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October 16, 2026
Top Post
The Federal Reserve - Updated Guidance: Handling Highly Contaminated Currency
Federal Reserve Financial Services
Effective Oct. 15, FedCash® Services has implemented updated deposit guidance for financial institutions handling highly contaminated currency. Financial institutions must now complete a Highly Contaminated Notification Form (PDF) before submitting a request to deposit currency exposed to hazardous substances. The form is required for all highly contaminated currency requests submitted on or after Oct. 15. Highly contaminated currency will not be physically deposited at local Federal Reserve Banks.
Google Unveils 'Universal' Cart, Turns Web Into Marketplace
Mediapost
"Google has begun rolling out "Universal Cart" Thursday in time for the holidays after providing details at its annual Google I/O developer conference in May.The agentic commerce and checkout tool is built on Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), co-developed UCP with Shopify, to enable artificial intelligence (AI) agents to communicate with payment infrastructures in ecommerce transactions."
On the web
Proof Launches x401, Giving AI Agents A Way to Prove Who They Represent - and What They're Authorized To Do
Proof
"Proof became the first company to put verified legal identity and transaction authorization for AI agents into production with the launch of x401, an open protocol that lets any website ask an AI agent to prove who it's acting for and what that person approved. Proof works with Meta's Muse, ChatGPT dots, Grok, Claude and other assistants that support the Model Context Protocol (MCP). With Proof, a consumer can authorize a wire transfer, approve an itemized purchase or sign a payment mandate through an AI agent."
Updation Integrates With U.S. Bank to Help Dealerships Modernize Payments and Financial Operations
Business Wire
"U.S. Bank and Updation, an AI-powered accounts payable, vendor management and contract management platform built for automotive dealerships, today announced a collaboration to help dealers streamline financial operations and manage payments more efficiently. Updation serves automotive, truck, RV and powersports dealerships, helping them automate invoice processing, improve visibility into spending and reduce manual administrative work."
Marqeta and Coinbase Collaborate to Enable Stablecoin-Backed Card Payments
Marqeta
"Marqeta, Inc. announced a collaboration with Coinbase to bring stablecoin-backed cards to both crypto-native and non-crypto firms. Leveraging Coinbase's crypto infrastructure, Marqeta will enable businesses to offer a payment card solution that allows users to tap into the benefits of stablecoins by turning their stablecoin balances into everyday card spend. The collaboration will expand Marqeta’s relationship with Coinbase, for whom Marqeta already issues crypto-backed cards."
Fiserv Surpasses 5 Million Clover Devices Shipped Worldwide
Fiserv
"Fiserv, Inc. announced that it has surpassed five million Clover® devices shipped worldwide, marking continued adoption for its all-in-one business management platform. The milestone reflects the value Fiserv delivers to businesses around the world by combining payment acceptance, software, hardware and value-added services on a single platform."
Barclaycard Payments and Visa Bring Unified Checkout to UK Merchants, Simplifying Payment Acceptance
Visa
"Visa announced that Barclaycard Payments has deployed its Unified Checkout solution, enabling its UK merchant customers to unlock seamless payment acceptance and improve ecommerce conversion. The new agreement builds on six decades of joint innovation between Visa and Barclaycard across payments and acceptance. Barclaycard Payments will embed Unified Checkout into their Smartpay Fuse payment gateway, providing merchants with a single integration to access a range of payment capabilities."
dLocal and Western Union Expand Their Partnership to Cover Remittance Payouts in Africa
dLocal
"dLocal and Western Union announced an expansion of their partnership in Africa to include payouts. This adds to the collections work they already run together, with dLocal providing the technology and connectivity layer, while regulated local partners execute the relevant payment and payout services. The expansion will start with a live payout corridor in Cameroon."
Jamie Dimon Warns AI Agents That Make Payments on Your Behalf ‘May Not’ Act Properly: AI Revolution Like a ‘Tsunami’ That Must Be Managed
Benzinga
"JPMorgan Chase & Co. Jamie Dimon cautioned that artificial intelligence agents allowed to make payments for customers would need their bank codes, putting the agents inside the bank with no assurance that they will act in customers’ interests. Dimon said that if agents can make payments, customers have to hand over their bank code, and “that means they are in your bank and you’re assuming they’re going to act properly on your behalf and they may not.”"
On the wires
Matera Launches Matera Workspace, Giving Banks and Credit Unions the Shortest Path to Offer Digital Assets Alongside Fiat
Business Wire
"Matera announced the launch of Matera Workspace, an extensible application platform that allows banks and credit unions to offer stablecoins, crypto and other digital assets side by side with fiat - without replacing their core banking system. At the center of Workspace is Digital Twin, Matera's real-time ledger already running instant payments in production today. Digital Twin holds every asset - US dollars, euros, stablecoins, crypto and tokenized instruments."
October 15, 2026
Top Post
Visa Direct Launches Stablecoin-Powered Money Movement as Pilots Move to Production
Visa
"Visa announced the next phase of its stablecoin strategy as Visa Direct stablecoin capabilities advance from pilot stage to commercial deployment. The milestone marks an important step in bringing stablecoin-enabled money movement into real-world commercial operations. In the initial rollout, Inyo Global, a Visa Direct processor, is the first enabler of this new offering, powering it for eligible Visa Direct clients and partners."
Mastercard and BVNK Launch Global Money Platform to Power a Multi-Money World
Mastercard
"Mastercard and BVNK announced the launch of Mastercard Global Money Platform, bringing together Mastercard’s global payments capabilities with BVNK’s stablecoin infrastructure through a single API. The launch marks the first major integration of Mastercard and BVNK capabilities since the acquisition of BVNK in August 2026. Payments leader Nuvei and modern card issuing platform Marqeta will be among the first to integrate Global Money Platform, alongside Ontop, Beem and Almond FinTech."
On the web
J.P. Morgan Payments Powers Mercado Libre’s Global Selling Expansion
J.P. Morgan Payments
"J.P. Morgan Payments is supporting leading Latin America e-commerce marketplace’s Global Selling program, which enables U.S. businesses to sell across Latin America. Mercado Libre is leveraging Embedded Payments from J.P. Morgan Payments for its U.S. sellers. The solution was designed to improve the cross-border payment experience for Mercado Libre’s sellers by simplifying cross-border payment management and improving operational efficiency."
ValidiFI Introduces Compass, Redefining How Organizations Evaluate Risk and Trust in Every Transaction
ValidFI
"ValidiFI, Inc. announced Compass, a decision intelligence layer that connects account validation with relevant identity, ownership, fraud, relationship, and payment-risk signals. Delivered through one API and customized to the customer’s use case, Compass from ValidiFI helps organizations better understand the risk behind an account or payment and determine the appropriate next step."
Finix Integrates with Cash App Pay and Afterpay to Expand Payment Options for Businesses
GlobeNewswire
"Finix announced an integration to offer Cash App Pay and Afterpay to eligible U.S. businesses. The partnership gives businesses more ways to accept payments through Finix while offering flexibility at checkout. Businesses using Finix can offer Cash App Pay for one-time and recurring payments and Afterpay for purchases paid in installments, managed alongside their other payments. Customers can authorize purchases through Cash App without entering card details or use Afterpay to split a purchase into four, interest-free payments."
Find Your FedNow® Fit: Innovator Exchange, New Resources
The Federal Reserve
"The Innovator Exchange is a resource designed to help organizations find support for your instant payment journey. The exchange lets financial institutions, corporates and fintechs search for potential partners enabling FedNow Service business models and use cases. The exchange also features representation across participation models, such as the inclusion of financial institutions offering certain “On Behalf Of” opportunities to nonbank service providers."
FIS AML Investigations Agent Now Commercially Available to Help Banks Tackle the Scale and Cost of Financial Crime Compliance
FIS Global
"FIS® announced that the FIS AML Investigations Agent that was jointly announced in May 2026 with Anthropic, is now commercially available to any U.S.-based bank, including those that are not FIS clients today. This is the first solution of its kind from a provider that already operates the core banking, payments and data infrastructure financial crime investigations depend on, with built-in controls that keep analysts in command of every decision."
PPRO Partners with Damisa for Stablecoin-Powered Treasury and Cross-Border Settlement
Damisa
"Damisa, the regulated stablecoin-native settlement platform for cross-border business payments, announced that PPRO has partnered with Damisa. What began as a focused deployment in the Latin American region is now scaling with PPRO’s global expansion. Through the partnership, PPRO taps into Damisa's onramp and off-ramp network to move money. Damisa converts the funds into regulated stablecoins and moves them across borders the same day."
The European Banking Authority (EBA) Classifies USDC as the First Significant e-Money Token in the European Union
BitKE
"The European Banking Authority (EBA) has classified USDC, issued by Circle Internet Financial Europe SAS, as a significant e-money token (EMT) under the Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCA), following its assessment of the criteria set out in the Regulation. There are currently 45 EMTs in the European Union, which have been notified under MiCA, and USDC is the first one to be classified as being significant. From November 12 2026, USDC will be subject to the dual supervision foreseen by MiCA for significant EMTs."
J.P. Morgan Payments Spotlights AI, Blockchain and Cross-Border Payments at Sibos 2026
J.P. Morgan Payments
"At Sibos 2026, J.P. Morgan Payments showcased what it sees as the next wave in global money movement: faster cross-border payments, more transparency, and smarter capabilities powered by data and AI. J.P. Morgan Payments leaders focused on three themes that are increasingly central to payments strategy: The future of global infrastructure, AI and data, and Tokenization and programmable settlement. [See links to videos]"
M-Pesa Users Get Faster Checkout as Safaricom, Pesapal Introduce New Payment Tools
The Eastleigh Voice
"M-PESA customers can now pay for goods and services by scanning QR codes, tapping their smartphones on payment terminals or using artificial intelligence (AI) to fill in transaction details, under a new rollout by Safaricom and Pesapal aimed at making payments faster and easier. Under the partnership, Pesapal’s point-of-sale (POS) devices will support Dynamic Scan-to-Pay, allowing customers to scan a QR code displayed on a merchant’s terminal."
Nuvei Secures License to Offer Local Payment Acceptance in South Africa
Nuvei
"Nuvei announced that it has secured authorization from the Payments Association of South Africa (PASA) to offer local merchant payment services in South Africa, expanding its ability to support global brands and local businesses through its global payments platform. The authorization advances Nuvei's Every Payment Everywhere strategy, extending its presence within domestic payment ecosystems to help businesses optimize payment performance in every market they operate."
October 14, 2026
Top Post
Visa Lowers Interchange Fees for Tens of Thousands of Small Businesses, But New Credit Card Fees Are on the Horizon [Canada]
PR Newswire
"More small businesses will pay lower credit card processing fees when new Visa interchange rates take effect on October 24. In an agreement with the federal government, Visa and Mastercard lowered interchange fees for small businesses with sales under $300,000 for Visa and $175,000 for Mastercard. Visa is expanding its small merchant interchange rate to firms with up to $750,000 in annual Visa sales and lowering rates for all qualifying businesses. Mastercard's threshold remains at $175,000."
On the web
Introducing the New Square Kiosk: Reimagining Self-Service with Intelligence
Block
"Square unveiled Square Kiosk, the company's new flagship, intelligent self-service kiosk. Combining AI-powered software, voice capabilities, and a large touch display with premium hardware, Square Kiosk gives customers an experience that feels less like self-ordering and more like service – while helping QSR operators manage rush pressure, labor constraints, and growing demand for faster, personalized hospitality. Square is also rolling out capabilities that make it easier for QSR franchises to manage operations across their network of locations."
In-Vehicle Toll Payment Pilot Program (North Carolina)
NCDOT
"The N.C. Turnpike Authority is partnering with Volvo Car USA, Mastercard, Microsoft, RedHat and Cognizant to pilot an in-vehicle toll payment system in North Carolina. This pilot program will enable enrolled Volvo car owners to link their car’s vehicle identification number to a payment method, allowing automatic payments to be processed as soon as the customer’s car drives through a tolled section of roadway."
Qivalis Receives Authorisation as an Electronic Money Institution from de Nederlandsche Bank
Qivalis
"Qivalis, the Amsterdam-based company backed by 37 European banks across 15 countries to issue a regulated euro-denominated stablecoin, today announced that it has been granted authorisation as an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) by De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB). Qivalis is now subject to ongoing supervision by DNB and, as an authorised EMI, is eligible to issue euro-denominated electronic money tokens (EMTs)."
JPMorgan Chase Blocks Outside AI Agents like Muse, Instinct from Directly Accessing Accounts
CNBC
"JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon warned of rogue agents operating at scale and said the bank is building defensive tools. The bank is piloting Smart Cash, an internal tool to forecast cash flow and move funds to maximize yield. Dimon said customers using outside agents must understand the risks and potential transfer of responsibility."
Are Stablecoins and Bank Deposits Substitutes?
Bank for International Settlements
"Stablecoins are digital tokens designed to maintain a stable value, usually against the US dollar. Like bank deposits, they can provide payment and liquidity services, but they generally pay little or no interest. We examine whether stablecoins and bank deposits compete for users’ funds by studying how stablecoin demand responds when banks change the rates they offer on deposits."
Case Study: PrizePay Strengthens Payouts with Confirmation of Payee
Australian Payments Plus
"PrizePay is a platform that helps businesses distribute cash rewards. As payout volumes increased, PrizePay wanted to reduce the risk of delays or misdirected payouts caused by incorrect account details, while maintaining a simple customer experience. PrizePay partnered with Azupay to integrate Confirmation of Payee into its payout process, giving PrizePay greater confidence payments are going to their intended recipients and helping identify potential discrepancies earlier."
On the wires
Nuvei Secures License to Offer Local Payment Acceptance in South Africa
PR Newswire
"Nuvei, the global fintech building the infrastructure for every payment, everywhere, today announced that it has secured authorization from the Payments Association of South Africa (PASA) to offer local merchant payment services in South Africa, expanding its ability to support global brands and local businesses through its global payments platform."
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