Companies Global

PhonePe Brings UPI Payments to Feature Phones Without Internet

ETCIO

“PhonePe has introduced UPI 123Pay, a revolutionary service aimed at feature phone users.This innovative solution permits UPI transactions without the need for internet access,allowing seamless peer-to-peer and merchant payments. Additionally, an AI helpline offerssupport for registration and activation in various languages, significantly enhancing digitalpayment accessibility in rural and semi-urban regions.”

Tags: India PhonePe

Card Networks ECommerce Investment Merchant Acquirers

Episode 302 - Catching Up on the Capital Markets, with Timothy Chiodo, UBS

About a year ago, we chatted with with Tim Chiodo of UBS and Chris Kim of Capital Group about the investment side of payments. It’s been a pretty volatile 12-months in the equity market since then - well-timed for Bryan Derman to welcome Tim back on the podcast and catch up on the market factors playing into the payments space.  Listen in as they recap the performance of payments stocks, dive into the e-commerce market, provide perspective on the card networks, discuss merchant acquiring growth opportunities, and finish up with a lightning round on emerging technology. 

Companies Global

PhonePe CEO Breaks Silence on UPI Charges

India.com

“The new Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) framework for UPI transactions will not impose any charges on customers. The move is necessary to make India’s digital payments ecosystem financially sustainable, PhonePe CEO Sameer Nigam said. The CEO clarified customers will continue to use UPI without any charges, while small merchants with an annual turnover of less […]

Tags: India PhonePe

Companies

Google Pay to Add Device Biometrics for Mastercard Payments in India

Biometric Update

“Mastercard and Google Pay plan to allow users in India to authenticate eligible card payments with a fingerprint or face scan on their smartphones. The optional biometric authentication feature will be available through participating issuing banks to customers with an eligible Mastercard saved in Google Pay. Mastercard says it is intended for utility bills, mobile […]

Tags: Google Mastercard

Companies Global

India Ends Free Ride for Larger Transactions on Its Ubiquitous Digital Payments Network

TechCrunch

“India has put a price on larger transactions on its digital payments network, ending years of free processing for merchants. The country’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) will impose a 0.4% merchant fee on certain payments above ₹2,000 (about $21) from October 15, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) said. Consumers will continue to use […]

Tags: India NPCI

Companies Global

India: RBI Executive Director Unveils New RuPay And UPI Payment Innovations At GFF 2026

BW Disrupt

“The Reserve Bank of India announced the launch of several innovations, including a pilot of the Unified Ticketing Platform, a concept showcase of RuPay ON-THE-GO Card-on-Device Tokenisation, RuPay Tap on Phone, RuPay passkey-based biometric authentication, and cross-border merchant payments using RuPay credit card on UPI International. The initiatives are designed to enhance convenience, security and […]

Tags: Reserve Bank of India

Industry

Nearly 1,000 Merchants Tell Judge Proposed Settlement of Visa/Mastercard Lawsuit is ‘Riddled With Loopholes’

Merchants Payments Coalition

“The Merchant Payments Coalition said nearly 1,000 businesses and trade associations have called on a federal judge to reject the proposed settlement of merchants’ lawsuit over Visa and Mastercard credit card swipe fees.“We object to this proposed settlement because it would grant Visa, Mastercard and giant card-issuing banks sweeping liability immunity for their anticompetitive system […]

Companies

dLocal Ghana Secures Enhanced Payments License to Deepen Local Operations

TechCabal

“The Ghanaian subsidiary of Uruguayan payments company dLocal has secured an Enhanced Payment Service Provider (EPSP) licence from the Bank of Ghana, allowing it to operate more of its payments business locally. The licence allows dLocal Ghana to provide local payment collections, merchant acquisitions, mobile-money acceptance, bank-transfer collections and local payouts through bank accounts and […]

Tags: dLocal

CBDC Digital Currency European Union

Episode 301 - Casting Light on the Digital Euro, with Nicola Branzoli, Banca d'Italia

In this episode, Nicola Branzoli, Head of Division for the Digital Euro Regulation, Research, and Technical Support at the Banca d'Italia, joins Glenbrook's Ashley Lannquist and Simon Skinner for an in-depth exploration of the digital euro. Listen in as they cover the objectives and value proposition, design choices and pilot details, and what the digital euro means in the broader European payment context. 

Companies Global

Australia: CommBank Reduces Merchant Fees to Support Businesses Manage Costs [Video]

CommBank

“CommBank is reducing its Merchant Service Fee0 from 1.1% to 0.99% per transaction for in-store payments for customers on simple flat-rate pricing from 1 October 2026, making it one of the lowest rates in market.  The reduction is designed to help businesses keep the cost of accepting card payments low, supporting them as they manage […]

Tags: Australia CommBank

ACH Artificial Intelligence Bitcoin Digital Currency Fast Payments Financial Inclusion Payments Fraud Payments on Fire Podcasts Tokenization

Episode 300 - Reflecting on 12 Years of Payments on Fire

2026 is a milestone year for Glenbrook as we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the firm. We also find ourselves airing the 300th episode of our Payments on Fire podcast - founded by George Peabody in 2014, nurtured by Yvette Bohanan, and now continued on through the hosting efforts of most of the team. We thought there would be no better way to mark the 12 year achievement - and pay respect to what George and Yvette built - than to revisit the journey with clips from the first 299 episodes. From early episodes on digital currency and AI, to fast payments evolution and financial inclusion efforts (and how could we leave out tokenization), listen in as Bryan Derman and Jill Wurst guide you through significant moments in the podcast’s history.

Companies

Synchrony Announces Enterprise Collaboration with OpenAI to Power the Next Era of Agentic Commerce Synchrony Logo

PR Newswire

“Synchrony announced a collaboration with OpenAI to strengthen Synchrony’s positioning at the center of AI’s next chapter in shopping and payments. The collaboration supports the company’s work to bring financing, rewards, and loyalty into AI-native shopping and checkout experiences. This collaboration is part of Synchrony’s strategy across the AI ecosystem to leverage frontier models, technology […]

Tags: Synchrony Financial

Global

Adding Pix Lifts Global Merchant Revenue by up to 37% in Brazil, EBANX Data Shows

Globe Newswire

“International companies that add Pix to their checkout in Brazil see revenue rise by as much as 37% and reach an average of 25% more customers within six months of integration, according to internal data from EBANX , a technology company connecting global businesses to emerging markets through payments. That sample includes U.S.-headquartered merchants, whose […]

Tags: Brazil

Financial Regulators Regulatory Environment

Episode 299 - The Evolving Payments Regulatory Environment in the European Union, with Scott McInnes, Bird & Bird

In this Payments on Fire episode, Glenbrook’s Chris Uriarte and Samantha Gordon continue their global payments regulation series with Scott McInnes, Partner at Bird & Bird, focusing on the European Union. Tune in as they explore the EU’s highly regulated landscape, the challenges of inconsistent national enforcement across 27 member states, and developments on current regulatory topics.

Global

India Paves Way for Return of Merchant Fees on Digital Payments

MarketScreener

“India has moved a step closer to reintroducing merchant fees on transactions made through its Unified Payments Interface (UPI) after proposed changes to the country’s payments laws were introduced in parliament on Tuesday. An amendment to India’s Payment and Settlement Systems Act, tabled in parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, would allow the introduction of […]

Tags: India