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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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January 16, 2026
On the web
Payments Fintech dLocal Plans Business Expansion into Asian Markets
Crowdfund Insider
"dLocal Ltd is set to significantly strengthen its footprint in Asia during 2026. The Uruguay-based fintech company, which enables global merchants to seamlessly connect with consumers in high-growth regions across Latin America and Asia, views the continent as a critical area for long-term expansion. In an interview at the Punta Tech Meetup conference in Uruguay, CEO Pedro Arnt highlighted the scale of opportunity in Asia, describing the initiative as a multi-year endeavor."
China-Led Cross-Border Digital Currency Platform Sees Surge in Transactions
The Business Times
"Transactions on a new China-led digital currency platform have surged to over US$55 billion, a new report shows. It is the latest sign that efforts to build alternatives to US-dollar-dependent global payment systems are gaining traction. Data crunched by the Washington-based Atlantic Council showed the prototype mBridge platform had now processed more than 4,000 cross-border transactions. It is being tested by central banks in China, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), among others."
Mobile Payments on the Rise, Cash Continues to Decrease [UAE]
Visa Middle East
"Across the UAE, payment habits continue to rapidly evolve, with more consumers embracing faster, more secure digital experiences. Visa’s third edition of its ‘Where Cash Hides’ report¹ shows 68% of UAE consumers are largely non-cash users, making most of their payments with payments cards or mobile devices. This is an increase of 7% compared with last year, highlighting a clear move away from relying on cash."
Education: Agentic Payments and Crypto’s Emerging Role in the AI Economy
Galaxy
"AI agents promise to transform the internet landscape. Already, continuous improvements in artificial intelligence have enabled agents to serve as coding assistants, shopping concierges, planning tools, and all other manner of subject-matter experts. They represent a powerful new primitive for how humans interact with the internet, mainly because they remove much of the need for humans themselves to directly engage with browsers and search engines."
On the wires
Visa Supports Chinese Cardholders to Add Cards to Apple Pay for a More Convenient and Secure Payment Experience
PR Newswire
"Visa announced its support for Chinese Visa cardholders to pay with Apple Pay. Together with Apple, Visa will enable Chinese cardholders to add Visa cards from participating banks to Apple Pay and make payments at overseas Visa-accepting merchants, in-store, in-app and online. Today, 79 percent of in-person transactions globally are made contactlessly with NFC."
January 15, 2026
Top Post
Senate Banking Committee Cancels Crypto Market Structure Markup
Coindesk
"The U.S. Senate Banking Committee will no longer be marking up its crypto market structure bill Thursday, after crypto exchange Coinbase publicly withdrew its support for the legislation on Wednesday and other rifts in the negotiation had already put it on unsteady footing. The market structure bill, aimed at defining how federal regulators oversee the U.S. crypto industry, was postponed late Wednesday and a new date was not set, according to a statement from committee Chairman Tim Scott."
On the web
Infographic: Fednow® Service 2025 Recap
FRB Services
"Momentum of the network is strong. Participating financial institutions are leveraging the service to meet demands, improve customer experience and gain a competitive edge. Nearly 1,600 participating financials institutions across all 50 states. Click to see more."
Scammers in China Are Using AI-Generated Images to Get Refunds
WIRED
"Online shopping platforms have long depended on photos submitted by customers to confirm that refund requests are legitimate. But generative AI is now starting to break that system....This problem isn’t unique to China. Forter, a New York-based fraud detection company, estimates that AI-doctored images used in refund claims have increased by more than 15 percent since the start of the year, and are continuing to rise globally."
Will Affirm's Smart Underwriting Shift Redefine BNPL Risk?
TradingView
"Affirm recently upgraded how it evaluates credit risk by embedding richer real-time financial signals into its underwriting process, like up-to-the-minute bank account balances and cash flow trends. Instead of relying mostly on static credit reports or past behavior, Affirm now adds dynamic data that shows how a consumer’s finances look at the moment they want to make a purchase. This upgrade is already live for Affirm Card users who link a third-party bank account or use an Affirm Money Account, and it will soon be offered more broadly to anyone who opts in to link their banking data."
Worldline Empowers Agentic Commerce With New AI Capabilities
Worldline
"Worldline is introducing new capabilities to connect AI agents to its global payment ecosystem, making payments agent-ready and enabling merchants to experiment with AI-powered workflows and commerce experiences. Worldline’s Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers on the Global Collect platform address this by acting as a secure bridge and translation layer between LLMs and Worldline’s APIs, enabling AI agents to initiate payment actions via natural language."
Digital Wallets Become the Fastest-Growing Payment Method in Brazilian E-Commerce in 2025, PCMI/EBANX Reports
EBANX
"Digital wallet usage in Brazilian e-commerce surged 20% last year, making it the country’s fastest-growing payment method in 2025, according to an EBANX analysis of Payments and Commerce Market Intelligence (PCMI) data. The Year-over-Year 2024–2025 increase exceeded Pix’s. Brazil’s flagship instant payment system grew 18% over the same period."
Mastercard, Visa and Revolut Lose Legal Challenge Over Card Fee Cap Plans [UK]
MSN
"Mastercard, Visa and Revolut have lost a legal challenge against the UK payments regulator's plans to introduce a cap on card fees on international transactions. The three firms brought a case at London's High Court after the Payments System Regulator (PSR) said in December 2024 that it would consult on introducing a cap on interchange fees."
China’s Digital Yuan Architect Accused of $8M Crypto Bribery Scheme
Cryptonews
"Yao Qian, the former architect of China’s digital yuan, accepted crypto bribes worth over $8 million while holding senior regulatory positions, Chinese state media revealed this week. The case exposes how corrupt officials exploited the same blockchain technology Yao helped develop to conceal illicit transactions through hardware wallets and anonymous transfers."
Jamie Dimon Warns a ‘Parallel Banking System’ Is Emerging—and It Could Put Trillions in Deposits at Risk
Inc.
"Stablecoins that offer interest-bearing rewards may increasingly resemble bank deposits. But unlike traditional deposits, they lack the regulatory safeguards that undergird the banking system. That gap, according to Jamie Dimon, risks creating what he calls a “parallel banking system.”"
Afterpay Data Reveals 96% of U.S. Customers Paid Off Black Friday Cyber Monday Purchases Early or On Time
Block
"Afterpay announced that 96% of its U.S. Pay-in-4 customers who shopped during the 2025 Black Friday and Cyber Monday period paid off their purchases early or on time. The data reflects a broader trend of consumers using Afterpay as a tool to manage holiday spending responsibly—without the burden of interest charges or revolving debt that often accompany traditional credit card purchases."
Recycling the Narrative on Cash
ABA Banking Journal
"Contrary to popular narratives, cash usage may be declining, but it is far from dead. Data from the Federal Reserve and industry studies show that cash usage remains significant for older and low-income consumers, unbanked households and as a contingency payment option. Consumers hold more cash than before the pandemic and rely on its reliability and anonymity, reinforcing the need for banks to maintain consistent cash access."
Nacha: EFT Healthcare Claim Payments Continue to Rise in 2025
Nacha
"It’s a trend that started more than a decade ago: Every year there’s a steady climb in the number of ACH healthcare claim payments from insurers to healthcare providers, and the value of those payments. 2025 is no exception, and the figures are impressive. Last year’s payments were worth a combined $2.94 trillion, up almost 11% from 2024, and a jump of 234% from 2014."
January 14, 2026
On the web
Open Banking Limited Marks 8 Years of Transforming the UK’s Financial Landscape
Open Banking
"Open Banking Limited (OBL) marks the 8th anniversary of open banking in the UK – an innovation made possible by the implementation of PSD2,- and a pivotal moment for the UK economy. This milestone comes as the FCA, in a recent letter to the Prime Minister, identified open banking as a key initiative to drive national growth and unlock new use cases, particularly SME lending."
Deutsche Bank Expands Support for PayPal to Strengthen Global Payment Capabilities
PayPal
"PayPal and Deutsche Bank announced the expansion of their long-standing relationship that will deliver enhanced payment solutions across the United States, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. Under this expanded agreement, Deutsche Bank will scale up the merchant settlement, payouts, and begin withdrawals and collection solutions for PayPal in the US. In Europe and Asia-Pacific, Deutsche Bank will support PayPal in various ways as well."
Visa Partners With BVNK to Enable Stablecoin Payouts on Visa Direct
Decrypt
"Payments giant Visa has partnered with London-based stablecoin infrastructure provider BVNK to enable stablecoin-funded payouts across Visa Direct, expanding the network’s payment options beyond traditional fiat rails. Under the partnership, BVNK will power stablecoin payments for Visa Direct, Visa’s $1.7 trillion money-movement platform."
Visa 2026 Global Economic Outlook: AI Adoption and Shifting Trade Patterns Drive Economic Transformation Beneath Steady Growth
Visa
"Visa forecasts structural economic transformation driven by AI adoption, supply chain rewiring and accelerating business investment that supports stable 2.7% global growth. Global GDP projected to grow 2.7% in 2026, with surface stability masking fundamental shifts in trade, technology and demographics; Rise in business investment gains should offset softening consumption; Small businesses outpace consumers in AI adoption, with AI-integrating firms showing significantly higher transaction growth"
FIS Launches Industry-First Offering Enabling Banks to Lead and Scale in Agentic Commerce
FIS Global
"FIS® announced the launch of its first offering to enable agentic commerce on the heels of announcing the close of the acquisition of its FIS® Total Issuing™ Solutions portfolio. FIS’ new agentic commerce offering is the first to enable banks to safely and securely conduct commerce with AI agents and card networks."
Klarna Expands Digital Bank Offer With Peer-To-Peer Payments
Klarna
"Klarna has launched instant peer-to-peer payments in 13 European countries, marking the next step in its evolution as a digital bank. The new feature enables Klarna customers to send money to friends and family, whether splitting bills or gifting cash, directly from the Klarna app: as simple as handing someone cash, with the protection of a regulated bank."
January 13, 2026
On the web
Marshall, Durbin Reintroduce Credit Card Competition Act Backed by President Trump
Senator Roger Marshall
"On Tuesday, Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-Kansas) and Senator Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) reintroduced the Credit Card Competition Act, which was endorsed by President Trump early this morning. This legislation will increase competition in the credit card market and put an end to the Visa-Mastercard duopoly that is squeezing small businesses — and, ultimately, consumers."
Ingenico Launches Digital Currency Solution, Enabling Stablecoin Payments at Physical Checkouts, in Partnership With Walletconnect Pay
Ingenico
"Ingenico announced a partnership with WalletConnect Pay to enable stablecoin payments directly at checkout. The integration allows merchants to accept supported stablecoins, giving customers additional payment options and convenience when making purchases."
Non-Traditional Payment Method Acceptance and Customer Surcharges Grow Significantly at U.S. Small Businesses, J.D. Power Finds
J. D. Power
"Rising consumer interest in digital wallets, debit and credit cards, BNPL and even cryptocurrency has small business owners accepting more forms of payment than ever before, which puts third-party merchant services providers at the center of their livelihoods. According to the J.D. Power 2026 U.S. Merchant Services Satisfaction Study released, the manner and speed with which transactions are processed, as well as the ability to manage costs and avoid software and hardware glitches, have become critical drivers of satisfaction with merchant services providers."
Why Your Bank May Block Your Next Zelle Payment
NBC 7 San Diego
"Many banks are adding security measures and reminders to consumers who use Zelle. NBC 7 Responds contacted major banks and asked about their strategies to protect customers including Chase, Citibank, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and others."
Rising Payment Costs Push Uber to Drop Visa in Kenya
TechCabal
"Ride-hailing giant Uber has stopped accepting VISA cards in Kenya, cutting off a payment option once central to its pitch to business travellers and expatriates in East Africa’s biggest e-hailing market. Uber confirmed the decision, which took effect in January, in a statement to TechCabal, pointing to a review of payment methods following a jump in global costs."
On the wires
Blackhawk Network Launches Category-Specific Prepaid Rewards Card for Fuel, EV Charging and Grocery Applications
Business Wire
"Blackhawk Network is expanding its partnership with Mastercard® to launch two new filtered prepaid card rewards products: the Drive Prepaid Card and the Grocery Prepaid Card. Designed to support more purposeful and relevant payment programs, these cards provide flexible reward options in high-demand redemption categories that align with targeted business goals."
Ingenico, Samsung, and Talus Bring a Mobile Business Operating Solution to North America
PR Newswire
"Ingenico, Samsung Electronics America, Inc. , and Talus, have partnered to bring a modern mobile business operating solution to the North American marketplace. With Ingenico SoftPOS tap-to-pay capabilities, the Talus mobile app transforms NFC-compatible Samsung mobile devices into payments terminals. No dedicated payments hardware is required."
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