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April 22, 2026
Top Post
ISO 20022 Is Entering Its Next Phase: How Payment Providers Can Prepare for CHAPS 2027
Progress
"The next phase of ISO 20022 is not about supporting a new message format. It is about capturing, governing and acting on structured payment data across customer channels, operations, fraud controls, compliance workflows, and downstream systems. The Bank of England’s policy statement on CHAPS makes that clear. From November 2027, Purpose Codes will become mandatory for CHAPS payments submitted through channels under the direct control of direct participants, building on the requirements already introduced in 2025."
On the web
Russia Advances Sweeping Crypto Bill With Provisions for 'Circumventing Sanctions'
Decrypt
"Russia's State Duma passed a crypto regulation bill, establishing the country's first framework for digital asset regulation while maintaining restrictions on domestic cryptocurrency payments. The legislation would classify cryptocurrency as property, enabling legal protection in court proceedings including bankruptcy and divorce cases. The bill's provisions for cross-border crypto transactions could provide Russian companies a payment mechanism outside traditional banking systems that Western nations have restricted."
Uber and Block Expand Global Partnership to Transform Restaurant Operations and Launch Cash App Pay
Block
"Block, Inc. announced a global partnership with Uber Technologies, Inc. that expands restaurant operations capabilities across multiple markets and payment flexibility in the U.S. Square's native Uber Eats integration builds on its current availability in the U.S., to include planned expansion to Canada, Australia, U.K., Ireland, France, and Spain. In addition, Cash App Pay will become available as a payment option across both Uber Eats and Uber in the U.S."
European Banks Tap Fireblocks for Mica-Compliant Euro Stablecoin
Cointelegraph
"A 12-bank European consortium led by Qivalis is partnering with Fireblocks to develop a regulated euro stablecoin under MiCA, targeting launch in the second half of 2026. European banks and policymakers are stepping up efforts to reduce reliance on dollar stablecoins in digital payments and settlement, and European banks and corporates are selecting partners and infrastructure providers to accelerate euro stablecoin initiatives across the region."
Visa And TikTok Launch New ‘Creator Card’ To Support The UK’s Next Generation Of Entrepreneurs
Visa
"Visa has partnered with TikTok to launch a debit card specifically designed for content creators in the UK. The first of its kind, the launch comes in response to the UK’s fast-growing creator economy and is designed to give creators access to the financial tools they need to run and grow their business. The new Creator Card gives creators access to tools designed to better separate business and personal finances, and follows Visa’s previous recognition of creators as small businesses and their impact on the digital economy."
Stablecoins Push Into Mainstream Payments as DoorDash Joins Tempo Network
Yahoo Finance
"Stablecoins are edging into mainstream consumer payments, and DoorDash's plan to pay Dashers through the Tempo blockchain is the latest sign that stablecoin payments are moving from crypto circles to production payment rails. The Tempo network, incubated by Stripe and crypto investor Paradigm is built specifically for stablecoin transfers rather than general smart contract activity. DoorDash joins an early lineup that includes Shopify, OpenAI, Visa, Mastercard, Klarna, UBS, Fifth Third Bank, and Howard Hughes Holdings."
Singapore’s Metacomp Rolls Out AI Agent Governance Framework for Financial Institutions, Regulators
Blockhead
"Singapore-based financial services firm MetaComp has launched what it describes as the first governance framework for AI agents operating in regulated financial services, introduced at Money20/20 Asia. Alongside the framework launch, MetaComp announced the expansion of its AgentX agentic financial services Skill ecosystem, described as the first such ecosystem from a licensed financial institution, available from today across Claude, Claude Code, OpenClaw, and other compatible AI platforms via the Model Context Protocol."
April 21, 2026
On the web
TD Visa Credit Card Customers Will Be the First in Canada to Use Virtual Card Numbers Through Google as a Payment Option on Google Chrome
Yahoo Finance
"TD Bank Group (TD) announced the availability of Virtual Card Numbers through Google as a payment option for online shopping on Google Chrome and in-app shopping. This makes TD the first Canadian financial institution where TD Visa Credit Cardholders will have the option to make online purchases without sharing their payment card details with merchants with the use of Virtual Card Numbers through Google Chrome."
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
Alogent Receives Federal Reserve Authorization to Directly Exchange X9 Check Image Files for Banks and Credit Unions
PR Newswire
"Alogent announced it has been authorized by the Federal Reserve to send and receive X9 check image exchange files on behalf of its financial institution clients, enabling end-to-end check presentment and returns without the need for intermediary processors. This direct connectivity allows banks and credit unions to consolidate capture, processing, clearing, settlement, and returns within a single, integrated Alogent platform."
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."