Companies

Swift’s Blockchain Ledger Ready for Use as 17 Banks Set to Pioneer Tokenised Cross-Border Payments on Trusted Global Infrastructure

Business Wire

“Swift moves from concept to activation of blockchain-based ledger in nine months. 17 banks from six continents are now preparing to pilot live transactions using tokenised deposits for 24/7 payment availability and better liquidity efficiency. The addition to Swift’s resilient global platform marks a key milestone for regulated digital assets, creating a foundation that could […]

Tags: Swift

Companies

How Stablecoins Could Power the Next Era of Retail Payments (Report & Video)

Deloitte Insights

“Stablecoins are moving from niche crypto platforms to the checkout line. Beyond the incremental growth of direct payments, these instruments could support an estimated 2.5% of US noncash transactions through backend settlement, processing, or funding mechanisms by 2030. Multinational companies may capture the most value from stablecoin networks due to the costs and complexity of […]

Tags: Deloitte

Companies

Nium Acquires Cypher, Expanding Its Fiat-to-on-Chain Money Movement Infrastructure

Nium

“Nium, the global leader in cross-border payments infrastructure, announced the acquisition of Cypher, a crypto-native non-custodial wallet and issuing company. The deal further expands Nium as the core infrastructure layer for the converging payments ecosystem—the compliant money movement and value exchange infrastructure that bridges fiat and digital assets.”

Tags: Nium

Companies

Swift Enables Blockchain Ledger for Cross-Border Payments

IBS Intelliegence

“Swift has activated its blockchain-based ledger infrastructure, enabling banks to pilot tokenised deposit transactions for 24/7 cross-border payments and improved liquidity management. The new ledger was developed to support regulated digital asset transactions, allowing participating banks to move tokenised value across borders while maintaining existing compliance, risk and settlement controls. Swift said 17 banks across six continents […]

Tags: Swift

Authentication Card Issuers Fintech Merchants Modernization

Episode 297 - A New Era for Card Issuing, with Nikil Konduru, Lithic

Drew Edmond and Chris Uriarte chat with Nikhil Konduru, Chief Commercial Officer at Lithic, to discuss modern card issuing infrastructure and where the market is headed. Tune in as they break down the issuing stack, discuss issuer-side tools to improve authorization outcomes, and explore implications for cross-border payments and agentic commerce.

Global

Visa, M-PESA Africa and Onafriq Launch Stablecoin Pilot in DR Congo

TechAfrica News

“A new partnership involving Visa, M-PESA Africa and Onafriq is set to pilot the use of stablecoins for cross-border mobile money transactions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It aims to transform international payments by using blockchain-backed digital currency to facilitate faster, affordable cross-border settlements. The pilot is designed to address challenges associated with […]

Tags: Africa

Companies

Visa Expects Stablecoins to See Limited Adoption in Retail Payments

Trend

“Stablecoins are unlikely to become widely used for paying for goods and services in stores in the foreseeable future, but they may play an important role in cross-border transfers, B2B settlements, and emerging markets, Visa’s Group President, Oliver Jenkyn, said. Jenkyn made the statement at a briefing held as part of the Visa Payments Forum […]

Tags: Visa

Companies

J.P. Morgan Payments and NPCI Team up to Power Real-Time FX for Cross-Border UPI

J.P. Morgan

“J.P. Morgan Payments and National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) are collaborating to provide real-time FX rates for cross-border Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions across multiple currencies. The collaboration connects J.P. Morgan Payments’ FX platform and API-based integration capabilities with NPCI’s UPI infrastructure to enable faster, more transparent international payment experiences.”

Tags: JPMorgan Chase National Payments Corp of Inida

Global

Visa Adjusts Europe Interchange Fees, Shares Steady Into Key Inflation Data

Ad-hoc News

“Visa Inc. has updated its interchange fee structure for certain cross-border consumer card transactions within the European Economic Area, according to recent regulatory filings and network notices. The NYSE-listed payments group remains under close European regulatory scrutiny as investors also eye upcoming US inflation data and its impact on broader equity valuation.”

Tags: Europe

Cross-border Payments Global Payments Merchants

Episode 296 - Fanning the Flames - Beyond Borders: Navigating Your Global Payments Strategy

Going global with your payments strategy requires far more than choosing a single payment provider: companies must weigh local acquiring versus cross-border acquiring, country-by-country payment preferences, entity structure, tax implications, compliance requirements, authorization performance, currency handling, and provider coverage. In this episode, Chris Uriarte joins Glenbrook colleagues Samantha Gordon, Simon Skinner, and Drew Edmond to explore the complexities and potential benefits for merchants and platforms to consider when expanding payments globally.

Companies

Worldline Is First in Europe to Bring Click to Pay to Recurring Payments

Worldline

Worldline becomes the first payment provider in Europe to enable Click to Pay for recurring payments. Click to Pay is a fast, secure digital checkout that removes friction and improves payment success across recurring payments. Available on Global Collect, Worldline’s global cross-border payments platform, this new capability enables digital-first businesses to scale subscription payments seamlessly across […]

Tags: Worldline

Global

European Parliament Backs Long-Awaited Digital Euro to Reduce US Dominance in Payments

Euro News

“The European Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee approved the digital euro, as the EU seeks to reduce reliance on US-controlled payment systems. According to European Central Bank data, US payment giants Visa and Mastercard account for 61% of card payments in the euro area and almost all cross-border card transactions. The digital euro is […]

Tags: European Union

Global

Mastercard Sees Africa’s Digital Future Taking Shape

CIO Africa

Africa’s payments landscape is entering a new phase, one that extends beyond digital transactions and into intelligent, interconnected financial ecosystems. According to Victor Ndlovu, Vice President and Head of Business Development for East Africa at Mastercard, the continent’s next chapter will be defined by broader financial inclusion, seamless cross-border payments, and the emergence of AI-powered […]

Tags: Africa

Agentic Commerce Artificial Intelligence Blockchain Card Networks Fast Payments Global Payments Podcasts Regulatory Environment Risk & Fraud Tokenization

Mid-Year Payments Check-In: Revisiting Our 2026 Predictions

The Glenbrook team is taking stock in June 2026 to see how the payments trends predictions from our January Payments on Fire episode are holding up.

Global

China Signs up 26 Financial Institutions for Digital-Yuan Cross-Border Payments

TNW | China

“The People’s Bank of China has spent the past year steadily widening the circle of lenders authorised to run e-CNY operations. The scale at home is already large. By the end of November 2025, e-CNY transactions had reached 3.48 billion in number and around 16.7 trillion yuan in value, roughly $2.37tn, according to PBOC figures. […]

Tags: China