UK to Regulate BNPL in Transparency Push
Buy now, pay later loans have become a critical tool for consumers managing everyday expenses. However, persistent concerns remain about the transparency of installment loans and the potential for misuse. To address these issues, the United Kingdom is instituting regulations that will place BNPL providers under the oversight of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The […]
Demystifying the Agentic Commerce Enigma
It has been less than a year since Visa and Mastercard unveiled platforms designed to give AI agents a larger role in retail—and actual purchasing power. In the months since, there has been a rush to build agentic commerce protocols, plan merchant integrations, and map out the fraud risks and potential liabilities. Amid this push […]
The Latest Wave of Ransomware Attacks: As Widespread as Possible
A ransomware attack on U.S. payments platform provider BridgePay is having ripple across the country, leaving many entities—including restaurants and municipal organizations—unable to accept card payments. BridgePay confirmed the attack last Friday, saying it had enlisted federal law enforcement as well as external forensic and recovery teams. According to a status update on the company’s […]
YouTuber MrBeast Acquires Fintech Targeting Younger Consumers
Jimmy Donaldson, also known as MrBeast, built his following by capturing the attention of young users on an exceptionally crowded platform. Now, the YouTuber with the world’s largest subscriber count is moving into fintech. MrBeast is set to acquire Step, an app positioned as a one-stop shop for younger users. The platform offers tools for […]
How Payment Gateways for Businesses Can Help You Offer Your Customers More Options
Running a business shouldn’t mean navigating a maze of payment options. But the sheer variety of ways there are to pay today puts pressure on businesses to accommodate every option—or risk losing a sale. To meet this challenge, many businesses with simple payment needs are turning to payment gateways for businesses, which help them seamlessly […]
Germany Plans to Eliminate Checks Entirely by 2027
Germany is bidding farewell to the paper check. Once a staple of everyday payments, checks are now all but obsolete, and the government plans to eliminate them completely by the end of 2027—a glimpse of a check-free world that’s unfolding in the U.S. A report from the Library of Congress underscores just how far Germany […]
Visa & Main Brings Holistic Tools and Financing to Small Businesses
Small businesses power the U.S. economy, but for many, the access to reliable financing remains a persistent challenge. To help close that gap, Visa has launched Visa & Main, a platform designed to centralize working capital and provide critical tools for smaller enterprises. “Offering working capital and client acquisition tools are not new in the merchant […]
Late Payments? Governments Are Taking Action
Over the past two decades, payment systems in most developed markets have moved from slow, multi-day processes—like checks—to near-instant transfers between counterparties. Yet, while buyers can now move funds in real time, many still delay payments, often to maintain cash reserves within their supply chains. As Hugh Thomas, Lead Analyst, Commercial & Enterprise at Javelin […]
Staying on Guard Against the Growing Use of Deepfakes
AI-generated deepfakes continue to pose a growing global threat, with investment opportunity scams emerging as the fastest-growing use case. Between November 2025 and January 2026, the AI Incident Database documented more than a hundred separate deepfake incidents, many aimed at defrauding victims. Impersonation-for-profit is the “largest, most repetitive thread” in the latest reports. Researchers warn […]
EU Leaders Consider Comprehensive Payments Plan for the Euro
The euro is the world’s second-largest reserve currency, though it still lags far behind the U.S. dollar. Many European Union leaders believe that a stronger global role for the euro would enhance regional stability and create more opportunities for member states. In upcoming talks, EU leaders have laid out an ambitious agenda to elevate the […]