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Six of the largest U.S. banks and several international financial institutions announced on Tuesday that they will jointly establish a new enterprise aimed at issuing compliant stablecoins. The project will initially focus on U.S. dollar-backed stablecoins, with plans to expand to other G7 currencies, and is expected to launch in the first half of 2027. This move comes on the eve of the U.S. Genius Act taking effect, as the banking sector actively responds to the potential impact of stablecoins on deposits.
ACI Worldwide has agreed to acquire UK payment technology company Cranium Ventures, which focuses on cloud-based card processing tools. The acquisition aims to accelerate the expansion of ACI's own card payment technology (launched in March), with the transaction expected to close by the end of September, and terms not disclosed.
PayPal Holdings this week cut an undisclosed number of employees, following earlier reports that a potential sale of the company or assets had fallen through. The layoffs are part of the company's previously announced multi-year transformation and cost-cutting plan.
Affirm Holdings' latest fiscal Q4 results reveal a 41% year-over-year surge in its 0% interest short-term installment product, driven by inflation-pinched U.S. consumers and a major merchant's ongoing adoption. The category now represents 15% of gross merchandise volume, while interest-bearing loans account for 72%. CEO Max Levchin notes healthy consumer demand despite higher gas prices, and the company promotes COO Michael Linford to president.
Against the backdrop of an incompletely clarified regulatory framework for earned wage access (EWA) in the United States, service providers Instant Financial and Clair have both seen significant revenue growth this year. In separate interviews, the CEOs of both companies stated that employer interest in offering employees free access to earned wage services has risen, and legislation in some states has actually driven corporate adoption. Instant Financial expects to achieve profitability for the third consecutive year this year, while Clair claims that revenue, users, and platform scale have all tripled since January.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Cave ruled on Friday to extend the discovery deadline in Visa's debit card antitrust lawsuit with the Department of Justice from October to January 29, 2027, and required all parties to submit all requested documents by September 30. Visa has submitted over 6 million documents involving approximately 200 requests and plans to complete the review of remaining documents by the end of September. The judge also suggested that District Judge John Koeltl authorize her to preside over regular meetings to coordinate disputes, with the trial expected to take place in 2028.
Navan partnered with Adyen to enable global multi-currency card issuing through a single financial infrastructure, covering the US, UK, and EU, with transaction volume exceeding €1 billion, serving over 3,800 corporate clients, and achieving a 99.9% transaction success rate.
Payment modernization has become an operational and strategic imperative for financial institutions, but it does not have to involve a disruptive 'rip-and-replace' approach. Through phased, incremental modernization, institutions can gradually introduce cloud-native, microservices architecture, and embedded AI capabilities while maintaining stability, compliance, and customer trust, thereby reducing total cost of ownership, enhancing innovation capacity, and continuously delivering business value.
Illinois has passed a new law requiring businesses to accept cash payments, with violators facing fines. The law aims to protect consumers' right to choose their payment method and adapt to digital trends.
Merchants' long-term attacks on bank card fees have seemingly failed to shake their foundation. From congressional legislation to Federal Reserve regulation and court settlements, the financial industry has advanced step by step, keeping fees firm. Consumers' preference for points and credit makes this fee an unshakeable part of the payment ecosystem.