments across categories. PhonePe commanded a market share of about 45.7%, Google Pay another 35.3% and Paytm about 7%. Challengers like Navi, CRED and super.money are steadily expanding their presence."
PCI Council Eyes Wider Data Protection Role Beyond Payments
Computer Weekly
"The Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC), the body responsible for payment card security standards, is looking to extend its data security standard to protect a wider range of corporate and personal data beyond credit card numbers. In an interview with Computer Weekly, Yew Kuann Cheng, regional vice-president for the PCI SSC, said the organisation is considering feedback from its stakeholders who have called for the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) to be applied to other kinds of data."
Amazon Pay India CEO Bats for Balanced MDR to Support Stakeholders
Business Standard
"A non-arbitrary merchant discount rate (MDR) on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions should be determined after discussions between the regulator and industry, Amazon Pay India chief executive officer (CEO) Vikas Bansal told Business Standard on Tuesday...The remarks come at a time when the payments industry is closely watching regulatory discussions around MDR on UPI transactions, which have significant implications for the growth and sustainability of digital payments in India."
Paysecure Boost Transparency and Control with Customisable Surcharge Fee Solution
Gambling Insider
"Paysecure, leading payment orchestration platform in iGaming, roll-out customisable surcharge fee solution, built to enhance their dynamic cashier functionality. With this enhanced functionality at Paysecure, operators can define fees according to card details (e.g., credit vs. debit), location, market, currency, payment method, customer segment and more."
2025: Navigating the Cross-Border Payments Evolution
JPMorgan
"To help stay competitive in this ever-evolving economic environment, financial institutions focused on delivering next-level payment experiences must also be nimble. Over the past several years, the cross-border payments landscape has undergone significant changes, which have created shifts that are reshaping business models, technological capabilities and the global money movement. Yet interestingly, despite the uncertainty, cross-border spending continues to grow: from $194.6 trillion in 2024 to a projected $320 trillion by 2032."
AIB, Bank of Ireland and PTSB Set to Rollout Major New Banking Feature Within Months [Zippay]
MSN
"Irish banking customers are set to see the rollout of a new feature as three major banks will be implementing a new Revolut style service. AIB, Bank of Ireland and PTSB have said they will launch Zippay, a brand new service that will offer person-to-person mobile payment. It is set to launch in early 2026."
Mastercard Unveils Customizable Decisioning Solution for Financial Institutions
Mastercard
"Mastercard unveiled On-Demand Decisioning (ODD), a new solution that gives financial institutions more control over authorization decisions. It is the first offering of its kind that allows an issuer the ability to define decisioning criteria directly on the Mastercard network — unlocking new opportunities to optimize performance and ensure transaction outcomes are aligned with the financial institution’s consumer experience strategy."
On the wires
dLocal and Western Union Team Up to Power Digital Payments in Latin América
Business Wire
"dLocal and Western Union®, announced a strategic alliance to enable digital payment methods on Western Union's online platforms in Latin America. It incorporates alternative and locally relevant payment methods—such as cards and bank transfers—into the brand’s digital channels across countries like Chile, Mexico, Peru, Panama, Argentina, and Brazil, with strong potential for further regional expansion."
September 8, 2025
On the web
Consumer Protection Has a Robust New Champion — and the Banking Sector Isn’t Ready
Insider Monkey
"New York Attorney General Letitia James has made consumer protection a defining priority of her tenure. Her latest salvo is a lawsuit filed on August 13 against Early Warning Services, a company run by a group of the largest banks in the United States–including Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase Bank, and Wells Fargo–that is the parent company of electronic payments platform Zelle. According to the lawsuit brought by the State of New York, the banks making up Early Warning Services rushed to develop Zelle as an alternative to popular payment platforms like Venmo and Paypal–with potentially devastating consequences."
Central Bank Flags Security Gaps in Payment System After Hacks [Brazil]
Valor International
"Brazil’s Central Bank has completed an investigation into the vulnerabilities that enabled three hacker attacks on institutions operating at the core of Pix, the country’s instant payment platform. It is now preparing a set of measures to prevent further criminal incursions. The issues were found in three main areas: payment institutions operating without prior authorization from the Central Bank; weaknesses at IT service providers, known as PSTIs, that connect smaller banks to the payment system; and the use of pooled accounts, where client funds are moved without individual identification."
FIS Builds on Awards Momentum for Treasury Solutions by Launching AI-Powered Neural Treasury Suite
FIS Global
"FIS® announced the launch of FIS Neural Treasury, an AI-powered suite designed to transform how treasury operations utilize technology to run their business and manage their money in motion. The solution suite combines AI, machine learning and robotics to help corporate treasurers in business of various sizes with increasing efficiency, reducing operational risk and unlocking cash flow to help fund strategic growth opportunities."
Fiserv Continues European Growth by Closing Acquisition of AIB Merchant Services
Fiserv, Inc.
"Fiserv, Inc. announced it has completed its acquisition of the remaining 49.9% of AIB Merchant Services (AIBMS), the company’s longstanding joint venture with AIB Group. The acquisition supports Fiserv’s growth in the broader European market, including expanding growth opportunities for Clover, the world’s smartest point-of-sale system, across the region. AIBMS is one of Ireland’s largest payment solution providers and one of Europe’s largest e-commerce acquirers."
On the wires
Nuvei Partners with Early Warning Services to Deliver Paze℠ Online Checkout Solution
PR Newswire
"Nuvei announced a partnership with Early Warning Services, to bring Paze, a fast and convenient online checkout solution available in the U.S., to more merchants and consumers. Through this partnership, Nuvei will integrate Paze checkout into its payments platform, enabling U.S. merchants to offer a streamlined checkout where consumers can checkout using the credit and debit cards they already have with participating financial institutions - without the need to manually enter card details or create a separate account profile at time of checkout."
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