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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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May 27, 2026
On the web
Robinhood is Now Open to Agents
Robinhood
"The future of agentic finance has arrived at Robinhood. Robinhood launched Agentic Trading and the Agentic Credit Card, enabling AI agents to trade and make credit card purchases on your behalf. Whether executing a specific trading strategy, or simply buying the cheapest flight available, you can build agents to help manage your investments and spending safely and autonomously. You can now give your agents direct access to Robinhood without the workarounds or unofficial APIs holding you back elsewhere."
Google Is Adding Two New AI Features for Retailers
Retail Brew
"Google is rolling out two new tools in Merchant Center—where retailers upload and manage their product listings so they appear across Google Search, Shopping, and now AI surfaces like Gemini—to help retailers and brands get discovered in AI conversations. “Conversational attributes” let retailers update their product descriptions to match the more natural, conversational way people search in the AI era. The new tool is now available globally."
Bank of Canada Joins BIS Project Agorá to Test Improvements in Wholesale Cross-Border Payments
Bank of Canada
"The Bank of Canada is joining the Bank for International Settlements’ Project Agorá, an initiative exploring how tokenization could improve wholesale cross-border payments. The project has successfully tested the feasibility of a multi-currency unified ledger that enables atomic settlement of cross-border wholesale transactions. The Agorá prototype combines tokenized commercial bank deposits and wholesale central bank money on a programmable platform with the aim of improving the speed, efficiency, transparency and accessibility of international payments."
New Wells Fargo Study Finds Parents Use Money Rewards to Motivate Kids
Wells Fargo
"A new study from Wells Fargo finds that many parents are willing to use money rewards to motivate their kids to achieve results. From good grades to positive behavior, parents say money is a key tool to incentivize, teach, and reinforce values. The study shows that nearly three-quarters of parents (72%) give their children money as a reward, with academic performance standing out as the top incentive for payment."
PPRO and Coinbase Announce Strategic Collaboration to Bring Stablecoin Payments to Merchants
PPRO
"PPRO and Coinbase announced a strategic collaboration to bring a complete stablecoin payments suite to merchants and PSPs in the U.S. market. The partnership allows merchants to seamlessly accept stablecoin payments without having to manage crypto complexity directly. As one of the first movers into stablecoins, PPRO is unlocking access to 150 million stablecoin holders globally for eligible merchants."
Mastercard Secures New York BitLicense to Support Stablecoin and Digital Payment Infrastructure
CoinDesk
"Mastercard has secured a New York BitLicense, allowing it to conduct digital asset activities under one of the toughest crypto regulatory regimes in the United States. The approval advances Mastercard’s strategy to build blockchain-based payments and settlement infrastructure, with a particular focus on stablecoins and tokenized deposits."
Visa Expands Commercial Solutions Hub with Integration of Visa Accounts Receivable Manager
Business Wire
"Visa Inc. announced an expansion of the Visa Commercial Solutions Hub (VCS Hub), further strengthening how issuers and suppliers connect to scale virtual card programs. Through a new integration with Visa Accounts Receivable Manager (Visa AR Manager), eligible issuers gain built-in access to end-to-end processing designed to reduce operational friction and accelerate commercial card growth."
On the wires
Nium and Circle to Connect USDC Settlement with Global Payouts
PR Newswire
"Nium and Circle Technology Services, LLC, an affiliate of Circle Internet Group, Inc. and operator of Circle Payments Network (CPN), announced a partnership to connect stablecoin settlement with last-mile global payouts. As part of the partnership, Nium joins CPN as a global payout partner, providing financial institutions on the network with direct access to Nium's payout infrastructure across more than 190 countries and in 100 currencies."
May 26, 2026
On the web
AvidXchange Powers Embedded AP Payments for Acumatica Customers
AvidXchange
"AvidXchange announced the launch of embedded AP payment automation within Acumatica, powered by AvidXchange’s Accounts Payable as a Service solution. This launch follows the announcement of AvidXchange’s recent selection as Acumatica’s strategic partner to power payment automation for its mid-market customers, bringing deep expertise, a dedicated team of experts, and an extensive supplier network to deliver an embedded, streamlined payment experience."
Alipay Builds Out AI Payment Ecosystem for Consumers, Developers and AI Firms
The Asian Banker
"Alipay introduced its full-stack AI payment solution to partners across industries, ranging from AI companies to traditional retailers, and debuted two new services — the world’s first AI Wallet and Token Pay — to support the agentic economy’s rapid growth. This launch extends Alipay's next-generation AI payment infrastructure, building on its consumer-facing product Alipay AI Pay and its business-facing AI payment processing product."
On the wires
Marqeta Expands Account and Money Movement Offering in Europe, Building on Strong Regional Momentum
Business Wire
"Marqeta, Inc. announced that it has expanded its portfolio of account and money movement tools into 30 additional European countries through its collaboration with Banking Circle. The company’s expanded offering enables businesses across Europe to enrich their card programs with embedded virtual accounts and multi-rail payment capabilities, creating more personalized experiences that drive deeper customer engagement."
May 22, 2026
Top Post
Should Visa & Mastercard Investors Worry About UK & Europe's Moves?
Yahoo Finance
"Britain’s Payment Systems Regulator, or PSR, has stepped up scrutiny of card networks after years of complaints from merchants over rising card costs. The regulator is now consulting on a proposed regulatory financial reporting framework that would require Visa Inc. and Mastercard Incorporated to disclose detailed information tied to their UK operations. The consultation focuses on margins, profitability and the economics behind scheme and processing fees charged across the card ecosystems."
On the web
Visa Tests Stablecoin Settlement And AI Commerce To Shape Future Fees
Yahoo Finance
"Visa has launched a stablecoin settlement program in Canada, including a trial with Wealthsimple. The program aims to integrate blockchain based payments into existing card settlement flows. Visa is also expanding its Agentic Ready program for AI powered commerce and payments."
Mastercard Is Asking Brazilian Payment Processors To Share A Costly Bill
Finimize-Bloomberg
"Mastercard is pressing some of Brazil’s largest payment processors to absorb part of nearly 5 billion Brazilian reais (about $997 million) in card payments linked to Will Financeira after the fintech collapsed. Bloomberg, via MT Newswires, reports that Mastercard – the card network behind Will Financeira’s cards – became responsible for reimbursing merchant acquirers (the firms that process card payments for stores) for those transactions. It has already repaid roughly half, but it’s proposing a recovery “waterfall” to limit what’s left."
Jack Dorsey on Intelligence, Velocity, and the Next Chapter for Block at J.P. Morgan
Block
"At the J.P. Morgan Global Technology, Media and Communications Conference this week, Block Co-Founder and CEO Jack Dorsey joined J.P. Morgan’s Tien-Tsin Huang for a conversation about how Block is evolving into an intelligence company and how that shift is already driving faster execution across Square and Cash App."
Plaid: Everything We Announced at Plaid Effects 2026
Plaid
"Plaid Effects, their annual customer conference noted one theme came up in nearly every conversation: AI is rapidly reshaping financial services. First, announcement was a foundation model that provides a deeper understanding of transactions data across Plaid - not just what happened, but why. With this model, they are seeing a 13% improvement in categorization accuracy while income classification is up by 48%."
Google Brings UCP Checkout to YouTube Shopping Ads
The Keyword
"Google has extended its Universal Commerce Protocol checkout into ad campaigns for the first time, putting in-ad purchase inside Shopping ads on YouTube and Direct Offers Demand Gen campaigns. Google will roll the UCP-powered checkout to Canada and Australia in the coming months, with the U.K. to follow. Affirm and Klarna buy-now-pay-later options are now embedded directly into Google Pay for UCP transactions, closing a gap with the BNPL flows already available inside Amazon, Apple Pay, and PayPal checkout."
May 21, 2026
Top Post
Federal Reserve Board Requests Public Comment on a Proposal to Establish a “Payment Account,” for the Specific Purpose of Clearing and Settling Payments
The Federal Reserve
"The Federal Reserve Board requests comment on a proposal to establish a "payment account," which financial institutions could use for the purpose of clearing and settling payments. Financial institutions with a range of business models have sought access to the Federal Reserve's payment services to reduce costs and increase payment speed. The proposed account would support innovation by serving the clearing and settlement needs of certain institutions whilemitigating material risks to the Reserve Banks and payment system."
On the web
ChatGPT Can Now Look at Your Bank Account, Here’s What It Can Do
MSN
"OpenAI has rolled out a new personal finance feature inside ChatGPT. You can now connect bank accounts, credit cards and investment accounts directly to ChatGPT, and it'll help you make sense of your money. For now, it's only for Pro users in the US. Plus users get it later, eventually it will be open up to everyone. ChatGPT shows you a dashboard of where your money is going—spending, investments, active subscriptions and upcoming payments, all in one place. It connects to more than 12,000 institutions through Plaid."
Kansas City Fed Quietly Publishes Details Re Kraken Fed Account
"The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City has confirmed that the limited purpose Federal Reserve master account it granted to Kraken Financial in March provides access only to the Fedwire Funds Service. The disclosure resolves one of the sharpest questions raised by both Democrat legislators and banking associations since the digital asset bank became the first of its kind to receive a Fed account. In a note published earlier this month, the Kansas City Fed disclosed the specific services and restrictions attached to the account for the first time."
Apple Blocks USD $2.2 Billion in Fraudulent App Store Fraud
Security Brief Australia
"Apple blocked more than USD $2.2 billion in potentially fraudulent App Store transactions in 2025, while rejecting more than 2 million app submissions and stopping over 1.1 billion fraudulent account creations as it expanded enforcement across the App Store ecosystem. The figures form part of a broader effort to combat fraud, malicious software and deceptive behaviour across the App Store, which now serves more than 850 million weekly visitors across 175 storefronts."
Visa Threats Report: As Network Security Strengthens, Criminals Accelerate Shift to AI-Enabled Social Engineering
Visa
Visa released its Spring 2026 Biannual Threats Report, revealing that scams have become the fastest-growing source of consumer harm as criminals increasingly use artificial intelligence and social engineering to manipulate people into authorizing payments themselves. From July to December 2025, Visa identified nearly $1 billion in scam-related activity. These attacks typically do not require breaching technology. Scammers impersonate trusted brands, manufacture urgency, and deceive victims into completing legitimate-looking transactions.
On the wires
MoonPay Launches MoonPay Trade: One Platform for Institutions and Enterprises to Access 200+ Chains and Protocols
PR Newswire
"MoonPay has launched MoonPay Trade, a technology platform that lets any application, financial institution, or enterprise access digital assets and move value across 200+ blockchains and protocols through a single API. Onchain liquidity is fragmented across hundreds of chains, venues, and protocols. Building direct connectivity to all of it is a massive engineering undertaking for any firm. MoonPay Trade collapses that complexity into a single integration that handles all onchain transaction execution, settlement, conversion and payments in over 120 fiat currencies."
May 20, 2026
On the web
Tether Brings USDT Payments to Over 200,000 Merchants in New Partnership
Crypto News
"Stablecoin issuer Tether has announced a significant expansion of its $USDT payment capabilities, enabling transactions at more than 200,000 merchant locations worldwide. The initiative is the result of a collaboration with decentralized treasury management protocol Lydian and U.S.-based payments company Shift4, marking one of the largest integrations of a stablecoin into traditional retail and online commerce."
PayPal’s Dollar-Backed Stablecoin Is Now Live Across Africa
Tech Labari
"The San José-based payments giant has announced that PayPal USD (PYUSD), its dollar-backed stablecoin, is now available to users across 70 markets, including a broad expansion across Africa. The move represents a dramatic scaling of the token’s reach: previously, PYUSD was only available for holding in the United States and the United Kingdom. The rollout now adds 68 new jurisdictions, with African countries including Uganda and Malawi among the newly supported markets."
Worldline and Klarna Partner to Enable Flexible, Online and In-Store Payments Everywhere
Klarna
"Worldline and Klarna have announced the signing of a framework agreement to improve access to Klarna’s full suite of flexible payments across online and in-store points of sale serviced by Worldline. Worldline will integrate Klarna more deeply into its technology stack, and acquire transactions, making it much simpler for businesses to offer Klarna to their customers."
Klarna Launches AI-Powered Shopping Search App in ChatGPT
Klarna
"Klarna launched the Klarna Shopping Search app in ChatGPT, bringing real-time product discovery directly into the conversation. With the Klarna Shopping Search app in ChatGPT, they simply describe what they're looking for and instantly see visual results with up-to-date prices, availability, and offers from multiple merchants, all within the same conversation. The Klarna Shopping Search app then seamlessly redirects users to the merchant’s site to complete their purchase."
FedNow’s Role in Modernizing Payments
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
"One key part of that the U.S. payments system is the FedNow® Service, the Federal Reserve’s instant payment rail. Launched in 2023, it enables financial institutions to move funds instantly – 24/7, 365 days a year. While FedNow is focused on domestic payments, the Fed is also exploring how it could eventually help make cross-border payments faster and simpler. Executive Vice President and Chief FedNow Executive Nick Stanescu discusses why FedNow was created, how it works, and what it could mean for businesses, consumers, and the future of financial access."
Fireblocks Joins x402 Foundation, Launches Agentic Payments Suite
PR Newswire
"Fireblocks announced the launch of its Agentic Payments Suite, delivering the infrastructure for agent-initiated payments using any stablecoin, on any blockchain. The Suite covers the full lifecycle of agentic payments; from the wallet infrastructure agents use to send funds, to the acceptance layer merchants use to receive them. Fireblocks has also joined the x402 Foundation, the Linux Foundation-hosted governing body for the x402 protocol, delivering the security extension that adds request integrity and spend governance to the protocol."
On the wires
MoneyGram Becomes Tempo's Anchor Remittance Validator in Strategic Blockchain Partnership
PR Newswire
"MoneyGram announced a partnership with Tempo, a purpose-built Layer 1 blockchain for high-volume, real-world payments, to deepen its blockchain infrastructure and advance stablecoin-based settlement across its global network. The partnership marks a strategic step in MoneyGram's journey to build an open, interoperable global payments network on stablecoin rails, one that operates across chains, across borders, and across the full spectrum of how people move money."