Companies

HSBC Pilots Digital Structured Product Issuance in Hong Kong

Fintech News

“HSBC has completed a private placement of its first digitally native structured product in Hong Kong. The bank issued US dollar-denominated notes in a digitally native format on blockchain infrastructure, exploring how tokenisation can streamline key stages of the product lifecycle, including issuance, settlement and servicing. Marketnode, an APAC digital market infrastructure operator, supported the […]

Tags: HSBC

Industry

Clarity Act Timeline: Can the U.S Crypto Bill Finally Pass in July?

Coinpedia Fintech News

“After missing its earlier July 4 target, lawmakers are preparing for another push as the Senate returns on July 13. However, political disagreements, ethics rules, and key crypto provisions still stand in the way. The expected timeline is, July 13–17: Senate Procedural Vote; Senate returns from recess and begins procedural work before holding a final […]

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.

Companies

OCBC Pilots AI Avatar Banking App for Clients With Over S$1.5 Million AUM

Fintech Singapore

“OCBC has introduced an AI avatar banking app for selected wealth customers in Singapore. The beta version of OCBC WoW will first be offered by invitation to employees and customers served by OCBC Premier Private Client wealth advisors. These customers have at least S$1.5 million in assets under management with the bank.”

Tags: OCBC

Companies Global

Why Meta’s Cred Investment Matters for WhatsApp Pay in India

The Economic Times

Meta’s substantial investment in Cred and appointing its founder Kunal Shah as global head of WhatsApp signals a major push into India’s fintech landscape. For Meta, with Shah at the helm, there is a chance that WhatsApp’s position in India, its largest market, will go beyond messaging into payments, commerce, and business services.

Tags: India Meta

Companies

How South Africa Became Revolut’s First African Market

TechTrendsKE

“In March, British fintech giant Revolut applied for a U.S. national banking charter as part of an ambitious plan to expand its presence across major financial markets. A few months later, the company revealed that South Africa would become its first destination in Africa, with a launch targeted for 2028 pending regulatory approval.  The sequence […]

Tags: Revolut

Companies

Why Meta Wants CRED: The $4B Fintech Deal That Could Reshape India’s Payments Industry

Tech Funding News

“Meta is reportedly in talks to invest in Bengaluru-based fintech CRED at a valuation of around $4 billion, according to Moneycontrol. Discussions remain exploratory and no final decision has been made. The move could help Meta build an end-to-end commerce and payments ecosystem across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and CRED. Despite processing billions in transactions, India’s UPI market […]

Tags: Meta

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.

Companies

PayPal Ventures Shutters as Company Restructuring Continues

TechCrunch

“Five sources told Fortune that the corporate venture arm, will be winding down operations. A company spokesperson confirmed the news to TechCrunch, with a statement. PayPal Ventures has made more than 80 investments, including the crypto trading platform Talos Global, fintech infrastructure company Plaid, and the crypto bank Anchorage Digital.  PayPal Ventures still exists on […]

Tags: PayPal

Companies

Europe’s Most Valuable Fintech Faces Banking-Supervision Reality

EU Today

“The issue is not whether Revolut is a successful fintech. It is one of Europe’s most prominent technology businesses. The London-based company has secured a full UK banking licence after a prolonged regulatory process, and has built a business that extends beyond foreign exchange and card payments into savings, investments, crypto, lending, subscriptions and other […]

Tags: Revolut

Companies

Cash App Launches $40 Mobile Virtual Operator (MVNO) to Deepen Fintech Ecosystem

Tech Buzz

“Cash App, owned by Block, is jumping into the mobile carrier business with a $40-per-month unlimited 5G plan. The move mirrors Klarna’s 2025 playbook almost perfectly. It’s rolling out to select users now, with broader availability coming in the next few months as the fintech giant tries to become the everything app for its user […]

Tags: Block

Industry

Mastercard Opens Card Rails to AI Agents With 30-Plus Crypto Partners

Defiant

“Mastercard launched Agent Pay for Machines (AP4M), extending its payments network to AI agents with 30-plus crypto and fintech partners including Coinbase, RippleX, Solana Foundation, Polygon, Aave Labs and Stellar. Agent Pay for Machines positions Mastercard’s network as the governance and trust layer for commerce conducted entirely between software agents, without human checkout flows. The […]

Artificial Intelligence Blockchain Card Networks Fast Payments Payments Fraud Regulatory Environment Stablecoins

Episode 295 - Fanning the Flames - 2026 Mid-Year Payments Industry Trends Update

The Glenbrook team is taking stock in June 2026 to see how the predictions from our January episode are holding up. Tune in for updates on trending topics in payments, including agentic commerce, stablecoins, cross-border and instant payments, risk and fraud, and the regulatory landscape. We also share insights on the “hot off the presses” news on tokenized deposits and the Visa/Mastercard interchange settlement.

Industry

JPMorgan, Citi, and BofA Build Blockchain Network to Challenge Stablecoins Dominance

Coinpedia Fintech News

“The stablecoin market has grown from a crypto experiment into a potential threat to traditional banking. Therefore, now, JPMorgan, Bank of America, Citi, and other major lenders are jointly preparing a blockchain-based deposit network designed to keep customer money inside banks. According to reports, America’s largest banks are working on a shared tokenized deposit network […]

Companies

Revolut Plans 2027 US Bank Launch With Stablecoin Services Built In From Day One

Converge

“The British neobank, with 70 million customers and a $75 billion valuation, will pair FDIC-insured accounts with stablecoin access on a single platform — a tier-one fintech entering US banking with stablecoins designed in, not bolted on.”

Tags: Revolut