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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
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."
Blackhawk Network Launches Comprehensive Stored Value Platform for Consumer Engagement
Business Wire
"Global branded payments leader Blackhawk Network announced a new platform that helps brands modernize how they manage and deliver stored value. The platform enables brands to bring together existing sources of value—gift cards, refunds, promotional dollars, loyalty rewards and appeasements—into a single, consumer-facing balance. This creates a more seamless experience for consumers while BHN handles the complex accounting, compliance and expiration rules that vary across different balance types."
Euronet Expands Omnichannel Payment Solutions with Strategic Acquisition of PaynoPain
Euronet
"Euronet Worldwide announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire PaynoPain, a Spanish fintech company recognized for its digital-first, online payment solutions serving businesses of all sizes—from SMEs to large enterprises—across industries including ecommerce, hospitality, microfinance, and marketplace platforms. The acquisition strengthens Euronet’s direct merchant acquiring footprint in Spain and Portugal and supports the global expansion of omnichannel online payments and alternative payment methods."
Circle CEO Sees ‘Tremendous Opportunity’ for Yuan-Backed Stablecoin
Yahoo Finance
"Circle Internet Group sees "tremendous opportunity" for yuan-backed stablecoin as digital money becomes increasingly integrated into global trade and finance, said the chief of the world's largest regulated stablecoin issuer. China wants to expand the yuan's role in the global financial system, and stablecoins have emerged as a way to "export" a currency by making it easier for global payments, Jeremy Allaire, co-founder and CEO of Circle, told Reuters."
American Express Offers Customers Protection From Agentic Purchase Errors
MSN
"American Express extended its card member purchase protections to agentic purchases as it also introduced its agentic commerce developer kit on Tuesday. Under the protection commitment, if an American Express card member authorizes an AI agent to make a purchase and that agent sends American Express the customer's authenticated purchase intent, the credit card company will protect eligible customers from charges related to AI agent error."
Venmo Continues Its Evolution from a Peer-to-Peer App into a Money Movement App for the Next Generation
PayPal Newsroom
"Venmo today announced the expansion of Stash¹, its rewards program, giving customers a new way to earn cash back on everyday purchases from some of their favorite lifestyle brands. In addition to Venmo Debit Mastercard² purchases, customers can now earn up to 5% cash back when they pay with Venmo at select merchants in their chosen bundle¹. The expansion makes it easier than ever to turn the purchases customers are already making into tangible value each month."
On the wires
Nacha’s Payments Innovation Alliance Advances Quantum-Safe Payments Education for World Quantum Day
Business Wire
"In support of World Quantum Day, Nacha’s Payments Innovation Alliance is expanding its leadership on quantum-safe payments with the launch of a educational blog series from industry experts. The blog series builds on the Alliance’s foundational paper, “Protecting Payments in the Quantum Era: Setting a Course for Action,” which outlines how quantum computing could impact today’s cryptographic protections and what payments stakeholders should begin doing now to prepare."
April 15, 2026
On the web
The Moment Is Now: What PayPal Beyond Revealed About the Future of Commerce
PayPal Newsroom
"At PayPal Beyond 2026, the mood was clear: move with speed and intention. As leaders gathered in San Francisco, conversations centered on a simple but pressing reality – consumer behavior is shifting fast, powered by AI, and shaped by economic pressure and geopolitical uncertainty. For enterprises and partners gathered in San Francisco this week, the real question isn’t whether to adapt, it's how fast."
Harnessing the Power of ISO® 20022: Why the Global Payment Standard Matters for Fraud Mitigation
FRB Services
"The increased adoption of ISO 20022 represents a milestone for the financial services industry. The messaging standard has changed how financial data is exchanged, interpreted and used across the entire ecosystem. ISO 20022 provides more structured, richer data about financial transactions, which can enable better decisioning and analytics and operational efficiency for financial institutions. By shifting to more structured, standardized data, ISO 20022 may create opportunities to detect fraud faster, earlier, more accurately and more efficiently."
Airwallex Is About to Take On Stripe and the Rest of the Payments Industry — in the Physical World
TechCrunch
Airwallex is moving into in-person payments. The move deepens its rivalry with Stripe across the payments stack, and enables the startup to directly aim at Square and Adyen on one of the last major battlegrounds in financial technology. The startup currently boasts close to 90 regulatory licenses across 70 to 80 regions, direct connections to local payment networks in over 120 countries, and the ability to settle transactions in more than 90 currencies.
Adyen Expands Its Partnership With Lastminute By Introducing Virtual Card Issuing For Supplier Payments
Adyen
"Adyen is expanding its collaboration with lastminute.com, a European leader in dynamic holiday packages, thanks to its issuing solution. Through the use of Visa-branded prepaid virtual cards, lastminute has optimized payouts to airlines, hotels, and other suppliers, accelerating access to funds and significantly optimizing currency exchange costs."
NYC Mayor and DCWP Commissioner Announce First-In-The-Nation Municipal “Click to Cancel” Rule
The National Law Review
"NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani and NY City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) Commissioner Samuel Levine have announced a proposed rule designed to strengthen New Yorkers’ “Click to Cancel” consumer rights, cracking down on subscription traps and ensuring consumers can easily cancel automatic renewals. Following the proposed rule’s publication on April 8, 2026, and opens a 30-day public comment period. NYC would become the first municipality in the nation to enforce this level of consumer protection."
Nacha: Rising to the Challenge of First-Party Fraud
Nacha
"Nacha’s Risk Management Advisory Group (RMAG), Rules and Operations Committee, and the First-Party Fraud Workgroup are looking at ways to better identify and mitigate first-party fraud. The first steps are education and raising awareness of the problem. We have issued a series of articles describing first-party fraud and addressing actions for both ODFIs and RDFIs."
Buenos Aires Mandates Electronic Payments in Land-Based Gaming to Boost Transparency
iGamingToday.com - News, insights and Slots review
"The regulatory body that oversees gambling activities in the province of Buenos Aires has recently announced mandatory electronic betting payments. Specifically, it has been decided that interoperable QR Codes should be used when placing bets at agencies, racetracks, and gaming halls. Clearly, this initiative will have far-reaching implications since it means abandoning cash in favor of digital transactions linked to bank accounts and debit cards."
dLocal, NEC to Power Remittance Payouts Across Africa
Techeconomy
"dLocal, a cross-border payment platform connecting global merchants to emerging markets, and National Exchange Company, an Italy-based international money transfer operator serving over 5 million customers across 90+ countries worldwide, have announced a partnership to power cross-border remittance payouts across markets in Africa, APAC, and Latin America."