PAYMENTS ON FIRE RESOURCE CENTER
Smart thinking for smart payments professionals
Payments On Fire is the industry’s leading resource center for payments professionals. Here, you’ll find the resources and thought leadership that only Glenbrook’s experienced team can provide. Curated news stories, insightful opinion papers, provocative podcasts, and more – it’s all the thinking you need to stay competitive in a dynamic payments world.
Search by Topic:
Search Payments on Fire:
November 10, 2025
Stablecoins Surpass Bitcoin as Go‑To Cryptocurrency for Illicit Transactions
Bitget
“While stablecoins aim to keep their value steady by being tied to fiat currencies, their expanding presence in digital finance has made them central to the movement of funds within blockchain networks. They play a vital role in decentralized finance (DeFi), aid cross-border payments, and help sustain liquidity. Yet, as their circulation widens, these same […]
November 5, 2025
Tencent Showcases Future of Finance at Hong Kong Fintech Week 2025
Tencent
“Tencent joined the 10th anniversary edition of the Hong Kong Fintech Week X StartMeUpHK Festival 2025, highlighting how technology is shaping the future of financial innovation. Tencent announced that it’s making payments simpler and more convenient for international travellers visiting the Chinese Mainland by expanding its cross-border payment support with Weixin Pay through the CPG […]
November 4, 2025
Clear Junction Launches Multi-Currency Swift Service for Remittances Across Latin America, Asia-Pacific and EMEA
Clear Junction
“Cross-border payments provider Clear Junction has launched a multi-currency Swift service aimed at streamlining transactions for remittance companies across Latin America, Asia-Pacific and EMEA. The new service targets one of the industry’s long-standing pain points: achieving faster and more cost-effective last-mile payouts in destination markets.”
November 3, 2025
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.”
October 29, 2025
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 […]
October 27, 2025
Visa Unveils Key Partnerships and World-class Payment Innovations at Global Fintech Fest, 2025
ptinews
“Visa unveiled a range of cutting-edge solutions at the recently concluded Global Fintech Fest (GFF) 2025. Across the three days Visa made multiple announcements and product launches, highlighting their commitment to shaping the next chapter of digital payments in India, focusing on security, cross-border convenience, and the transformative potential of AI.”
October 24, 2025
Zelle® Goes International: Early Warning Expands $1T Payments Network with Stablecoin Initiative
Early Warning
“Early Warning Services, the network operator of Zelle®, announced a new initiative to enable Zelle to deliver faster and more reliable cross-border money movement. The effort marks an important step in expanding the reach of Zelle globally by leveraging stablecoins. Zelle is a preferred way of moving money to people they know and trust, designed to […]
October 23, 2025
Future-Proofing the Architecture of Real-Time Payments
OMFIF
“Real-time payment systems are reshaping how value moves across economies, accelerating domestic commerce and transforming cross-border trade. Yet their rapid growth introduces new risks and infrastructure challenges, according to a new report from OMFIF, produced in partnership with Mastercard.”
October 22, 2025
BofA’s Moynihan Explores Outlook for Digital Assets
ABA Banking Journal
“Amid investor and financial sector interest in payment stablecoins, Bank of America Chairman and CEO Brian Moynihan said it was incumbent on large banks to build the infrastructure, working through industry utilities, that ensures payment products remain broadly accessible and interoperable. Early use cases for stablecoins include cross-border transactions, business payments and settlement over weekends […]
October 17, 2025
Visa: Stablecoins Beyond Payments: The Onchain Lending Opportunity
Visa
“With the GENIUS Act now signed into law, financial institutions both domestically and globally are deepening their exploration of stablecoin products and technologies. Among the key questions we encounter daily are: “What are the use cases?” and “What capabilities do stablecoins offer that traditional fiat currencies cannot?” The natural starting point for this exploration is […]
October 13, 2025
Alipay+ Expands Payments and Digital Ecosystem as Mobile Wallets Become a Catalyst for New Travel Habits and Inclusive Growth
Alipay Plus
“Alipay+ revealed three trends impacting tourism in 2025 and beyond. Alipay+ has expanded its payments ecosystem in three ways: Growing cross-border payment acceptance for Alipay+ to more than 100 markets, and expanding its partner ecosystem to 40, representing 1.8 billion users; supporting Bluecode (Europe), PayPay (Japan) and KBank (Thailand) users to pay with their banking […]
October 9, 2025
African Trade Bloc COMESA Launches Digital Payments System
Reuters
“The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa has launched a digital payments system to cut transaction costs by allowing businesses to settle deals in local currencies. COMESA, which has 21 member states including Egypt, Kenya and Ethiopia, joins efforts by the African continent to push for local currency payments systems to cut trade costs by eliminating […]
G20’s Cross-Border Payments Push Set to Miss 2027 Target
Reuters
“Global financial authorities are set to miss a 2027 target set by the G20 group of nations to make international cross-border payments faster, cheaper and more transparent, the G20’s Financial Stability Board said on Thursday. Goals set in 2021 included cutting the global average cost of a retail payment to no more than 1% and […]
October 6, 2025
2025 AFP® Digital Payments Survey: A Roadmap for Today’s Businesses
JPMorgan
“With the notable shift to digital payments in full force, the timing has never been better for the latest edition of the 2025 AFP Digital Payments Survey: A Triennial Publication. Conducted by the Association for Financial Professionals® (AFP) and sponsored by J.P. Morgan, this year’s edition dives into the data regarding B2B payment trends, cross-border payments […]
September 30, 2025
Qatar National Bank Joins JPMorgan’s Blockchain Payment Network
Banking Exchange
“Qatar National Bank (QNB) has adopted JPMorgan’s blockchain-based payment network, Kinexys, in a move designed to modernize its US dollar settlement infrastructure and accelerate cross-border transactions. The system enables payments to be processed in as little as two minutes, a sharp improvement from the delays often seen in traditional clearing mechanisms.”
Take us with you
Payments on Fire is available on iTunes, Spotify, Google, Stitcher, Pocket Casts, and other podcast apps and services. Or just say “Alexa, play Payments on Fire podcast.”
Stay up-to-date on payments!
Join Glenbrook’s mailing list to get access to valuable information about payments and discover how you can expand your knowledge.
Glenbrook Payments Boot Camp®
Register for the next Glenbrook Payments Boot Camp®
An intensive and comprehensive overview of the payments industry.
Train your Team
Customized, private Payments Boot Camps tailored to meet your team’s unique needs.
OnDemand Modules
Recorded, one-hour videos covering a broad array of payments concepts.
Glenbrook Press
Comprehensive books that detail the systems and innovations shaping the payments industry.
Strategy Consulting & Custom Research
- Investor Due Diligence
- Product Strategy
- Merchant Payments Strategy
- Market Analysis
- Industry Research
- and more…
Launch, improve & grow your payments business