Glenbrook’s On-Demand Learning program combines our expertly curated payments education curriculum with a self-paced format that fits your schedule – start today!
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
October 1, 2026
On the web
Paying by Card? Online or In-Person, Here’s What’s Happening with Card Surcharges from October 1 [Australia]
Commonwealth Bank of Australia
"RBA changes mean that card surcharges on eftpos, Mastercard, and Visa end from 1 October. American Express, UnionPay and PayPal have also decided to remove surcharging from 1 October, although these firms are not currently subject to formal regulation by the RBA. Other charges, including weekend surcharges and some taxi payment fees, may still apply. Lower interchange caps will also apply to Australian-issued cards, which could also affect how credit card rewards are funded."
Shopify's Merchant Solutions Growth Accelerates: More Upside Ahead?
Yahoo Finance
"The competitive intensity in the payments domain remains high for Shopify, with Block and PayPal standing out as key challengers. PayPal is challenging Shopify's merchant-solutions business by expanding beyond branded checkout into a broader payment-processing and value-added-services platform. Through Braintree, PayPal is targeting marketplaces, platforms and large e-commerce enterprises with payment processing, payouts, Risk as a Service, payment optimization and embedded-finance solutions."
On the wires
Sardine Launches Dedicated AI Research Lab and $375,000 in Research Fellowships to Advance Fraud and Financial Crime Prevention
Business Wire
"Sardine launched Sardine AI Labs, an applied research group advancing frontier intelligence to fight financial crime. The team will study how AI can learn the language of financial behavior, anticipate new attacks and help risk teams make better decisions. Alongside the launch, Sardine is opening applications for up to 5 research fellowships, awarded to independent researchers working to advance the lab's early results."
September 30, 2026
On the web
Sibos Wrap-up Day 2: How Agentic AI Is Reshaping Custody [Video]
Global Custodian
"Global Custodian is joined by representatives from Chainlink, JP Morgan and GLEIF to discuss how agentic AI is already transforming custody and asset servicing, from automating queries and document processing to resolving exceptions and enabling AI agents to interact with financial assets."
Open USD Stablecoin Goes Live as Stripe, Visa and Mastercard Open It to Businesses
Unchained
"Open USD (OUSD), the dollar stablecoin backed by Coinbase, Mastercard, Shopify, Stripe and Visa, went live on Wednesday. Businesses can start building with OUSD through Mastercard, Stripe and the Visa Stablecoin Platform now, with Coinbase access beginning Oct. 1. The token runs natively on Ethereum, Solana, Base and Tempo, and will first be available to trade on Coinbase, Kraken and Uniswap. OUSD is issued by Bridge, the stablecoin infrastructure firm Stripe owns."
Mastercard Advances Agentic Commerce With New Trust and Intelligence Services
Yahoo Finance
"Mastercard announced an expansion of Agent Pay, its agentic payments program, with new trust and intelligence services that provide greater context for AI-initiated transactions. By bringing together identity, intent, behavioral and fraud insights, the services give financial institutions and merchants a clearer, shared understanding of AI-driven activity – enabling smarter authorization decisions, less friction and more seamless experiences for consumers. These services form the intelligence layer of Mastercard's Agent Pay Trust Framework."
Apple Pay Launches in India With Axis Bank, but RuPay Cards Remain Excluded
Techeconomy
"Apple has launched Apple Pay in India through a partnership with Axis Bank, giving iPhone and Apple device users access to the company’s contactless payment service for the first time in the country. The service initially supports Axis Bank-issued Visa and Mastercard credit cards. Cards on India’s homegrown RuPay network are not eligible at launch."
OpenAI Debuts Dots AI Agents in Challenge to Meta’s Popular Muse Agent [Video]
Yahoo Finance
"OpenAI CEO Sam Altman launched the company's newest product: Dots. A high-powered AI agent, Dots is designed to perform tasks for you over long periods via connections to 4,000 apps via ChatGPT. In another example, OpenAI says an early tester's Dot saw that they didn't submit an invoice for a publication. The Dot then set up the invoice and submitted it after getting the tester's approval. Unlike Meta, which is marketing Muse toward the consumer market, OpenAI is angling for the enterprise space."
Ant International’s Antom Supports Google Gemini in Expanding Access to AI Service in Asia
Business Wire
"Google Gemini and Antom, a leading merchant payment and digitisation services provider under Ant International, announced a strategic partnership to make AI tools for learning, creativity and productivity more accessible to users in Asia. The collaboration will leverage A+Rewards, Antom’s digital marketing solution powered by privacy-preserving computing and AI technologies, and its extensive partner network of digital payment apps, e-commerce platforms and lifestyle service providers, to help expand access to Google AI Plus."
SWIFT Links Bizum, PayID and Pix Aliases for Cross-Border Transactions
Crowdfund Insider
"Swift and a coalition of banks, payment schemes, and technology firms have begun work on linking popular domestic instant-payment systems so that consumers can send money abroad using the same simple identifiers they already use at home. The initiative, announced on 28 September 2026, focuses on three widely adopted national platforms: Spain’s Bizum, Australia’s PayID (operated by Australian Payments Plus), and Brazil’s Pix."
FedNow To Test International Real-Time Payments
Digital Transactions
"FedNow, the instant-payment service operated by the Federal Reserve, prepares to test cross-border transactions. The test will involve a group of organizations that were not named. They will test “FedNow enhanced message formats that facilitates sending and receiving the U.S. domestic leg of cross-border payments,” a Fed statement says. Possible use cases could be international payroll, corporate payments, and disbursements for property transfers, insurance claims, and global treasury management."
September 29, 2026
Top Post
Bank of America, Bradesco Test Instant Cross-Border Payments
Bank of America
"Bank of America announced that Bradesco, one of Brazil’s largest private-sector banks, has completed the first pilot transaction using the bank’s Cross-Border Real-Time Payments solution. The payment was initiated through Bradesco’s existing Swift connectivity and delivered in Hong Kong dollars to a local beneficiary through Hong Kong’s Faster Payment System (FPS)."
On the web
Introducing Toast Fuel, Powering Convenience Stores From the Counter to the Pump
Business WIre
"Toast announced Toast Fuel, a new set of capabilities for fuel operators and convenience stores. With Toast Fuel, operators can run fuel payments, both in-store and at the pump, alongside retail and foodservice on a single, connected platform. Many convenience store operators run their in-store retail and fuel businesses on two disconnected systems, and have had little access to the cloud-based tools that have helped reshape restaurants and retailers over the past decade."
Bank of India Launches Programmable Digital Rupee with Auto-Payment Feature
BusinessLine
"Bank of India has gone live with user-level programmable digital rupee functionality and auto-issuance capability on its Central Bank Digital Currency platform, developed by Montran India, the companies announced today. The new feature allows account holders to schedule automatic transfers of digital rupees (e₹) to a beneficiary’s CBDC wallet at a fixed amount and frequency, while restricting how the recipient can spend the funds."
BofA Clients Accelerate RTP® Use, Led by Liquidity Management
Bank of America
"Bank of America’s corporate clients are proving that higher-value real-time payments are in demand by increasingly using the RTP® network to move money, support liquidity needs and execute business payments with greater speed, transparency and control. The strongest growth is occurring at the higher end of the transaction range, where clients are using RTP to manage liquidity and move funds precisely when and where they are needed."
Swift Tests Pay-by-Alias Cross-Border Payments with Global Banks
TNGlobal
"Swift and a group of banks, payment schemes and technology providers are working on a pay-by-alias model intended to make international transfers feel more like domestic instant payments. The initiative would let consumers send money abroad using identifiers such as a mobile phone number, email address or virtual payment address instead of entering a recipient’s bank-account details."
Volante Technologies and Circle Advance Stablecoin Payment and Settlement Capabilities for Financial Institutions
Business Wire
"Volante Technologies announced a strategic collaboration with Circle Internet Group, Inc., the issuer of USDC, to help financial institutions integrate stablecoin payment and settlement capabilities into their existing payment operations. Volante is bringing USDC workflows into its AI-powered Payments Platform, enabling financial institutions to evaluate how stablecoin activity can operate alongside existing payment rails, operational controls, and on- and off-ramp requirements."
Nvidia Launches New Platform for Reining in Rogue AI Agents
TechCrunch
"Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang introduced a toolkit of software and hardware products that add independent security layers around AI agents to ensure they stay within their test environments even if they attempt to break out. The release follows a string of hacking incidents involving AI models from Anthropic, Google, OpenAI, and Meta that bypassed security controls to escape their testing environments and access real-world systems."
Oracle Integration with Swift’s Ledger Helps Banks Connect Tokenized Deposit Infrastructures Across Institutions
Oracle
"Oracle is integrating with Swift’s blockchain ledger to help financial institutions participate in payment flows orchestrated through it and help financial institutions use their own tokenized deposit infrastructures across institutions. Through the integration, financial institutions can extend existing payment services with interoperable tokenized deposits and manage traditional and digital asset payment flows through a unified operating model, helping deliver more seamless, always-on payment experiences to clients."
Marqeta Unifies Card and Non-Card Payments on a Single Platform
Marqeta
"Marqeta is announcing the expansion of its platform to enable companies to make payments using a variety of non-card rails, alongside card issuing. Businesses can now pay suppliers, reimburse workers, and disburse funds to consumers at scale — using virtual cards, bank transfers, and real-time payments without needing separate vendors for each. Marqeta will be expanding the number of non-card rails it supports, including ACH, same-day ACH, push to card, and The Clearing House's RTP network and the Federal Reserve's FedNow service."
Shopify Opens Checkout to Browser-Based AI Agents
TechCrunch
"While some retailers, like Amazon (and Adidas, apparently!), are blocking AI agents from making purchases on users’ behalf on their respective platforms, e-commerce platform Shopify has moved in the other direction. The company announced that browser-based AI agents can now complete purchases on Shopify merchants’ sites, extending their capabilities beyond just searching for products and adding items to carts.
September 28, 2026
Top Post
American Express is Now Accepted at More Than 190 Million Merchant Locations Worldwide; Acceptance Outside the U.S. Has More Than Doubled in Last Four Years
Business Wire
"American Express \announced that its Cards are now accepted at more than 190 million Merchant locations worldwide, an increase of approximately 20 million locations this year. The number of Amex-accepting Merchant locations outside the U.S. has more than doubled over the last four years. This growth reflects ongoing momentum in the company's global acceptance strategy, driven by key partnerships, targeted expansion in the places Card Members live, work, and travel, and continued innovation in how customers pay."
Google Tests Buying from Walmart-Owned Flipkart Through Gemini and AI Mode in India
TechCrunch
"Google has started testing a way for shoppers in India to buy products from Walmart-owned Flipkart directly through Gemini and AI Mode, as the search giant looks to expand its AI services from product discovery into transactions. Users in the test see a “Buy” button on select Flipkart product listings appearing in Gemini and Google’s AI Mode, which takes them directly to a Flipkart checkout flow without leaving the AI interface, according to people familiar with the matter and an experience seen by TechCrunch."
On the web
Citi and Coinbase Expand Collaboration to Connect Digital and Fiat Payments for Corporations and Consumers
Business Wire
"The collaboration solves operational complexity and risk for businesses connecting traditional banking services with blockchain rails without requiring separate systems. Coinbase selects Citi Services’ Virtual Account Wallet (via Banking-as-a-Service) to power Coinbase Virtual Accounts, delivering bank-account-like functionality with automatic fiat-to-stablecoin conversion.
Swift and Its Community Innovate to Bring Ease of Domestic Consumer Payments to Cross-Border Transaction Experience
Swift
"Industry initiative aims to extend the front-end experience of domestic payments systems like Bizum in Spain, PayID from AP+ in Australia, and Pix in Brazil across borders Consumers will be able to send money to friends’ and family members’ accounts internationally using pay-by-alias identifiers like mobile phone numbers and email addresses The work builds on Swift’s consumer payments framework, which is elevating the standard for retail cross-border payments around the world."
Bank of America Expands “Ask Global Payments Solutions” with New Intelligence Capabilities
Bank of America
"Bank of America announced the launch of AskGPS Intelligence Hub, a suite of tools designed to help Global Payments Solutions employees bring together and interpret complex treasury information to deliver actionable insights for clients. The Intelligence Hub builds on AskGPS, the generative AI-powered solution introduced in 2025 that supports nearly 3,000 employees with trusted institutional knowledge. The new capabilities will bring together client, account and relationship information to support more informed client discussions."
Sony Patents Playstation Controller That Accepts Credit Card Payments
VGC
"Sony has filed a patent for a PlayStation controller that can accept contactless payments from credit cards and phones. The patent describes a scenario where, when prompted, players can bring their phone or payment card close to the controller, after which the controller will receive the details and send them to the console. The system could be used to purchase games, in-game credits, and add-ons, and describes a scenario where a player could purchase a full game with a quick payment touch after trying a demo at a store or expo."
Vodafone and Digital Virgo Partner to Drive Adoption of Trusted Mobile Commerce Using Global Network APIs
WebWire
Vodafone and Digital Virgo announced a partnership to help companies deliver secure, seamless and trusted digital experiences to consumers in Europe and Africa. Under the agreement, Digital Virgo will integrate Vodafone Network APIs into its monetisation solutions serving 300+ merchants and over 150 operators. Initially, the partnership covers five markets, including Germany, Greece, Spain, South Africa and the UK, with plans to extend it more countries.
Quant: What the Clearing House Mandate Really Means
CryptoTicker
"The Clearing House selected Quant as technology partner for tokenised deposits backed by 25 large US banks. Quant supplies the layer for interoperability, orchestration and transaction management for a new network through which financial institutions can clear and settle tokenised deposits. Connection to the existing RTP and CHIPS payment systems is explicitly part of it. Overledger is Quant's operating system for enterprises. It works as a programming interface that connects various public and private blockchains with classic banking systems."
On the wires
Mastercard Advances Commercial Payments With AI-Powered B2B Analytics Solution
Business Wire
"One of the biggest pain points for banks and corporates is supplier payments. Mastercard introduced Mastercard Advanced B2B Analytics, a card acceptance analytics platform that provides dynamic, accurate and actionable supplier payment insights in minutes. Issuers can now drive commercial card spend at scale, capture additional revenues and help corporate clients identify opportunities to optimize working capital."
Take us with you
Payments on Fire is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, and other podcast apps and services.
Watch new video episodes on our YouTube channel.