No Buyers for the Apple Card, but the Technology Is Hot
The WSJ reported that Visa is considering a $100 million bid to shift the Apple Card’s network alignment from Mastercard to Visa. While this change will not help Goldman Sachs navigate its way out of its troubled consumer lending issue—which Goldman announced it wanted to shutter back in 2022—the deal illustrates the importance of Apple’s […]
South Korea to Pilot CBDC at Retailers, Including 7-Eleven
Over the next three months, South Korea will conduct a trial run of its newly launched central bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital won. During this period, up to 100,000 citizens—ages 19 or older and holding an account at a participating bank—can convert their deposits into the CBDC. These consumers can use digital won to […]
The Easiest Route to Modernizing Payments? PaaS.
Many banks rely on legacy systems, often built 15 or 20 years ago—sometimes on IBM mainframes. The original developers have likely retired, and there’s minimal documentation on the system’s architecture. These systems are black boxes—any change risks unintended disruptions, making banks hesitant to make any modifications. As a result, banks are increasingly looking for modern […]
Two Key Factors Driving Credit Card Rates Higher
Credit card rates remain high for two main reasons, according to a new study from the New York Fed: steep operating costs and undiversifiable risks. An economic downturn could threaten an issuer’s entire portfolio, making risk management a key factor in pricing. Although the average credit card interest rate currently sits at a lofty 20.09%, […]
ECB Official Says Real-Time Payments Systems Could Solve Cross-Border Payments Struggles
A member of the European Central Bank’s executive board voiced frustrations over the persistently high costs of cross-border payments, despite declines in IT and telecommunications expenses. Speaking at the Regional Governors’ Meeting, Piero Cipollone highlighted the issue with a specific example: a small business owner in Croatia sending a €5,000 transfer to a supplier in […]
Digging into the Benefits of Prepaid Commercial Cards
In what remains a challenging environment for many employees, prepaid card programs continue to play a vital role. As associates return to the office or look for new ways to drive sales, employers can leverage a variety of commercial prepaid products to boost morale and reward performance. In the 2025 State of the Industry: Prepaid […]
Malaysian Authorities Urged to Act Over Spiraling BNPL Usage
The Malaysian central bank found that most of the country’s buy now, pay later (BNPL) users came from the lowest income brackets—workers earning less than $1,130 per month. According to the South China Post, one reason lower-income Malaysians rely on BNPL is its widespread acceptance among merchants, especially for smaller purchases. For example, fast-food chain […]
Phishing Attacks Shift to More Subtle Enticements
The days of receiving phishing emails with subject lines like “Payment Overdue!” may be coming to an end. As users grow desensitized to alarmist messages, malicious actors have shifted to more subtle approaches. “Request” was the most common word in phishing subject lines in 2024, according to research from Cisco. Threat actors have largely abandoned […]
Infostealers: The Latest Cyberthreat Facing Financial Institutions
Last year, a breach of cloud storage company Snowflake resulted in data stolen from more than 150 companies, with more than $2 million extorted from victims. The attack was carried out by an infostealer, a type of malware that didn’t directly infiltrate Snowflake but instead entered through a client with weak security measures. The growing […]
JPMorgan to Facilitate Real-Time USD Payments in India
JPMorgan’s recently rebranded digital assets unit, Kinexys, will enable commercial clients of India’s Axis Bank to send and receive USD transfers in real-time both domestically and cross-border. According to Reuters, this will be the first time organizations in India will have access this functionality. Two key benefits of this feature include greater flexibility and increased […]