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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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November 3, 2025
On the web
PhonePe Rolls Out ‘PhonePe Protect’ to Safeguard Users From Fraudulent Transactions
ITVoice
"PhonePe has rolled-out ‘PhonePe Protect’– a security framework designed to safeguard users from fraudulent transactions. The feature also offers insights into the risks involved when transactions are declined for security reasons. ‘PhonePe Protect’ incorporates a mechanism to identify and block transactions directed toward mobile numbers that are flagged as suspicious by The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) through their ‘Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI)’ feature."
Afriex and Visa Bring Real-Time Cross-Border Payments to 160+ Markets
TechAfrica News
"Afriex, a global fintech platform, announced a collaboration with Visa, a world leader in digital payments, to bring real-time cross-border payments to more than 160 markets. By integrating Visa Direct through Afriex’s financial institution partner, Afriex is making it faster and easier for individuals and businesses to send and receive funds across borders."
Tokenization Takes Prime Role in Hong Kong’s Fintech 2030 Strategy
Trading View
"The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is seeking to grow the tokenization ecosystem as part of its four-pronged growth strategy for its fintech sector over the next five years. In a statement on Wednesday during Hong Kong Fintech Week, HKMA said its Fintech 2030 strategy will focus “on four strategic pillars” referred to as “DART,” covering data, artificial intelligence, resilience and tokenization across 40 initiatives."
JPYC Stablecoin Launches in Japan. Has a Fraud Compensation Policy
Ledger Insights
"JPYC went live as a Japanese regulated stablecoin. It is the first Yen stablecoin to launch under Japan’s stablecoin regulations, which came into force in 2023. The law supports three types of issuers: funds transfer service providers such as JPYC, trust banks acting for third parties, or commercial banks. By international standards, the stablecoin has a novel feature – it offers compensation for fraud under certain circumstances. The issuer also announced a Philippines deal."
Pay by Bank Now ‘Table Stakes’ for Banks and PSPs as Merchant Demand Surges
Open Banking Expo
"Merchant demand, rising market confidence, and robust growth expectations have made Pay by Bank table stakes for banks and payment service providers (PSPs), with 59% of banks and 90% of PSPs now offering, or planning to offer, Pay by Bank services. These are the findings detailed in a new survey report published by the leading A2A payment infrastructure provider, Token.io, and Open Banking Expo."
Starling Bank Launches UK-First AI Tool [UK]
Banking Exchange
"The tool seeks to provide customers with detailed fraud risk assessments, enabling them to make informed decisions regarding their transactions. The tool, which is available to personal, joint, and business account holders, represents the first time a UK bank has integrated an AI-powered scam detection feature directly into its app."
Payments Passkeys Cases: Mastercard & Pix (Authenticate '25)
Corbado
"At Authenticate 2025, one theme stood out: Payments are becoming the next frontier for passkeys. What began as a technology for logging into apps and accounts is now transforming how people pay - whether in e-commerce checkouts, mobile wallets, or real-time transfer systems. The payment industry, long shaped by complex compliance requirements and entrenched legacy infrastructure, is now embracing passkeys to make authentication both phishing-resistant and frictionless."
On the wires
Marqeta Powers Expansion of Klarna Debit Card Across Europe
Business Wire
"Marqeta, Inc. announced it is working with Klarna, to expand the Klarna Card into 15 new European markets. This launch extends Marqeta’s long-term partnership with Klarna and leverages Visa’s Flexible Credential (VFC) technology, enabling customers to choose between paying now or later, all through a single debit card experience."
ACI Worldwide Acquires European Fintech Payment Components to Augment ACI Connetic
Business Wire
"ACI Worldwide announced that it has acquired Payment Components, a provider of AI-powered financial messaging and Open Banking solutions. ACI will integrate Payment Components technology into ACI Connetic, accelerating the roadmap of the industry's only cloud-native unified payments platform that seamlessly integrates account-to-account (A2A) payments, card processing, and AI-powered fraud prevention within a single, modular cloud-native architecture."
Ant Group to Strengthen Support for Hong Kong's Global Finance and Tech Leadership with AI, GoGlobal Services
Business Wire
"Eric Jing, Chairman of Ant Group, reaffirmed Ant’s commitment to deepening cross-sector collaboration on regulated AI and tokenization innovation in the territory, and to expanding its cross-border payment and trade financing services to support Hong Kong’s initiative to help Chinese businesses go global."
October 31, 2025
On the web
JP Morgan Launches Private Fund Tokenization Solution
Ledger Insights
"Kinexys by JP Morgan has launched its latest offering, Kinexys Fund Flow, to streamline fund distribution, particularly for alternative funds. It partnered with fund administrator Citco for the first transaction, which involved tokenizing a private equity fund made available to clients of JP Morgan Private Bank. The solution uses JP Morgan’s Kinexys permissioned blockchain, the same distributed ledger that powers its blockchain-based bank account."
Splitwise and Tink Expand Pay by Bank Across Europe
IBS Intelligence
"Splitwise has partnered with Tink, a Visa Solution, to bring Pay by Bank to users in France, Germany, and Austria. Splitwise’s European growth strategy underscores both companies’ commitment to driving digital transformation and seamless financial experiences through open banking technology.
Tink and Coinbase Introduce Pay by Bank for Crypto in Germany
Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News
"Swedish open banking platform Tink and Coinbase have partnered to enable crypto purchases via Pay by Bank in Germany. Pay by Bank is an open banking-powered payment method that allows consumers to transfer money directly between bank accounts without manual data entry."
Education: What Is Tokenization?
IMF
"Thousands of years ago, long before coins, paper money, credit cards, and banking apps, our ancestors bought and sold goods using cowries, a type of seashell. These shiny physical tokens were humankind’s first financial innovation. What made them especially useful was that they were easy to verify: When someone handed you a cowrie shell, you could see it, feel it, and trust that it had value."
October 30, 2025
Top Post
US Judge Blocks Consumer Agency’s 'Open Banking' Rules for Now
U.S. News & World Report
"A coalition of banking groups has convinced a federal judge to temporarily block enforcement of a U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule aimed at making it easier for consumers to switch financial-service providers. In a ruling Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Danny Reeves in Lexington, Kentucky, paused compliance deadlines for the so-called “open banking” rule in a lawsuit brought by Forcht Bank, the Kentucky Bankers Association and the Bank Policy Institute."
On the web
Google Finally Opens Up the Play Store’s Gates in the US
Android Authority
"Google is opening up the Play Store in the US, allowing users to download apps and make payments outside it starting October 29, 2025. Developers can now link to external app stores or payment options and offer cheaper deals directly to users. The change follows a court order in Google’s legal battle with Epic Games and currently applies only in the United States."
A Deep Dive Into the QR Code Payment Revolution With Matera
Federal Reserve
"Picture this: Instead of waiting days or weeks to receive medical, utility and other bills in the mail, they are sent directly to your email via QR code. The QR code can be used with your bank’s mobile app, and after confirming payment details, your payment is processed and settled within seconds. Matera, a leading provider of QR code and payment technologies, and its banking partner, Payfinia, recently demonstrated the first QR code payment sent over the FedNow® Service."
Western Union Announces USDPT Stablecoin on Solana and Digital Asset Network
Western Union
"The Western Union Company announced its plan to launch U.S. Dollar Payment Token (USDPT), its new stablecoin, and an innovative Digital Asset Network designed to bridge the digital and fiat worlds, enabling real world utility for digital assets. Built on Solana and issued by Anchorage Digital Bank, Western Union aims to launch USDPT, expanding the ways to move money for customers, agents and partners, and to support the company’s treasury capabilities."
Toast Expands Toast IQ from Smart Features to Smart AI Assistant
Toast
"Toast announced a major expansion of the Toast IQ intelligence ecosystem with a conversational AI assistant for restaurants and food and beverage retailers. With access to real-time and historical data across approximately 148,000 customer locations, Toast IQ is purpose-built for hospitality and designed as an operator’s “right hand.” While many AI tools stop at answers, Toast IQ goes further—proactively surfacing insights and executing tasks directly within Toast."
Eurosystem Moving to Next Phase of Digital Euro Project
European Central Bank
"The Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) has decided to move to the next phase of the digital euro project. This decision follows the successful completion of the preparation phase. The Governing Council’s decision aligns with European leaders’ request to accelerate progress on the digital euro, as recently stated at the October 2025 Euro Summit."
IBM Announces New Platform for Financial Institutions and Regulated Enterprises Entering the Digital Asset Economy
IBM Newsroom
"IBM announced the launch of IBM Digital Asset Haven, a comprehensive platform for financial institutions, governments, and corporations to securely manage and scale their digital asset operations. Banks and governments now have a single solution to manage their digital asset lifecycle – from custody to transactions to settlement – that helps them meet compliance obligations while being integration-ready."
Real-Time Payments Systems: A Force for Transformation
OMFIF
"A vibrant, safe and innovative RTP ecosystem depends on conditions that are co-created by the public and private sectors. Success is defined by three core imperatives: security, interoperability and digital extensibility. A new report published by OMFIF and Mastercard, Future-proofing the architecture of real-time payments, finds that these three dimensions must be advanced in parallel to realise the promise of safe, inclusive and future-ready payments ecosystems that enable broad participation across stakeholders."
On the wires
CPI Card Group Partners With Karta to Deliver Groundbreaking Digital Security for Prepaid Cards
Business Wire
"CPI Card Group Inc. announced a strategic partnership with, and a minority equity investment in, Karta, an Australia-based prepaid program manager and payments technology firm. The partnership offers CPI clients a solution for prepaid card security by integrating Karta’s patent-pending SafeToBuy technology. SafeToBuy eliminates printed card numbers and details from gift card packaging with data and security embedded in an EMV chip, which helps mitigate the fraudulent draining of a prepaid card."
October 29, 2025
On the web
DeCard Unlocks Stablecoin Payments for 150M+ Merchants Globally, Powered by Polygon
Polygon
"DeCard, a next-gen card platform by DCS (formerly Diners Club Singapore), has integrated on Polygon Users can make USDT0 and USDC deposits directly into DeCard and DeCard Luminaries accounts and spend instantly at over 150 million merchants worldwide This is one of the largest real-world rollouts of stablecoin utility to date, bringing speed, affordability, and mainstream usability to stablecoins"
PNC Bank, Visa Announce Collaboration on Immediate Payment Capabilities Through Visa Direct
PNC Financial Services Group
"PNC Bank, N.A., and Visa Inc. announced a renewed strategic collaboration that will further expand immediate1 payments capabilities available to PNC Treasury Management clients. The initiative utilizes Visa Direct’s expansive U.S. network and PNC’s leading Treasury Management Platform to provide clients with access to differentiated payment capabilities, delivering streamlined and efficient money-movement and payment processes."
Google Taps Yepily to Power Bank Account Verification in Europe
IBS Intelligence
"Yapily has partnered with Google to enable the rollout of Google’s bank account verification service for business customers across Europe. The partnership marks a significant milestone in advancing digital finance, combining Yapily’s secure, API-driven connectivity with Google’s innovative financial technology to deliver a seamless, fast, and trusted verification experience for businesses. The announcement comes at a pivotal time for open banking in Europe, as adoption continues to accelerate across markets."
M-PESA Ethiopia Integrates with EthSwitch to Advance Financial Inclusion and Interoperability
TechAfrica News
"M-PESA Ethiopia has announced the successful integration of its mobile money platform with EthSwitch, Ethiopia’s national payment network, marking a major milestone in the country’s journey toward financial inclusion and interoperability. The integration enables seamless money transfers and payments between M-PESA and 15 participating banks and mobile wallets across Ethiopia, with more integrations planned in the coming weeks."
Bringing Agentic Payments to Life with Marqeta’s MCP Server
Marqeta
"As part of bringing agentic payments to life, Marqeta’s Model Context Protocol (MCP) Server allows our customers to connect to our extensive payment APIs. An MCP server is an open-source standard developed by Anthropic for connecting AI applications to external systems, allowing them to access key information and perform complex tasks."
On the wires
Thunes and Ecobank Group To Power Africa's Instant Payments for the Next Billion Users
PR Newswire
"Thunes and Ecobank Group, the leading pan-African financial institution, announced a collaboration which will enable instant cross-border payments for millions of individuals and businesses across Sub-Saharan Africa. The partnership operationalizes the landmark memorandum of understanding signed between Ecobank and TransferTo, Thunes' holding company, in 2024. That agreement envisioned a fundamental transformation of financial access and cross-border payment solutions across Africa."
Balance Introduces MCP Server, Enabling AI Agents to Analyze and Manage B2B Payments in Real Time
Business Wire
"Balance, an AI-powered financial infrastructure platform for B2B commerce, announced its beta release of the Balance Model Context Protocol (MCP) Server, enabling customers’ AI agents to directly communicate with Balance’s payments, credit, and receivables APIs. By connecting Balance to Large Language Models through MCP, merchants can unlock real-time buyer intelligence and act on it without leaving their preferred AI chat interface."
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