Fed’s Top Payments Official to Exit
Mark Gould, the Federal Reserve’s inaugural chief payments officer, announced his retirement after a 35‑year career, leaving the Fed to find a successor later this year. During his five‑year tenure as chief payments executive, Gould oversaw the launch of FedNow, the central bank’s first instant‑payments system, which went live in July 2023. FedNow now costs roughly $246 million to operate and required about $100 million in development funding. Adoption has lagged, with only about 2,000 of the nation’s 9,000 banks signed up, well short of the 7,500‑institution target.
Visa, Mastercard Envision Agentic Commerce Benefits
Visa and Mastercard are betting on "agentic commerce," a future where AI‑driven bots shop across multiple merchants on behalf of consumers. Both CFOs outlined how autonomous agents could multiply transaction volume, accelerate digital payments, and boost B2B commerce. The card...
Tennessee Levies Tax on Remittances
Tennessee will levy a $10 flat fee plus a 2 % surcharge on cross‑border payments exceeding $500, with the law taking effect on Jan. 1, 2027. The state projects about $54.8 million in annual revenue from the measure, based on roughly 16.3 million international money...
3 Big Numbers: The Convenience Store Payments Problem
A Vontier survey reveals that 75% of convenience‑store operators run fragmented payment architectures, often juggling four or more indoor and outdoor terminals. The same study found 88% of respondents suffered at least one payment outage in the past year, with...
Fiserv Prunes Non-Core Assets
Payments processor Fiserv announced it is divesting two non‑core units, selling its Education Solutions student‑loan servicing business to Infinite Computer Solutions and preparing to spin off its ATM and cash services operation into a joint venture with Bridgeport Partners. CEO...
Trump Order Seeks to Open Fed Rails
President Donald Trump issued an executive order directing the Federal Reserve to review how its payment rails, including FedACH and FedNow, can be opened to fintech firms. The order tasks Fed Governor Christopher Waller with delivering findings and recommendations within...
Cash App Will Be Financial ‘Protector,’ Dorsey Says
Jack Dorsey said Cash App will evolve into an AI‑powered "financial protector," continuously monitoring users' cash inflows and outflows. He highlighted voice‑AI as the future primary interface, enabling real‑time, predictive assistance. Dorsey also discussed Block's internal credit‑scoring system built on...
Where Stablecoin Use Is Growing
Analyst reports from S&P Global and Moody’s show stablecoins gaining traction in cross‑border payments, offering settlement costs of 0.1%‑0.5% versus the typical 6% remittance fee. The market holds about $269 billion today, projected to rise to $434 billion by 2028, with 99%...
The Fight Against Fraud Revs Up
U.S. consumers are losing an estimated $119 billion each year to payment scams, a problem highlighted at Nacha’s recent conference. The House Financial Services Committee passed legislation aimed at protecting elderly victims and boosting enforcement. Simultaneously, Nacha is rolling out a...
Fiserv Seeks Better Days Ahead
Fiserv, the Milwaukee‑based payments processor, unveiled a revised business strategy aimed at reigniting revenue growth after a 70% stock decline and a slowdown that emerged in late 2025. CEO Mike Lyons, who took the helm last year, highlighted leadership changes,...
BNPL Giants Battle at Walmart
Walmart replaced Affirm with Klarna as its primary buy‑now, pay‑later (BNPL) partner last year, yet both providers continue to process significant transaction volumes at the retailer. Klarna reported a dramatic financial swing in Q1, posting a $1 million net income after...
Shopify Loses Bid to Toss Sezzle Lawsuit
Shopify lost its bid to have a federal judge dismiss Sezzle’s antitrust lawsuit, with the judge finding the BNPL provider’s claims of monopoly power plausible. The ruling leaves the core allegations that Shopify leverages its e‑commerce platform to favor its...
FIS Discounts Pismo Competition
FIS CEO Stephanie Ferris told analysts that Visa‑backed Pismo poses "absolutely no impact" on FIS, emphasizing that Pismo only offers ledgering capabilities and not full‑end‑to‑end core banking. The statement follows FIS’s first‑quarter earnings, which showed revenue climbing 30% to $3.3 billion...
Judge Combines Fiserv Lawsuits
A Wisconsin federal judge ordered two shareholder lawsuits against payment processor Fiserv to be combined and heard in the Southern District of New York. The cases allege that Fiserv and its executives misled investors about the forced migration to its...
Senators Query Credit Bureaus on BNPL
A coalition of Democratic senators has sent letters to Equifax, Experian and TransUnion demanding clarity on how buy‑now‑pay‑later (BNPL) data is collected, reported, and used in credit scoring. The lawmakers note that the credit‑reporting industry lacks a standard method for...