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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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December 5, 2025
Top Post
Federal Reserve Board Requests Public Input on the Impact of Potential Strategic Changes to Check Services Provided by the Fed
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
"The Federal Reserve Board requested public input on the impact of potential strategic changes to check services provided by the Fed, as well as check usage and preferences. Over time, check use has steadily declined, digital payment methods have grown in availability and use, and check fraud has risen. Also, the Reserve Banks will need to make substantial investments in their check infrastructure to continue providing the same level of check services going forward."
On the wires
Klarna Launches Premium and Max Memberships in the U.S., Offering Lounge Access and Premium Perks Without Spending Requirements
Business Wire
"Klarna has expanded its membership program with the introduction of Premium and Max plans for U.S. consumers, building on its existing Core and Plus plans and following successful launches in the UK and EU. The U.S. debut offers an alternative to the traditional credit card model. Klarna's memberships deliver premium perks, including airport lounge access, travel insurance, and lifestyle subscriptions, without taking on debt or hitting a spending requirement."
December 4, 2025
Top Post
Circle Collaborates with Pismo and Visa to Launch Vietnam’s First AI-Powered PayLater Card
Visa
"Visa and Pismo today jointly announced a strategic collaboration with Circle Asia Technologies, a pioneering credit-led neobank in Southeast Asia, to unlock credit for millions in Vietnam. This will enable Circle to launch the nation’s first truly AI-powered PayLater card aiming to set new standards for transparency, personalization, and user experience in the financial industry. Scheduled for a phased rollout in early 2026, the card is being engineered to dismantle the barriers that have led to Vietnam’s low credit card penetration."
On the web
A November to Remember: The Clearing House Networks Shatter Records as Digital Payments Surge Nationwide
The Clearing House
"The CHIPS®, EPN®, and RTP® networks all posted record-breaking results in November, underscoring the advantages banks gain from utilizing the payment systems operated by The Clearing House – from CHIPS’ unmatched intraday liquidity savings, to instant settlement and 24/7 availability through the RTP network, to EPN’s capacity for high-volume, recurring payments. Together, these new records highlight the rapid growth of digital payments in the U.S. and the accelerating shift toward efficient, resilient, and modern electronic payment rails across the U.S. banking sector."
Worldline Partners With Fipto to Enable Next Generation of Payments Rails With Stablecoin
Worldline
"Worldline and Fipto, a European fintech providing stablecoin payment infrastructure, announced a strategic partnership to explore how stablecoins can enhance settlement and payment services across Europe. Through collaboration and innovation, Worldline and Fipto are helping build the payment infrastructure Europe needs for the digital economy ahead."
BBVA Demonstrates its First Conversational App Concept Connected to ChatGPT for Italy and Germany
BBVA
"BBVA’s digital banks in Europe are exploring what could become the first banking app in the world natively integrated within ChatGPT. This demonstration shows how people will be able to discover BBVA’s products and services in Italy and Germany through a dedicated BBVA app built directly into OpenAI’s conversational assistant. Over time, it is envisaged that the experience will evolve into a digital companion,"
On the wires
MoneyGram and Fireblocks Partner to Supercharge Global Treasury Management Using Stablecoins and Real-Time Payments
PR Newswire
"MoneyGram has partnered with Fireblocks, the infrastructure platform securing more than $5 trillion in digital asset transfers annually. The collaboration will further advance stablecoin-based settlement and multi-asset treasury operations across MoneyGram's retail and digital footprint, enabling faster, lower-cost payments and real-time treasury operations throughout its network."
Trulioo Joins Google’s Agent Payments Protocol (AP2) to Help Build Trust in Agent-Led Payments
Business Wire
"Trulioo announced it has joined Google's Agent Payments Protocol (AP2) initiative to help securely initiate and transact agent-led payments across platforms. This move deepens Trulioo’s collaboration with Google, which leverages the Trulioo Global Identity Platform for Know Your Customer (KYC) verification across its payments organization, including fraud prevention and abuse mitigation."
December 3, 2025
On the web
Six Payment Trends for 2026
Mastercard
"If there’s a topline trend to 2026, it’s how payments are evolving, becoming more personalized, predictive and seamlessly interoperable between traditional and new payment platforms: Top trends: securing agentic commerce; connecting crypto to fiat commerce; doubling down on digital identity; redefining consumption for the circular age; personalizing payments, benefits and risk; enabling the instant economy for everyone, everywhere."
Stripe to Acquire U.S. Billing Platform Metronome
Silicon Republic
"Stripe announced plans to acquire Metronome, a US-based software developer in the billing and invoice space, for an undisclosed amount. The company enables organisations to create and manage usage-based pricing models, create invoices and integrate other technologies to optimise the billing process."
Adyen Processes Record $43 billion as Black Friday/Cyber Monday Weekend Sets New Benchmark for Global Payments
Adyen
"This year’s Black Friday/Cyber Monday (BFCM) proved to be another record-breaking holiday shopping weekend, where consumer traffic and demand spiked, and the Adyen platform delivered, processing a total volume of $43 billion across the BFCM weekend (up 27% vs. last year), while maintaining an exceptional 99.9999% uptime. Transactions per minute on the Adyen platform reached a peak of 199,000 on Black Friday."
Revolut: Get Extra Protection on the Move With Street Mode
Revolut
"Street Mode is a powerful new addition to Revolut's Wealth Protection feature. Once activated, it delays outgoing transfers over your chosen limit while you’re away from trusted locations to keep your Revolut account safe from potential fraudsters. Then it asks for extra confirmation to make sure you — and only you — are in control."
On the wires
Nuvei Expands Partnership with Microsoft to Scale Global Payments Infrastructure to Support More Than 10,000 transactions per second
PR Newswire
"Nuvei and Microsoft announced an expansion of their strategic partnership, enabling Nuvei's core payment processing APIs to run on Microsoft Azure and use Azure AI to optimize transactions in real time. The move expands Nuvei's global processing capabilities beyond enabling 10,000 transactions per second, with a target 99.999 percent availability for merchants. It strengthens Nuvei's position among the highest-volume processors worldwide."
December 2, 2025
On the web
Circle Brings USDC Stablecoin To x402 Protocol For AI Agent Micropayments
Yellow
"Circle is advancing machine-to-machine payment infrastructure by integrating its USDC stablecoin into the x402 protocol, enabling autonomous AI agents to execute micropayments without human intervention. The stablecoin issuer announced plans to connect its Gateway product with x402, creating a foundation for high-throughput agentic transactions across multiple blockchain networks. The x402 protocol, which revives the long-dormant HTTP 402 "Payment Required" status code, has gained momentum as a standard for internet-native payments."
Visa Survey Finds AI and Crypto Poised to Transform U.S. Holiday Spending
Business Wire
"Visa Inc. released new survey data, revealing AI’s influence in shopping and spending, a generational shift in consumer spending behavior, and emerging payments trends this holiday season. "The data tells a fascinating story about the spending shift we're witnessing: shoppers are embracing AI and digital tools at remarkable speed, with nearly half of Americans now using AI to enhance their shopping experience," said Bruce Cundiff, vice president, Consumer Insights at Visa."
Aeropay and Cross River Launch Request for Payment (RfP) to Power Instant Consumer Pay-Ins on the RTP® Network
Business Wire
"Aeropay announced the launch of Request for Payment (RfP) in partnership with Cross River Bank. This new offering expands on the two companies’ current instant payment offerings and enables U.S. businesses to accept instant consumer pay-ins via the RTP® network, delivering faster, safer, and more reliable payment experiences. Splash Sports, an online real money gaming platform, will be the first customer of Aeropay to implement the capability to power real-time pay-ins."
Diebold Nixdorf Unveils DN Series® 300 and 350: Transforming Self-Service Banking
Diebold Nixdorf
"Diebold Nixdorf announced the launch of the DN Series® 300 and 350, the next generation of self-service cash dispensers. Powered by the company's new DM7V dispensing module, the ATMs deliver an intelligent cash-handling ecosystem, ensuring high availability, security and reliability. The DN Series 300 and 350 feature a shared cassette infrastructure across dispensers and recyclers. This streamlines cash replenishment cycles and cash-in-transit strategies."
Checkout.com Announces 62% YoY Growth Over Black Friday Cyber Monday Weekend, Processing More Than $5.2bn
Checkout
"Checkout.com experienced a 62% year-on-year growth in the total volume of ecommerce payments processed across its network, with record payment volumes of over $5.2 billion. Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend saw consumer online spending increase by over a third (36%) when compared to the final weekend of the previous month. New research shows one in three planned to use an AI agent to assist with Black Friday shopping deals."
Small Business Credit Card Satisfaction Surges, Led by Financially Challenged Businesses, J.D. Power Finds
J.D. Power
"While the overall business outlook, credit card debt and spending patterns for small businesses in the United States are largely unchanged this year, satisfaction with small business credit cards is rising. According to the J.D. Power 2025 U.S. Small Business Credit Card Satisfaction Study released, the year-over-year improvement in customer satisfaction is highest among financially unhealthy small businesses for whom credit cards and their rewards programs have become critical business tools."
Block Processes 124 Million Transactions as Americans Shop Local This Black Friday, Cyber Monday
Block
"Block, Inc. released its Black Friday, Cyber Monday results, revealing a shift toward local spending as Americans focus on neighborhood economies. Data indicates Block handled more than 124 million transactions across Square, Cash App, and Afterpay over the four-day shopping period, reflecting a 10% increase from last year."
X402 Ecosystem Expands as Solana Becomes Number-One Network for Payments
TradingView
"Solana just logged its biggest week yet for x402, with daily payment volume hitting an all‑time high of about $380,000 on Sunday and about 750% week‑on‑week growth. The rise of x402 payments on Solana marks a turning point for the HTTP-402-based protocol, with pay-per-request stablecoin transfers now flowing through facilitators at a pace that resembles the early contours of machine-driven demand. For Solana, becoming the busiest x402 venue strengthens the claim that low fees and high throughput are useful for machine and API micropayments."
Bank of America Says Its Wealth Management Clients May Put Up to 4% of Their Portfolio in Crypto
Yahoo Finance
"Bank of America (BAC) says its wealth management clients should start thinking about getting some crypto exposure in their portfolios. The firm is endorsing a 1%-4% allocation to digital assets for clients of its Merrill, Bank of America Private Bank, and Merrill Edge platforms. Its investment strategists will begin covering four bitcoin ETFs in January."
On the wires
Payments Modernisation: Gap Between Confidence and Readiness Among Industry Leaders Widens, ACI Worldwide Study Finds
Business Wire
"Payments leaders remain confident about the pace of industry innovation, but many risk falling behind as expectations accelerate. New global research from ACI Worldwide and Globant reveals a widening gap between confidence and readiness that could define industry leadership in 2026 and beyond. The report Payments in Transition: Leadership in an era of transformation, based on a survey of 500 industry leaders across North America, Europe, Latin America, Middle East & Africa, and Asia Pacific, shows that while 69% of executives consider their organisations to be payments leaders, fewer than half (44%) say payments innovation is a C-suite priority."
Klarna Launches Tap to Pay for In-Store Purchases Across 14 Markets
Business Wire
"Klarna launched the brand new feature Tap to Pay across 14 European markets, bringing flexible payments into physical retail at scale and transforming the Klarna app into an everyday contactless wallet. With more than 80% of European shopping still happening in physical stores, Tap to Pay brings consumers the ease of online shopping into the bricks and mortar stores."
December 1, 2025
Top Post
Visa and AWS Enable Next-Generation Agentic Commerce Capabilities
Amazon
"Visa and Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS), an Amazon.com, Inc. announced a collaboration designed to empower developers and enterprises building towards agentic commerce. Visa will list the Visa Intelligence Commerce platform in AWS Marketplace, helping businesses and developers to connect seamlessly to a growing ecosystem of agentic commerce providers for next-generation reliable and secure payment experiences. AWS and Visa will also publish blueprints on the public Amazon Bedrock AgentCore repository designed for multi-network agentic retail shopping, travel booking, and payment reconciliation, enabling developers to create and connect complex workflows."
Mastercard SpendingPulse: US Black Friday Retail Sales up +4.1% YoY as Holiday Momentum Builds
Mastercard
"According to preliminary insights from Mastercard SpendingPulse™, U.S. retail sales excluding autos were up +4.1% on Black Friday, November 28 compared to Black Friday 2024. Mastercard SpendingPulse measures in-store and online retail sales, representing all payment types, and is not adjusted for inflation."
On the web
Sony Plans USD Stablecoin to Pay for PlayStation
Yahoo Finance
"Sony is planning to issue its own dollar-pegged stablecoin. The proposed token will be used to pay for media content, including games and anime. Stablecoins could power PlayStation and Crunchyroll payments as soon as 2026."
UnionPay International and Amazon Payment Services Forge Strategic Partnership Across MENA
TechAfrica News
"UnionPay International and Amazon Payment Services have announced a strategic collaboration in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, across countries including UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon. The agreement empowers merchants in the Amazon Payment Services network to accept UnionPay cards. Once the integration is complete, UnionPay cardholders will be able to access Amazon Payment Services’ merchants. In turn, Amazon Payment Services merchants will be able to tap into UnionPay’s vast global customer base across more than 80 countries and regions."
How Deposits Can Harness Tokenisation
BIS
"Tokenisation has challenged the way we think about money and promises a major leap in how the financial system functions. Understanding the technology behind tokenisation, together with the opportunities and risks it presents, is crucial. Tokenisation introduces the possibility of creating two distinct worlds: private permissioned platforms, which are regulated and governed by trusted entities, and public permissionless platforms, which operate in open, decentralised environments with limited oversight and greater risks."
On the wires
Wirex and Algorand Expand Stablecoin Payments with New USDC Integration
PR Newswire
"Wirex announced a strategic partnership with Algorand Foundation to bring USDC on Algorand to more than 7 million Wirex users and 80 million Visa-accepting merchants worldwide. Wirex users can now hold, send, and spend USDC on Algorand directly within the Wirex app, benefiting from Algorand's efficiency and low fees. Through the Wirex Visa Card, users can spend USDC with real-time conversion, zero-FX fees, and global cashback rewards. Users can seamlessly move between fiat and stablecoins via ACH, SEPA, FPS, and other local rails, supported by 1:1 fiat-to-stablecoin conversion with no spreads, hidden costs, or friction..."
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