Canary in the Coalmine: Revolving Debt Surges 9.1%
On May 7 the Federal Reserve reported that revolving credit‑card debt grew at a 9.1% annualized pace, the fastest expansion since 2022. The surge follows a lull of 2.0% in January and 0.3% in February, highlighting a sharp uptick in consumer borrowing. Higher gas prices, now averaging $4.55 per gallon, are squeezing households that collectively owe about $1.3 trillion in revolving credit. While issuers will see short‑term revenue gains, the rapid growth foreshadows rising delinquency and charge‑off pressures later in 2026.
Inside the Growth of First-Party Fraud
First‑party fraud—where customers themselves commit scams such as de‑shopping and lost‑in‑transit returns—is exploding as e‑commerce scales. The practice has moved from isolated incidents to a systemic threat that drains merchant revenue and inflates operational costs. Fraudsters are leveraging artificial intelligence...
Reducing Friction in Automotive Collections
High interest rates and longer loan terms are pushing auto loan delinquencies toward historic highs, especially in the subprime market where 60‑day delinquency rates are projected to exceed 1.5% by year‑end. Dealers relying on traditional, labor‑intensive collections face low email...
Apple Expands Wallet to Support Tickets, Passes, and Gift Cards
Apple will roll out a “Create a Pass” feature in iOS 27, letting users import QR‑code tickets, gym memberships or gift cards by scanning or photographing them. The rollout pilots three template types—memberships, events and a catch‑all category that includes...
How the CLARITY Act Reshapes Stablecoin Rewards
The Senate reached a compromise on the long‑delayed CLARITY Act, allowing crypto firms to reward users for holding stablecoins only when the incentives are tied to user activity, while prohibiting interest‑like yields. The change addresses banks' fears that deposit‑bearing stablecoins...
From Hygiene Factor to Hero Product: Why the Card Deserves a Second Look
Banks are reclassifying the payment card from a basic service to a strategic differentiator as fintechs capture a growing share of U.S. checking accounts. Research shows three‑quarters of customers are indifferent or dissatisfied with their current card experience, prompting institutions...
Co-Branded Credit Cards Still Hold Promise for Smaller Issuers
Co‑branded credit cards remain a viable growth engine for smaller issuers despite recent high‑profile missteps such as Wells Fargo’s Bilt partnership and Goldman Sachs‑Apple’s costly credit extension. The article highlights that the overall co‑brand market is still thriving, with new opportunities emerging...
Uber Turns Its App Into a Personal Shopping Service
Uber announced a “one app for everything” strategy, adding a “Shop for Me” feature that lets riders request items from any retailer and have an Uber driver deliver them. The service expands on Uber Eats’ 2023 grocery‑shopping capability and removes...
EU Tightens Fraud Rules and Fintech Licensing in Open Banking Overhaul
The European Union is close to finalising the Third Payment Services Directive (PSD3) and the accompanying Payment Services Regulation (PSR), the most extensive overhaul of open‑banking rules since PSD2. The proposals tighten fraud prevention by mandating real‑time transaction monitoring, recipient...
Fueling Agentic Commerce with Dual-Rail Recurring Billing
PhotonPay unveiled a dual‑rail recurring billing platform that lets businesses process subscriptions on both fiat and stablecoin networks through a single integration. The system abstracts cross‑border payment complexities, enabling AI‑driven firms to focus on product growth while reducing payment‑related churn....
Meta Brings Stablecoin Payouts to a Massive Global Ecosystem
Meta announced a partnership with Stripe to let creators receive payouts in Circle’s USDC on the Solana and Polygon blockchains. The service, available through popular wallets such as MetaMask, Phantom and Binance, bypasses traditional banking delays and fees. By leveraging...
How Should Legacy Banks Compete with Chime?
Chime has captured younger, cash‑strapped consumers by offering a minimalist app, fee‑free overdraft handling, and tiered perks tied to direct‑deposit amounts. A Javelin Strategy report finds the neobank’s product set mirrors legacy banks, but its execution—especially simplicity and transparent rewards—outshines...
Japan Issues New Prepaid Cards Exclusively for Tourists
Pasmo Co is launching a Tourist Pasmo prepaid card that works for 28 days and is accepted on trains, subways, buses and many retail outlets across Japan. The card will be sold at major transport hubs, costing about $15 at...
Australia’s Grassroots Movement Fights to Preserve Cash Access
Australia’s grassroots “Cash Out Day” urged millions to withdraw cash, aiming to double typical ATM volume in a single day. The campaign helped drive a new cash‑acceptance mandate that obliges retailers to take cash for purchases under $500. Reserve Bank...
Tips on a Prepaid Card: A Practical Solution with Broad Industry Impacts
In this episode of Payments Journal, host Rima Katz talks with Ben Osmond of U.S. Bank and Jordan Hirshfield of Javelin about how prepaid cards are reshaping tip distribution, payroll, and off‑cycle payments in hospitality and the gig economy. They...
Payments Have Become a Make-or-Break Facet of Small Businesses
Small business owners approaching retirement face a critical hurdle: outdated payment systems that deter younger buyers. A Zelle survey shows 88% view faster payments as essential, yet fewer than one‑third have modernized their checkout infrastructure. More than two‑thirds say obsolete...
Inside the Battle Against Credit-Push Fraud: What’s Changing
Credit‑push fraud, especially business‑email‑compromise schemes, has cost U.S. victims roughly $8.5 billion between 2022 and 2024, prompting regulators and banks to tighten defenses. Nacha will introduce new 2026 monitoring rules that require real‑time account validation to curb ACH credit fraud and...
Western Union’s Stablecoin Is Almost Ready for the Market
Western Union is in the final stages of launching its own U.S. dollar‑backed stablecoin, USDPT, built on Solana. The rollout includes a USD Stable Card for global spending and a Digital Asset Network that connects crypto wallets to Western Union’s...
Japan Assembles Task Force to Assess AI’s Financial Services Risks
Anthropic's new Mythos AI model uncovered thousands of critical vulnerabilities across operating systems and browsers used by financial institutions, prompting alarm over potential exploitation. In response, Japan announced a high‑level task force comprising the Financial Services Agency, Bank of Japan,...
Stopping Fraud in Real-Time Payments Before It Starts
The Federal Reserve’s Financial Services division is rolling out a voluntary Network Intelligence API for the FedNow instant‑payment system, delivering historical and real‑time fraud signals to banks at the moment of payment decision. The initiative responds to a surge in...
ECB Sets Payment Standards for Digital Euro Rollout
The European Central Bank has signed agreements with three standards bodies to establish open technical standards for the digital euro, keeping the project on track for a pilot in 2027 and a potential launch in 2029. The standards—CPACE for contactless...
Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Embrace Alternative Credit Scoring
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced they will now accept mortgages scored with VantageScore 4.0, a model that incorporates rent and utility payment data alongside traditional credit information. The agencies also lowered the minimum credit‑score requirement to 620 for certain purchase...
As Fraud and Agentic Risks Mount, Data Provides Continuity
In this episode of the Payments Journal, host Rima Katz and guests Dermit Thoma (Head of Fraud & Data Science at AdData), senior sales director Brand (AdData), and senior fraud analyst Jennifer Pitt (Javelin Strategy & Research) discuss how fraud...
DoorDash to Offer Gig Workers Stablecoin Payouts
DoorDash announced that it will allow its gig couriers to receive earnings as a dollar‑pegged stablecoin through Stripe’s Tempo blockchain. The partnership aims to give drivers near‑instant access to funds, cutting the typical one‑to‑two‑day bank delay. Tempo, launched only last...
Paper Prepaid Cards Emerge as an Eco-Friendly Tool to Fight Hunger
CPI Card Group is donating 25,000 eco‑friendly paper prepaid cards to Street Charity, a nonprofit that serves people facing food insecurity. The cards, built on the Discover Network, can be used only at fast‑food and quick‑serve restaurants, ensuring funds go...
Visa and TikTok Unveil Debit Card for Social Commerce Payouts
Visa and TikTok have introduced a UK‑first “creator card,” a Visa‑issued debit card that lets TikTok Live creators instantly convert virtual gifts into cash. The card is paired with a dedicated business account, helping creators keep personal and business finances...
Why the BIS Is Worried About Stablecoins
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) warned that the stablecoin market’s concentration—dominated by Tether and Circle, which together hold about 85% of the $315 billion supply—poses systemic risks. BIS General Manager Pablo Hernandez de Cos called for stronger international regulatory coordination to...
How Banks Are Competing with Fintech Apps for Small Businesses
Banks are feeling pressure as small businesses shift payments to fintech peer‑to‑peer apps like Venmo and Cash App. To retain these customers, banks are rolling out integrated tap‑to‑pay, instant payment tools such as Zelle, and white‑label solutions that let merchants...
The IMF’s Warning to Banks: Share Data to Beat AI Fraud
The International Monetary Fund released a Technical Note at its 2026 Spring Meetings urging banks to break long‑standing data‑sharing taboos. It argues that fragmented transaction and threat data hampers AI‑driven fraud detection, and recommends collaborative exchange via APIs and ISO 20022...
Consumers Are Putting More Financial Decisions in AI’s Hands
A new Plaid study shows more than half of U.S. consumers relied on AI tools to manage their money in the past year, and a similar share believes manual financial management will soon feel outdated. Younger users lead the shift,...
EBANX Targets Southeast Asia in New Cross-Border Payments Push
Brazilian fintech EBANX, a key partner behind the Pix instant‑payment system, is expanding its cross‑border payment platform into Southeast Asia. The firm has launched operations in Thailand, Indonesia and Turkey, with Malaysia and Vietnam slated for later in the year....
Cybersecurity Must Evolve as Frontier AI Fuels New Fraud Risks
Cybercriminals are leveraging frontier AI models that can reason, code, and generate deepfakes, dramatically lowering the barriers to sophisticated fraud. The FBI’s latest Internet Crime Report recorded 22,364 AI‑related complaints and nearly $893 million in losses, while studies show AI is...
Top 4 Open-Loop Commercial Prepaid Loads
Javelin Strategy & Research’s 2026 State of the Industry report shows that U.S. open‑loop commercial prepaid cards processed $232 billion in loads in 2025, led by government programs ($98 B) followed by HSA/FSA accounts ($78 B). The market, once a niche spend‑control tool,...
In Defiance of the Prognosticators, ISOs Are Thriving Again
Independent sales organizations (ISOs) once predicted to disappear are experiencing a resurgence as modern point‑of‑sale (POS) systems grow in complexity. Rather than selling terminals door‑to‑door, ISOs now provide consultative, vertical‑focused services, partnering with POS platforms and training sales teams on...
Kraken’s Success Attracts Institutional Investment, Cyber Threats
Deutsche Börse has poured $200 million into Kraken, cementing a partnership that targets regulated crypto ventures and tokenized equities. The investment follows Kraken’s recent approval of a “skinny” master account with the U.S. Federal Reserve, a milestone for institutional liquidity. At...
Beyond the Click: How Agentic Payments Are Redefining Global Financial Flow
Agentic payments—AI‑driven, intent‑centric transactions—are poised to reshape global commerce. Analysts forecast the U.S. market could hit $300‑$500 billion and the worldwide market $3‑$5 trillion by 2030. Visa and Mastercard are building trust layers, Stripe partners with OpenAI on an Agentic Commerce Protocol,...
South Korea Considers Guardrails After Crypto Transfer Error
South Korea’s central bank is evaluating the adoption of circuit‑breaker‑style safeguards for crypto after Bithumb mistakenly transferred 620,000 bitcoin—about $43 billion—in a promotion error. The blunder caused a 17% price plunge on the exchange and forced a rapid claw‑back effort, leaving...
Making Zelle Work Better for Users—And Banks
Zelle processed $1.2 trillion in 2024, a 20% year‑over‑year increase that dwarfs rivals Venmo and Cash App. Despite this scale, the service still lacks core peer‑to‑peer features such as recurring payments, favorite payees, and group splits. Because Zelle is accessed through...
U.S. Federal Reserve Considers Taking FedNow Global
The Federal Reserve is evaluating a rule change that would let FedNow participants send funds to foreign correspondent banks, effectively extending the real‑time payments network beyond U.S. borders. FedNow has already attracted more than 1,600 financial institutions, but its use...
Facing a Precarious Economy, Gen Z Turns to Credit
Gen Z is adding credit cards at a faster pace than any other generation, with more than one in four adults aged 18‑29 opening at least one new account in the past year. At the same time, their average FICO...
As Fraud Escalates, Taking a Beat Becomes a Critical Defense
Fraud in the United States surged to an all‑time high, with the FBI reporting nearly $21 billion in losses last year and over one million complaints filed. Cryptocurrency investment scams alone accounted for $11 billion in damages, while AI‑driven schemes generated $893 million in...
As Open Banking Fuels Interconnectivity, Privacy Matters More
Open banking is deepening connections between traditional banks and fintech providers, intensifying the flow of consumer data. As data sharing grows, regulators and firms are under pressure to deliver clearer, plain‑language privacy disclosures that consumers can easily locate. Javelin Strategy’s...
Unseen Momentum Could Be Mounting Behind the Yuan
Harvard economist Kenneth Rogoff warns the Chinese yuan could become a global reserve currency within five years, challenging the U.S. dollar’s entrenched position. The dollar still processes about 58% of international transactions, while the yuan accounts for roughly 2% of...
Bolt, Facing Financial Struggles, Pivots From Super App to AI
Bolt, the checkout platform that raised nearly $1 billion, has laid off roughly one‑third of its staff and is struggling to meet basic expenses such as AWS fees. Its consumer‑focused super app, launched a year ago, attracted only about 5,000 downloads,...
ACH Is Thriving, and Banks Are Struggling to Keep Pace
Automated Clearing House (ACH) remains the dominant U.S. payment rail, with volume accelerating due to a government mandate eliminating paper checks and expanding Same‑Day ACH windows. While FedNow and RTP push real‑time payments, ACH still handles bulk payroll, government disbursements,...
Community Banking Association Challenges Coinbase’s Trust Bank Approval
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency granted Coinbase a conditional trust‑bank charter, prompting the Independent Community Bankers of America to label the decision a "grave mistake." The banking group fears Coinbase could tap the federal banking system without...
How Stablecoins Emerged as a Key Element of Cross-Border Payments
Stablecoins have become the dominant vehicle for B2B cross‑border payments, now accounting for roughly two‑thirds of the market. Tether processes about $10 trillion in transactions annually, with Circle and emerging enterprise programs from Visa, Fiserv and SoFi expanding institutional adoption. Declining...
Credit Cards in Russia: Comrade, Watch Your Rubles
Russia’s credit‑card market has been reshaped by the 2022 G‑7 sanctions that forced Visa and Mastercard out, prompting a rapid rollout of the state‑run Mir system. While Mir now handles the bulk of domestic transactions, delinquencies surged 70% between October 2024...
How the U.S. Built Its Faster Payments Ecosystem
A decade after the Federal Reserve outlined a real‑time payments vision, the U.S. now operates two thriving instant‑payment networks—The Clearing House’s RTP and the FedNow service. RTP processes up to 2 million transactions daily, hitting a single‑day value record of $8.36 billion,...
Cash App Users Can Now Pay Over Time on P2P Transfers
Cash App introduced a pay‑over‑time feature that lets users split peer‑to‑peer transfers into short‑term installment plans. The service charges a 7.5% fee and allows weekly repayments for up to six weeks, with a minimum transfer of $25. It is the...