Tencent’s TenPayGo Connects Foreign Payments to WeChat Pay
Tencent is preparing to make China’s digital payments ecosystem more accessible to international travelers with a new app designed to connect WeChat Pay with foreign payment methods. The tech giant is piloting TenPayGo, an app that allows international travelers to make payments at the millions of merchants that accept Weixin Pay, known as WeChat Pay […]
Looming MiCA Deadline Shakes up European Crypto Exchanges
With just days until Europe’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulations take full effect on July 1, Binance finds itself without the license needed to continue operating across the EU. The setback has triggered a scramble among licensed exchanges to win over its customers with bonuses, promotions, and cash incentives. Binance founder Changpeng Zhao criticized the […]
Trust but Verify: Security in the Age of Agentic AI
AI agents are stepping into roles once reserved for humans—booking appointments, managing finances, and even making purchasing decisions. As these digital proxies act on our behalf, a new challenge emerges for cybersecurity: how do you verify the identity of a “user” that isn’t human at all? In a PaymentsJournal webinar, Memoona Anwar, Chief Compliance & […]
FTC Reports Record Fraud Losses, Warns of Bank Imposter Scams
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported that total fraud losses reached an all-time high of $15.9 billion last year—an approximately 27% year-over-year increase—and found that some victims lost more than $1 million to scams. An FTC report noted that imposter scams remained the most commonly reported type of fraud, continuing a five-year trend. While […]
EMVCo Proposes Standards for Stronger Payment Authentication
EMVCo has released a draft framework that could pave the way for a universal standard for verifiable digital credentials in card‑based payments, a move that could make online checkout both more secure and less cumbersome. As verifiable digital credentials continue to gain traction for secure digital transactions, EMVCo is working to ensure that its data […]
How Banks Are Fighting the Scourge of Money Mules
Money mule activity, long associated primarily with money laundering, now fuels a wide range of scams, including identity fraud, payment fraud, and organized financial crime. Mule accounts allow criminals to receive stolen funds and quickly move money across financial institutions, distancing themselves from the original crime. Too often, mule activity is dismissed as legitimate because […]
Google Cuts App Store Fees, Opens Up External Payments
In a landmark win for app developers, Google will reduce its Google Play fees and allow developers to use external payment systems and link to their own websites. App stores operated by Apple and Google are a primary way mobile app developers reach customers, but many developers have long argued that the platform’s proprietary billing […]
WhatsApp Bets on New CEO to Push Into India’s Payments Market
Meta’s selection of CRED founder Kunal Shah to take the reins at its messaging subsidiary WhatsApp signals a broader push toward turning the app into a super app. The first major test for the new CEO will be gaining traction in India’s massive digital payments market. India is WhatsApp’s largest user base, with more than […]
Are Banks Fully Unlocking Their Data Gold Mine?
Financial institutions are sitting on vast reservoirs of customer and transaction data—but for many, that data still behaves more like scattered archives than a strategic asset. As banks look to compete on personalization and speed, data strategy is shifting from a back-office IT concern to a core driver of business value. They have learned to […]
AI Could Breach Cybersecurity Defenses, Intelligence Alliance Warns
An international intelligence alliance is warning that artificial intelligence could soon enable highly capable cyberattacks against governments and businesses, potentially within months. The Five Eyes intelligence alliance—comprising representatives from the U.S., the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand—states that the speed of AI advancement is outpacing current cybersecurity defenses, leaving critical systems increasingly exposed. efforts […]