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April 21, 2026
On the web
EthSwitch Moves to Launch Merchant Portal and AI-Driven Credit Scoring System [Ethiopia]
Birr Metrics
"EthSwitch is preparing to introduce a merchant portal and a credit scoring framework as part of its next phase of infrastructure development, aimed at deepening payment interoperability and expanding financial inclusion in Ethiopia’s digital financial system. The national payments switch has already deployed the ETHQR interoperable QR standard and a Request to Pay (RTP) feature within its instant payments ecosystem. The merchant portal is designed to address persistent gaps in payment visibility, settlement confirmation, and reconciliation at the point of sale."
Nium and Coinbase Partner to Power Global Stablecoin Payments and Settlement
PR Newswire
"Nium, the global infrastructure leader for real-time cross-border payments, announced a partnership with Coinbase to enable USDC stablecoin payments across its platform. The integration is now live and available to Nium's clients, with Coinbase serving as the stablecoin payments and liquidity infrastructure, wallet provider and regulated custodian. Nium clients can now send and receive stablecoins and convert stablecoin to fiat for payouts – giving businesses a single, unified platform to transact across both onchain and fiat rails."
Achieva Credit Union Invests in Payfinia to Expand Real-Time Payments Strategy
City Biz
"Achieva Credit Union has invested in Payfinia’s credit union service organization, deepening a partnership aimed at expanding instant payment capabilities and accelerating the Florida lender’s digital payments strategy. The credit union, which has about $3 billion in assets and more than 200,000 members, said the investment will support faster money movement services for both consumer and business customers while giving Achieva a role in shaping Payfinia’s future product roadmap."
Cryptocurrencies How Mastercard Plans To Process Card Payments Through Stablecoins
CoinSpot
"Mastercard is integrating stablecoins into card settlements. Banks will be able to use digital dollars like SoFiUSD. A partnership with SoFi Technologies will allow SoFi Bank to settle in SoFiUSD. The Galileo platform will open up this model to other banks and fintech companies as well. This is specifically about the post-payment settlement stage. Nothing will change for users—they will continue to pay with cards as usual. But the settlements between banks may go through blockchain and digital assets. Using its Multi-Token Network, Mastercard plans to support various forms of tokenized money, including stablecoins, tokenized deposits, and digital equivalents of fiat currencies."
Sector Risk Advisory: Preparing the Enterprise for AI-Enabled Vulnerability Discovery
FSISAC
"Recent announcements of AI frontier models’ advanced vulnerability discovery and chaining capabilities to create exploits indicate an important change in the risk landscape for financial services. Traditional assumptions and approaches for vulnerability management no longer hold. FS-ISAC recommends the following as part of a fundamental shift in operations to manage cybersecurity and resilience risks."
dLocal Launches Seamless Stablecoin Integration for Payments in Emerging Markets
dLocal
"dLocal the leading cross-border payments platform connecting global merchants to Emerging Markets, announced the launch of Stablecoin Full, a complete stablecoin solution that enables merchants to collect, convert, and pay out funds using stablecoins across high-growth economies. Stablecoin Full enables global merchants to accept and send payments in stablecoins, fund and settle transactions in digital assets, and optimize their treasury operations across 44+ emerging markets, all through a single API."
Alipay Enables AI Agents to Complete User-Approved Payments
Lets Data Science
"Alipay has added a payments capability to its AI agent ecosystem, letting OpenClaw-type agents complete purchases with explicit user approval. The feature builds on Alipay AI Pay, introduced in 2025, and requires agent installation, identity verification, and per-transaction authorization. It is pre-installed on Alibaba Cloud's JVS Claw and available on Ant Group Digital Technologies' DTClaw, and supports third-party agents such as Claude Code and Hermes Agent."
On the wires
Thunes Launches Real-Time Payments into New Zealand
PR Newswire
"Thunes, the Smart Superhighway to move money around the world, announced the expansion of its Direct Global Network with the launch of direct, real-time Pay-to-Bank services into New Zealand. This expansion enhances Thunes' cross-border payment capabilities in the Asia-Pacific region. With this launch, users can easily transfer NZD directly to New Zealand bank accounts. Transactions can be made either through a direct API integration to Thunes or by leveraging existing Swift connectivity."
ION Brings Mandatory EU Payee Verification Live at Scale
PR Newswire
"ION Treasury, a global provider of treasury and risk management solutions for corporations, financial institutions, and central banks, announced the introduction of Verification of Payee (VoP) capabilities across its treasury solutions. This enables customers to comply with a major EU payments regulation as it moves into active enforcement."
EBANX Expands Recurring Alternative Payments Offering, Unlocks a 1 Billion User Potential Across 12 Emerging Markets
PR Newswire
"EBANX, a global payment technology company connecting merchants with consumers and businesses in emerging markets announces the expansion of its offering for recurring alternative payment methods (APMs) to six more countries across Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America: the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, South Africa, Colombia, and Peru."
April 20, 2026
Top Post
ABA: Illinois Interchange Law Will ‘Wreck Havoc’ on Payment Systems
ABA Banking Journal
"If enforcement of an Illinois law restricting interchange fees is not prevented before July 1, it will upend the debit- and credit-card operations of federally chartered financial institutions and wreak havoc on the national payment-processing system, the American Bankers Association, Illinois Bankers Association and other plaintiffs told a federal appeals court."
On the web
Mastercard Builds AI Foundation Model to Power Payments, Security and Personalization
CDO Magazine
"Mastercard is developing a new artificial intelligence foundation model trained on billions of anonymized transactions, aiming to enhance payments, cybersecurity and customer experiences across its network. The model is designed as an “insights engine” rather than a chatbot, using structured financial data to predict transaction patterns and improve decision-making across services such as fraud detection, loyalty programs and analytics. To build the system, Mastercard is using a type of deep learning architecture known as a large tabular model (LTM) which differs from the large language models used in popular chatbots."
Coinbase Now Lets UK Users Borrow Against Their Bitcoin and Ethereum
Decrypt
"Crypto exchange Coinbase has expanded its lending service, now allowing U.K. customers to borrow USDC stablecoins using their Bitcoin or Ethereum holdings as collateral. The service operates through Morpho, an open-source lending protocol on Base—the Coinbase-backed Ethereum layer-2 network—that powers Coinbase's crypto-backed loans. U.K. users can pledge cryptocurrency as collateral to access USDC liquidity without liquidating their digital assets."
FinCEN, Office of Foreign Assets Control Propose Anti-Money-Laundering Program and Sanctions Requirements for Stablecoin Issuers
Sidley
"The U.S. Department of the Treasury, through the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a joint notice of proposed rulemaking on April 8, 2026, to implement the anti-money-laundering (AML) and sanctions compliance provisions of the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act (GENIUS Act), establishing a regulatory framework for permitted payment stablecoin issuers (PPSIs), hereinafter collectively “the proposed rule."
Where Are Bitcoin ATMs Banned?
ATM Marketplace
"Bitcoin ATMs have seen significant growth over the 2020s, from just over 6,000 machines to just under 40,000 ATMs today, according to data from Coin ATM Radar. However, these machines have not been accepted everywhere, and some countries, localities and one state have banned crypto ATMs entirely due to a rise in fraud. Read on to find out which places in the world have banned bitcoin ATMs or have announced bans."
Same Day ACH Gains Lead to First Quarter ACH Network Growth
Nacha
"Double-digit growth in Same Day ACH volume and value helped propel the ACH Network to a strong start in the first quarter of 2026. There were 403 million Same Day ACH payments, up 23.6% from the first quarter of 2025. Those payments were valued at $1.1 trillion, a 22.1% gain over a year ago, and the second straight quarter in which Same Day ACH value topped the $1 trillion mark."
Global Cooperation on Stablecoins Critically Important, BIS Says
BIS
"The head of the Bank for International Settlements has made a renewed call for international cooperation on how stablecoins are used, describing it as vital to prevent severe market fragmentation. The central bankers’ central bank, as the BIS is known, has long raised concerns about stablecoins - a type of cryptocurrency usually pegged 1:1 to the U.S. dollar."
UnionPay Launches Agentic Payment Open Protocol Framework
Antara News
"UnionPay has released the Agentic Payment Open Protocol (APOP) framework – UnionPay's solution for agent-based payments. The APOP framework aims to establish a unified trust mechanism and interaction paradigm. By connecting players in the agentic payment ecosystem through trusted routing, it enables any compatible agent, merchant, financial institution, and technology platform to integrate on a plug-and-play basis, and to easily and securely participate in the complex processes of agentic payments."
April 17, 2026
On the web
What Is a Stablecoin Settlement Layer and Why It Matters for Africa
The Nation Newspaper
"In traditional finance, payment and settlement are two different things. A payment is the instruction to move money (like a swipe of a credit card). Settlement is the actual movement of the underlying asset. In Africa’s current banking landscape, settlement is a game of digital promises. Because local banks often lack direct relationships with one another across borders, they rely on a global web of intermediaries. A stablecoin settlement layer, however, is a blockchain-based rail where the payment and the settlement happen simultaneously."
EBANX Adds New Markets, Targets Asia Growth
IBS Intelligence
"Ebanx is expanding its global footprint by adding Thailand, Indonesia and Turkey to its payments network, while preparing to enter Malaysia and Vietnam in the next quarter. The move marks a further step in the company’s strategy to strengthen its presence in Southeast Asia and other emerging markets. Ebanx connects global merchants with local payment methods, helping companies operate in regions where card usage remains limited."
Financial Data Exchange Launches Initiative Promoting Safe Financial Data Sharing With Agentic AI
Open Banking Expo
"The Financial Data Exchange is launching a new initiative to promote safety and innovation when AI agents are used by consumers and companies to transmit sensitive financial account data. FDX is putting out a Call for Input to solicit stakeholder feedback on questions related to Agentic AI and its implications for data sharing. In tandem, FDX is releasing an Exploration Brief, which presents an initial framing of how agentic AI is being used in user-permissioned financial data sharing, the potential implications, and new problem areas to be solved."
Nearly Half of BNPL Users Have Paid Late in the Past Year, up for a Second Straight Year
LendingTree
"Nearly half of buy now, pay later users say they’ve paid late on a BNPL loan in the past year. 47% of users say they’ve paid late in the past year, up from 41% in 2025 and 34% in 2024. (Another 15% say they’ve paid late before, but not in the past year.) However, 72% of late payers say their most recent late payment was no more than a week or so late."
Education: From Queues to QR Codes: India’s Payment Revolution
Government of India
"India’s financial journey has evolved over centuries from barter systems and cowrie shells to coins, paper currency, and cheques. For much of its modern history, cash remained the dominant mode of transaction. The early 2000s marked the beginning of digital transformation in payments. The Reserve Bank of India introduced systems like Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) in 2004 and Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) in 2010, enabling faster and round-the-clock transfers."
Illinois Retail Merchants Association Condemns Federal Move to Overturn State Swipe Fee Law
WFIW
"The Illinois Retail Merchants Association is speaking out against a federal plan to overrule a new Illinois law designed to offer relief to businesses and consumers from swipe fees charged on credit and debit card transactions. On Monday, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced its intention to preempt Illinois’ Interchange Fee Prohibition Act. The state law, recently upheld by a judge, prohibits banks and credit card companies from charging swipe fees on the tax and tip portion of transactions when consumers pay by card."
April 16, 2026
Top Post
Early Warning Sharpens Financial Fraud Intelligence with Certos
Early Warning
"Early Warning Services LLC, the company behind Zelle® and the Paze® digital wallet, announced the launch of CertosSM, a unified brand portfolio of its fraud and identity risk solutions that help financial institutions stop fraud and expand financial access in the U.S. banking system. “Building on Early Warning’s proven scale, Certos brings together decades of trusted fraud prevention capabilities under a unified brand with a critical role in protecting financial trust and expanding financial inclusion,” said Andrea Gilman, chief marking officer of Early Warning."
On the web
Charles Schwab Announces Details of Spot Crypto Trading Launch
Charles Schwab
"Charles Schwab announced Schwab Crypto™, a spot crypto trading offer that will begin a phased rollout to retail clients in the coming weeks. Schwab Crypto will provide direct access to bitcoin and ethereum trading, combined with educational content and experienced professional support all at a great value. At launch, Schwab Crypto will include direct trading in bitcoin and ethereum, two of the most well-known and established cryptocurrencies, which together represent approximately three-quarters of the crypto market capitalization.....:"
CPI and Fiserv Forge Major Alliance to Modernize Instant Issuance Experience for Financial Institutions
CPI Card Group
"CPI Card Group Inc. and Fiserv announced an alliance that brings advanced instant issuance capabilities to Fiserv’s bank and credit union customers through CPI’s market-leading software-as-service, Card@Once. CPI is advancing a unified payments issuance strategy, expanding its proprietary technology platform that combines digital and physical card offerings through technology integrations, allowing financial institutions to easily access solutions through their preferred core or payment processing providers."
American Express to Acquire Hyper, Adding to Its AI Expertise and Expense Management Capabilities
American Express
"American Express announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Hypercard (Hyper), an agentic expense management company, adding to Amex’s AI expertise and capabilities across its commercial services business. Hyper’s team of AI experts will help American Express continue to build agentic tools and AI-powered solutions that help businesses automate processes and simplify operations."
Earn on Stablecoin Balances: Fireblocks Launches Native Yield Offerings
Fireblocks
"Fireblocks is launching Earn, a new feature that provides native access to onchain lending directly within the platform. This allows customers to potentially earn yield by supplying their stablecoin balances to lend-borrow markets and curated strategies. This new capability is seamlessly integrated into the Fireblocks platform, offering customers the same reliable experience they expect, including familiar approval workflows, transaction signing, and position tracking."
Click to Cancel: The UK’s New Subscription Contract Regime
Whitecase
"The UK Government has published its plans for implementing the new subscription contracts regime established under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCCA). The new regime will introduce "cooling-off" periods at the end of free trials and upon auto-renewal, alongside new obligations designed to make it "straightforward" for consumers to cancel unwanted subscriptions. With implementation targeted for Spring 2027, businesses are strongly recommended to begin their compliance planning now."