Industry

Retailer Stablecoins: How They Threaten Credit Unions

CU Insight

“Retailer-issued stablecoins—digital currencies pegged to the U.S. dollar and controlled by merchants—are no longer just a tech curiosity; they pose a direct challenge to the $90 billion interchange fee system that has long subsidized credit union operations and member rewards programs. Major retailers are already experimenting with payment alternatives that bypass traditional networks. Amazon’s partnership […]

Financial Inclusion Global Payments

Episode 269 - Designing Digital Financial Services for Women is Designing for All, with Sonja Kelly, Women's World Banking Institute

In our third episode in a series to spotlight the latest in global developments in payment systems from a financial inclusion lens, Sonja Kelly, Global Head of Women’s World Banking Institute, joins Joanna Wisniecka to dive into design principles for inclusive digital financial systems and how all end users benefit when design considers the specific needs of women.

Companies

Stripe’s Bridge-Visa Card Offering Aims to Expand Global Financial Services Reach While Maintaining a Seamless User Experience

Fintech Magazine

“Neetika Bansal, Head of Money as a Service at Stripe, discusses how Stripe is positioning itself at the forefront of the stablecoin revolution with its Bridge-Visa card product, which the company believes represents a significant step forward in marrying traditional financial systems with digital currencies.”

Tags: Stripe

Industry

Dubai’s Emirates Signs Preliminary Deal to Add Crypto to Payments

Reuters

“Emirates has signed a preliminary deal with Crypto.com that will allow its customers to make payments through the crypto trading platform’s payment service. The partnership, which is expected to come into effect next year, is aimed at tapping into “younger, tech-savvy customer segments who prefer digital currencies”, Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ deputy president and chief commercial […]

Companies

Visa’s Blockchain Leap Redefining Global Payments

Blockchain Magazine

“Visa is pioneering blockchain with two key projects. The Visa Tokenized Asset Platform (VTAP), launched in October 2024, enables banks to issue digital tokens, like stablecoins (digital currencies tied to dollars) or tokenized bank deposits, on public blockchains like Ethereum. In 2025, Visa partnered with Bridge, a Stripe-owned startup, to expand stablecoin payments in Latin […]

Tags: Visa

Cross-border Payments Fast Payments Financial Inclusion

Episode 266 - Innovating Inclusive Financial Systems on the African Continent, with Sabine Mensah, AfricaNenda

In this episode, Joanna Wisniecka welcomes Sabine Mensah, Deputy CEO of AfricaNenda, a leader in financial inclusion, to explore Africa's dynamic path towards inclusive instant payment systems and the need for continued innovation and collaboration to enable access to financial services for all Africans on the continent by 2030.

Global

China Talks up Digital Yuan in Push for Multi-Polar Currency System

Reuters

“The head of China’s central bank pledged to expand the international use of the digital yuan and called for the development of a multi-polar global currency system, where several currencies dominate the world economy. China will establish an international operation centre for e-CNY in Shanghai, People’s Bank of China Governor Pan Gongsheng said on Wednesday […]

Tags: China

Industry

Apple, X, Airbnb, Google Exploring Stablecoin Payments

Ledger Insights

“Fortune published a report that several Big Tech firms, including Apple, X, Airbnb and Google, are exploring using stablecoins for payments, citing sources. A month ago the same magazine reported that Meta was exploring digital currencies. The news follows Uber’s confirmation yesterday that it was investigating the potential for stablecoin payments.”

Global

Reserve Bank of India to Roll Out New Use Cases for Digital Rupee

Cointelegraph

“The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is set to broaden the reach of its digital rupee pilots by introducing new use cases and features for both its retail and wholesale central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), according to the central bank’s Annual Report for 2024–25. The central bank said it aims to explore programmability and offline […]

Tags: India

Industry

Banks, Asset Managers, and Corporates Push Crypto and Digital Currencies Into the Mainstream Amid Shifting Financial Dynamics

Global Finance Magazine

“The largest bank in Italy, Intesa Sanpaolo, quietly purchased $1 million worth of bitcoin in early January. The move was not publicly disclosed; it surfaced in an internal bank memo. When pressed by reporters, CEO Carlo Messina described the purchase as merely a “test,” suggesting that Intesa may eventually acquire more bitcoin on behalf of […]

Industry

Kraken Teams up With Mastercard To Introduce Crypto Debit Cards

CoinDesk

“Kraken is working with Mastercard to enable crypto holders in the U.K. and Europe to spend digital assets at over 150 million merchants worldwide. Kraken will introduce physical and digital debit cards for everyday transactions using crypto and stablecoins. The initiative is part of Kraken Pay, a service that debuted earlier this year for cross-border […]

Industry

Paramount Business Jets Reports Significant Uptick in Cryptocurrency Payments for Private Jet Charters

PR Newswire

“Paramount Business Jets (PBJ), a premier provider of luxury private jet charter services, is pleased to announce a notable increase in clients utilizing cryptocurrency as a preferred payment method. Since integrating cryptocurrency payment options in late 2024, PBJ has observed a steady rise in clients opting for digital currencies. Notably, Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) have emerged as the most frequently used cryptocurrencies among PBJ’s […]

Global

Back to Cash: Life Without Money in Your Pocket Is Not the Utopia Sweden Hoped

The Guardian

“…In recent years the [Sweden] central bank has been working on its own digital currency, the “e-krona”, as cash declines. The project ended a couple of years ago, and the bank is now focused on monitoring the global development of digital currencies. Last year Norway, which has a popular equivalent to Swish called Vipps MobilePay, […]

Tags: Norway Sweden

Companies

The Future of Cross-Currency Payments: Insights from J.P. Morgan’s Vijay Lulla

The Global Treasurer

“The cross-border payments landscape is evolving fast. AI, blockchain, and digital currencies are driving innovation, but real-time processing and regulatory fragmentation remain challenges. Vijay Lulla, EMEA Head of Cross-Currency Payments at J.P. Morgan Payments, shares his insights on what’s next.”

Tags: JPMorgan Chase

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