Credit Card Delinquencies Are Mounting: A Warning for 2027 Losses
June 30 is a pivotal day in the credit card industry. Delinquency risk is locked for the current year, and issuers must scramble to reduce credit losses by working out payment arrangements. If the account is in delinquent status as of that day, it is subject to charge-off before year-end. Anything that rolls into delinquency […]
Another State Grapples with Debit Fee Surcharges
As merchants and cardholders continue to pass the hot potato of surcharges back and forth, Louisiana is on the verge of imposing stiff penalties on retailers that add additional charges to debit card purchases. The legislation has passed both the Louisiana Senate and House of Representatives and now awaits the governor’s signature. If enacted, it […]
India Pilots Digital Rupee for Aid Distribution, Cross-Border Payments
India is testing whether a central bank digital currency (CBDC) can do more than modernize payments—it may also change how governments distribute public aid. While many CBDCs have received renewed attention for their potential to strengthen the global role of a nation’s fiat currency, India’s recent digital rupee endeavors have also focused on social welfare […]
The Next Phase for Prepaid Cards Could Be Stablecoins
Prepaid cards have come a long way from handwritten gift certificates sold at McDonald’s. But their next evolution may be even more radical—turning stored value into stablecoins. Javelin Strategy & Research’s Prepaid and Stablecoins: Turning Liabilities Into Assets suggests that stablecoins and other tokenized digital assets could transform prepaid cards from balance-sheet liabilities into asset-backed […]
Robinhood Lets AI Agents Buy Stocks for Users
Robinhood is opening the door for AI agents to move beyond advice and directly handling trading decisions on behalf of consumers—marking a shift toward software that can act more like an autonomous investor across both investing and spending. Robinhood is pitching the feature as a way for customers to automate investment strategies they would […]
BIS Ramps Up Efforts for a Cross-Border Tokenized Ecosystem
The global push to overhaul cross-border payments is gaining momentum, with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) announcing new progress in Project Agora—a high-profile initiative aimed at bringing tokenized money into the global financial system. New trials conducted through Project Agora show that tokenized commercial bank deposits and central bank reserves can operate together on […]
A Victimless Crime: Why Synthetic Identities Demand Layered Verification
A consumer reviews their credit card statement, notices a fraudulent charge, and initiates a dispute. Ideally, the issuer or merchant would have flagged the transaction before it reached this stage—but in reality, consumers have long played a critical role in identifying and addressing fraud. That safeguard—and many other traditional fraud defenses—breaks down when synthetic identities […]
Alipay+ Adds Cross-Border Mobile Payments for Visitors to Latin America
As travel demand strengthens across regions and spending patterns become more digitally driven, payment systems are being pushed to keep up—especially where cashless habits at home collide with fragmented acceptance abroad. That pressure is helping drive cross-border payments innovation, including Alipay’s continued expansion into Latin America. The Alipay brand is best known for the digital […]
Stablecoins Are Turning the Remittance Business Model on Its Head
Many expatriates can video chat with family back home with the click of a button, yet sending money to relatives is far from seamless. Despite decades of globalization and numerous initiatives to modernize cross-border payments, the remittance experience has changed surprisingly little. For financial institutions, this represents a significant opportunity. The global remittance market is […]
Tether and Georgia Pilot Lari-Backed Stablecoin Model
The crypto-forward nation of Georgia will launch GEL₮, a stablecoin backed by the Georgian lari in partnership with Tether. The ambitious initiative aims to reduce transaction costs, enable near-instant settlement, and make payments programmable, alongside the broader objective of improving the efficiency of cross-border transfers. Georgia’s government has long pursued a pro-crypto stance. Earlier this […]