How Should Legacy Banks Compete with Chime?
Chime has built its brand on a simple promise: it’s not like traditional banks. For a generation of younger, financially stretched customers, that message has resonated—and Chime has backed it up with an app that’s easy to join and even easier to use. That raises an important question for legacy institutions. If Chime isn’t […]
Japan Issues New Prepaid Cards Exclusively for Tourists
Tourists traveling to Japan will soon have a simpler way to get around—a prepaid transit card designed specifically for short-term visitors. Pasmo Co, which issues cards for Tokyo’s widely used train system, will introduce the new card, valid for 28 days and accepted for cashless payments across the country. Tourist Pasmo will be available at […]
Australia’s Grassroots Movement Fights to Preserve Cash Access
Millions of Australian consumers were expected to withdraw from ATMs yesterday as part of Cash Out Day, an event designed to keep cash relevant in an increasingly digital world. The movement has gained significant support across Australia and has even been credited with spur the passage of the nation’s recent cash mandate. As of the […]
Tips on a Prepaid Card: A Practical Solution with Broad Industry Impacts
When events like the NCAA Final Four come to town, they bring an influx of short-term workers who keep everything running—but often for just four or five days. Despite the brief duration of this work, many organizations still rely on traditional payroll systems to compensate them, creating unnecessary friction where speed and simplicity matter most. […]
Payments have Become a Make-or-Break Facet of Small Businesses
Smaller enterprises are hitting a critical turning point. As long-time owners near retirement, many are looking to exit, but potential buyers are often held back by one persistent issue—outdated systems, especially in payments infrastructure. According to data from Zelle, nearly half of small business owners over 50 have no exit plan in place, and roughly […]
Revolut to Open First Physical Location in Barcelona
Revolut is preparing to open a physical space in Barcelona, but it’s deliberately avoiding calling it a bank branch. The move signals a shift for the digital-first company as it experiments with bringing parts of its app-based banking experience into a real-world setting. The store will employ more than 20 people and is expected to […]
Inside the Battle Against Credit-Push Fraud: What’s Changing
Account validation isn’t just a box to check for compliance—it’s the foundation of trust in the payments ecosystem. As credit-push fraud surges and financial institutions face pressure to safeguard transactions, account validation has become a frontline defense to avoid money being sent out of accounts through ACH credits, wires, cards, and other instant and digital […]
Western Union’s Stablecoin Is Almost Ready for the Market
Western Union is the latest legacy financial services firm to enter the stablecoin race, revealing that its U.S. dollar-backed token, USDPT, is in the “final stages” of preparation. Western Union is also rolling out two new services to help integrate the stablecoin into a broader ecosystem. The USD Stable Card, expected later this year, will […]
Japan Assembles Task Force to Assess AI’s Financial Services Risks
Anthropic sparked alarm after announcing that its Mythos model had uncovered widespread vulnerabilities across the financial sector, prompting Japan to launch a consortium to address what officials describe as “a crisis already at hand.” Earlier this month, Anthropic said a preview of Mythos identified thousands of critical vulnerabilities spanning all major operating systems and web […]
Stopping Fraud in Real-Time Payments Before It Starts
Organizations once had the luxury of reviewing suspicious transactions prior to settlement and clawing them back after the fact. But as both payments and fraud have accelerated, financial institutions are increasingly being pushed to move fraud prevention earlier in the payments lifecycle—ideally before a transaction ever occurs. In response, U.S. Federal Reserve Financial Services (FRFS)—which […]