Europe

ACCEPTANCE & PROCESSING

Mastercard and Uber have deepened their global partnership to modernize payments on the ride-hailing platform. Uber will adopt Mastercard’s real-time disbursement tool Move for instant, no-fee driver payouts and expand the Uber Pro Card (which offers immediate earnings after each trip and cash-back rewards) to the UK and other markets. The collaboration also leverages Mastercard’s payment gateway and tokenisation solutions to enable more secure, seamless transactions for Uber’s 170+ million users and 8.5 million earners worldwide.

DIGITAL & eCOMMERCE

PayPal is establishing a new AI and fraud Data Science Centre in Dublin and creating 100 highly skilled jobs to staff it. The expansion – supported by Ireland’s IDA investment agency – reflects PayPal’s push to build an “AI-driven, data-powered future” for payments security and customer experience, and will turn its Dublin site into a hub for advanced risk intelligence and innovation. Roles in AI engineering, data science, software development and cybersecurity will focus on next-gen fraud detection and payment optimization.

FRAUD & CYBERSECURITY

Mastercard has unveiled A2A Protect, a new service to safeguard account-to-account payments, launching first in the UK. Developed with banks including Monzo, NatWest and Santander, A2A Protect combines AI-driven real-time fraud scoring and a clear dispute-resolution framework to counter the rise in authorised push payment (APP) scams on the Faster Payments network. By offering industry-wide data sharing and standardized protections, Mastercard aims to bolster consumer trust and recourse in instant bank transfers.

ISSUING

Mastercard has introduced an AI Card Design Studio, becoming the first card network to bring AI-powered card design to market. The new platform lets card issuers instantly generate personalized, brand-compliant payment card designs in minutes instead of weeks, streamlining time-to-market and creative flexibility. Currently live in Europe, North America and Australia via Mastercard Connect, the tool uses generative AI to automate the design process and will even enable bank customers to design their own cards in future, underscoring Mastercard’s focus on innovation in the card issuance process.

North America

CRYPTOASSETS/BLOCKCHAIN/DLT

JPMorgan explores crypto-backed loans: JPMorgan Chase is considering letting clients use cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum as collateral for loans, signaling a notable shift in its stance on digital assets. The move comes as U.S. regulators advance formal crypto rules – for example, Congress’s first stablecoin bill – prompting traditional banks to deepen crypto services under clearer guidelines. 

Interactive Brokers eyes a stablecoin launch: U.S. brokerage Interactive Brokers (IB) is working on potentially issuing its own stablecoin to enable instant, 24/7 funding of customer trading accounts. IB’s founder Thomas Peterffy said the firm could also support other firms’ stablecoins for account funding, as big financial players embrace blockchain tokens amid an easing U.S. regulatory environment.

DIGITAL & eCOMMERCE

Temu faces hurdles in U.S. price war with Amazon: Chinese e-commerce upstart Temu has been warned by American partners that it cannot undercut Amazon’s prices on the same branded products. The pressure comes as U.S. tariffs and the end of a duty exemption hit Temu’s model – its U.S. app usage has stalled, with monthly active users dropping 54% between March and mid-July.

FRAUD & CYBERSECURITY

QR code “quishing” scams on the rise: As QR codes grow more popular for payments and info sharing, so do QR code-based phishing scams known as “quishing,” according to recent reports. Fraudsters are exploiting consumers’ trust in scanning codes by replacing or distributing malicious QR codes that redirect to phony websites to steal credentials.  

ISSUING

Citi debuts luxury Strata Elite credit card: Citigroup has launched the Strata Elite, a premium credit card aimed at high-end spenders and directly challenging American Express and JPMorgan’s top-tier cards. The Mastercard World Legend card carries a $595 annual fee and offers roughly $1,500 in annual perks on travel, dining, hotels and more to entice affluent customers. 

LITIGATION 

Fiserv faces class action over Clover metrics: A securities class action lawsuit claims payments giant Fiserv misled investors about the performance of its Clover payment platform. The complaint alleges Fiserv forced merchants from its old Payeezy system to migrate to Clover, artificially boosting Clover’s revenue and payment volumes, while hiding that many of those merchants later left and that Clover’s growth was in fact slowing.

REGULATION  

U.S. agency deploys AI to slash regulations: The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has built a “Deregulation Decision Tool” using AI to review roughly 200,000 federal regulations and identify about 100,000 that can be eliminated as no longer legally required. The AI system has already processed over 1,000 rules (even drafting all recent deregulations at the CFPB) and aligns with the Trump administration’s push to integrate AI in government to cut red tape.

LATAM

CORPORATE ACTIVITY 

Rakuten Cloud has entered the Latin American market by launching its cloud services in Brazil, providing local banks and fintechs with infrastructure aimed at lowering costs, accelerating digital transformation, and ensuring regulatory compliance in critical financial environments.

CROSS-BORDER 

dLocal (Uruguay), a leading cross-border payments platform, has joined forces with remittance fintech RizRemit to streamline payout operations across key African and Asian corridors. Through a single integration, RizRemit can now tap into dLocal’s access to domestic bank rails and popular e-wallets, enabling faster, more flexible remittances in those regions. 

CRYPTOASSETS/BLOCKCHAIN/DLT 

Saf.money (a New York- and Guatemala-based startup) has closed an oversubscribed pre-seed funding round – backed by investors like Fulgur Ventures, Plan B, Initial Capital and 1A1z – to expand its bitcoin- and stablecoin-powered cross-border money movement platform. The new funding will help Saf.money build out off-ramps in Latin America and add support for more stablecoin payment rails to simplify sending and receiving funds across borders.

DIGITAL, RETAIL & ‘NEO’ BANKING 

Itaú Unibanco has launched Itaú Emps, a new digital bank focused on serving small and medium-sized businesses. The app-based service – introduced by Itaú’s business banking unit – targets enterprises with roughly R$200,000 to R$3 million in annual revenue and features 24/7 generative AI assistance for personalized financial insights. 

Naranja X (Argentina) is now offering dollar-denominated accounts for users aged 13 and up, in addition to its existing peso accounts. The fintech says this initiative will boost financial inclusion for teens by letting young customers transact in USD and learn personal finance skills, all through the Naranja X app.

ISSUING 

Thredd and Inswitch have formed a strategic alliance to help global fintechs launch local card programs in Mexico. The partnership combines Thredd’s next-generation card issuing platform with Inswitch’s regulated local BIN sponsorship infrastructure, giving international companies a frictionless, compliant path to issue local currency and USD payment cards in one of LatAm’s top fintech markets.

MOBILE MONEY/WALLETS 

DaviPlata, the digital wallet of Colombia’s Banco Davivienda, has surpassed 19 million users and is rolling out new features for small merchants through its “Mi Negocio” service. The wallet’s creator noted that DaviPlata is strengthening its offerings for micro-businesses – which account for 2.7 million of its users – as part of a broader push to deepen financial inclusion via digital payments.

OPEN BANKING 

Clip (Mexico) has partnered with open-finance fintech Belvo to improve credit access for underbanked merchants. Clip’s lending arm (PrestaClip) is now using Belvo’s employment and income data APIs to evaluate small business owners’ stability and cash flow, even if they lack formal credit history, thereby strengthening Clip’s business financing capabilities.

REALTIME/INSTANT PAYMENTS 

Colombia is preparing to launch its new real-time payments system, called Bre-B, in September. Banks and digital wallets in the country have already onboarded about 5.6 million users with interoperable payment “keys” (aliases) via existing instant transfer networks (like Transfiya), signaling strong readiness for Bre-B’s rollout and a high adoption of immediate, 24/7 funds transfers ahead of the system’s official debut.

APAC

ACCEPTANCE & PROCESSING 

Mastercard launches contactless “Tap & Go” payments on Metro Manila’s MRT-3, enabling commuters to use Mastercard credit/debit cards and NFC-enabled mobile wallets to pay fares at train stations.

CASH(less) 

Labuan (Malaysia) has unveiled a “Cashless Society” initiative to boost public adoption of digital payments, particularly among retailers, aiming for 400 cashless transactions per capita by 2026 under the national financial blueprint.

CORPORATE ACTIVITY 

Toss – the South Korean super-app by Viva Republica – is preparing for a US IPO as early as Q2 2026, reportedly seeking a valuation above $10 billion (potentially up to $15 billion in favourable markets) and aiming to raise $2–3 billion to drive its global expansion beyond 24 million domestic users.

CRYPTOASSETS/BLOCKCHAIN/DLT 

Indonesia’s first crypto exchange group – PT Indokripto Koin Semesta (COIN) – debuted on the Indonesia Stock Exchange, raising IDR 220 billion. The landmark IPO comes as regulatory oversight shifts to the Financial Services Authority (OJK), reclassifying crypto as a digital financial instrument and integrating it into mainstream finance.

DIGITAL & eCOMMERCE 

Federal Bank (India) rolled out biometric authentication for e-commerce card payments, allowing customers to verify purchases via facial recognition or fingerprint instead of OTPs. The bank says this innovation (built with fintech partners M2P and MinkasuPay) cuts the checkout verification time to ~3–4 seconds.

ISSUING 

Mastercard has launched an AI Card Design Studio tool to help card issuers rapidly create custom payment card designs. Billed as an industry-first, the platform uses AI to generate brand-compliant card art in minutes (vs. weeks), streamlining issuers’ design process and accelerating time-to-market for new cards.

REALTIME/INSTANT PAYMENTS 

NPCI (India) issued new rules to improve UPI real-time payments performance. The guidelines cap balance enquiry requests to 50 per customer (per app per day) and mandate that automatic e-mandate payments (Autopay) be executed during off-peak hours, reducing system strain and ensuring smoother transactions.

REGULATION  

New Zealand moved to curb payment surcharges – the government has proposed banning most surcharges on in-store debit and credit card transactions from May 2026, a step it estimates will save consumers roughly NZ$150 million annually and ensure Kiwis aren’t penalised for using cards or digital wallets.

SCHEMES 

UnionPay International has partnered with Trust Bank in Bangladesh, signing a deal to collaborate on issuing and accepting UnionPay credit and debit cards. The alliance will expand Trust Bank’s card offerings and provide Bangladeshi travellers (especially those doing business or medical trips to China) with more convenient and secure payment options via UnionPay’s network.

Middle East and Africa

CORPORATE ACTIVITY 

Mubadala Investment Company has invested in Dubai-based fintech Qlub as part of a $30 million funding round, bringing Qlub’s total funding to $72 million. Qlub’s QR code-based platform allows diners to scan, order, and pay via smartphone, reflecting the Gulf region’s push into cashless, tech-driven hospitality payments. 

Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) has recorded its best-ever first half, with 1,081 new companies joining in H1 2025 (a 32% increase year-on-year, bringing the total to 7,700 firms). The number of professionals working in DIFC climbed to 47,901 (up 9% from a year earlier), underscoring Dubai’s growth as the MEASA region’s leading fintech and financial hub.

CRYPTOASSETS/BLOCKCHAIN/DLT 

Flexa has introduced a new feature called Mini App Payments to enable in-person cryptocurrency transactions through integrated social apps and wallets. The service—now live at retailers like Chipotle and Sheetz—lets consumers pay with digital assets via scannable QR codes, using built-in wallet functionality and no physical card terminals required.