Europe

ACCEPTANCE & PROCESSING

Checkout.com has partnered with Italian ERP TeamSystem to embed its AI‑driven Intelligent Acceptance platform across the software provider’s ecosystem, promising higher authorisation rates for the 2.5 million SMEs on TeamSystem’s books and supporting the firm’s expansion into Spain and France.

CROSS-BORDER

PayDo has obtained an EMI licence from the Malta Financial Services Authority, giving the London‑based fintech the passporting rights it needs to scale its multi‑currency IBAN, SEPA Instant, Faster Payments and Visa virtual‑card issuing services across the EU.

ISSUING

Checkout.com has teamed up with Visa to add end‑to‑end card‑issuing capabilities for European merchants. The tie‑up lets travel‑sector clients launch physical and virtual Visa cards without pre‑funding, instantly recycling settlement funds to pay suppliers and improving cash‑flow efficiency.

REGULATION (EU)

Bulgaria’s parliament has imposed year‑long price‑controls ahead of euro adoption on 1 January 2026, mandating dual‑pricing from 8 August and empowering regulators to fine merchants up to €511 k for unjustified price hikes during the currency change‑over.

REGULATION (UK)

The Financial Conduct Authority has told digital lenders to redesign online journeys after finding that “nudge” tactics and missing cost disclosures in app‑based borrowing can push consumers into poor credit decisions—warning firms that such designs fall short of Consumer Duty expectations.

North America

BNPL

Equifax is partnering with fintech Qlarifi to study how Buy Now, Pay Later usage impacts credit risk and fraud outcomes. The joint research will analyze real-time BNPL data from multiple lenders – a first in the U.S. – to gauge risks like loan stacking and improve credit decisioning with BNPL insights.

CASH(less)

Coinstar, known for its coin-counting kiosks, will soon let users convert loose change directly into a prepaid Mastercard debit card. The service (now in pilot testing) allows customers to load their coin value into a virtual or physical Mastercard at the kiosk, potentially for free to encourage reuse, giving consumers a cashless spending option without the usual coin-counting fees.

CRYPTOASSETS/BLOCKCHAIN/DLT

FIS has partnered with Circle to enable banks and credit unions to make payments using Circle’s USDC stablecoin. FIS will integrate USDC into its Money Movement Hub, allowing financial institutions to offer domestic and cross-border transactions in USDC with faster settlement and compliance with new U.S. stablecoin regulations.

DIGITAL & eCOMMERCE

Visa is preparing for “agentic AI” as the next evolution of commerce, viewing AI-driven shopping assistants as a shift on par with e-commerce and mobile payments. The card network is adapting its products and global network to ensure seamless, secure payments when autonomous AI agents transact on behalf of consumers, focusing on fraud protection and trust as these agent-led purchases gain speed.

ISSUING

Flex has launched the Flex Visa Infinite Business Credit Card, becoming the first U.S. fintech to introduce a Visa Infinite business card. The new card replaces Flex’s previous Mastercard offering and gives small businesses access to elite Visa Infinite perks like luxury travel benefits and enhanced purchase protections typically reserved for large corporate programs.

REGULATION

President Trump has signed the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act into law, creating a regulatory framework for payment stablecoins and their issuers. The law restricts issuing of stablecoins to approved entities and imposes requirements like 1:1 reserve backing and monthly disclosures to regulators, with the framework taking effect within 18 months.

SCHEMES

Visa and Mastercard are projected to report higher quarterly profits this week thanks to resilient consumer spending. Analysts note the card giants’ massive global user base and expansion into services like fraud intelligence should help sustain growth, though they are monitoring a possible second-half spending slowdown and softer cross-border travel due to geopolitical tensions.

LATAM

ACCEPTANCE & PROCESSING

Payroc has agreed to acquire payment orchestration platform BlueSnap, creating a combined acquirer with end-to-end global card processing and e-banking capabilities for merchants and partners. The deal extends Payroc’s footprint to 47 countries, bolstering its presence in Europe and the UK. (Financial terms were not disclosed, and the acquisition is expected to close in Q3 pending approval.)

Global Payments (via its EVO Payments arm) has partnered with Banamex and Mastercard to launch “Pago Shops,” an e-commerce platform aimed at digitizing Mexico’s 4.5 million SMEs. The accessible, turnkey solution lets entrepreneurs quickly set up online stores – integrating product catalogs and social media channels – without technical complexity or upfront investment. It includes features like free onboarding (six months), next-day settlement of sales, 3D Secure (Mastercard Gateway) protection, and even logistics integration, helping small businesses expand digitally and boost sales with minimal friction.

CASH(less)

OXXO Pay (the fintech arm of Mexico’s OXXO stores, via Spin by OXXO) has introduced “Retiro al Instante”, a new cash-out service leveraging its 23,000-store network nationwide. The tool enables businesses to send refund or payout codes to customers via text/email, which can be presented (as a QR code) at any OXXO for instant cash withdrawal – no bank account, card, or app required. Aimed at financially excluded groups (over 22 million Mexican adults lack bank accounts), the service bridges digital transactions and cash, allowing even unbanked customers to participate in e-commerce and receive funds easily in cash.

CORPORATE ACTIVITY

Ramp has closed a new $500 million funding round just 45 days after a previous raise, boosting the US expense management startup’s valuation to $22.5 billion. The fresh capital (following a $200 million raise at $16 billion valuation in May) underscores investor confidence as Ramp accelerates growth with AI-driven financial automation tools.

CRYPTOASSETS/BLOCKCHAIN/DLT

Bolivia’s central bank has signed a formal cooperation agreement with El Salvador’s Digital Assets Commission (CNAD) to develop a comprehensive crypto regulatory framework. Under the open-ended MoU – announced in La Paz – Bolivia will tap El Salvador’s expertise (as the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender) to craft its own rules, monitoring tools and legal standards for digital assets. The policy shift comes amid a crypto surge in Bolivia: official data show monthly crypto transaction volume rocketed from $46.5 million to $294 million in the year through June 2025. Moving away from a traditionally cautious stance, Bolivian authorities see the El Salvador partnership as a step toward a well-regulated ecosystem that encourages innovation and financial inclusion while managing risks.

ISSUING

PayJoy, a fintech known for smartphone financing is expanding into Colombia with the launch of physical and virtual PayJoy Cards, in partnership with Argentine banking-as-a-service provider Pomelo. Having already rolled out its card program in Mexico, PayJoy leveraged Pomelo’s cloud-native, API-driven platform (with regulatory licenses across six countries) to replicate its card solution in Colombia swiftly, without rebuilding integrations or facing major compliance hurdles. Through the PayJoy app, Colombian users can now receive and manage prepaid Visa cards in real time featuring instant locking, spend tracking, and international use marking a significant boost in financial inclusion for traditionally underserved consumers who can now participate in the digital economy with greater ease. The case underscores a broader trend of Latin American fintechs rapidly “regionalizing” products by using modular tech and shared infrastructure to scale across markets.

APAC

ACCEPTANCE & PROCESSING

Naver Pay has rolled out “pay-by-face” checkout on South Korean university campuses and plans to introduce its own biometric payment terminal by year-end. Local card issuer Lotte Card also received regulatory clearance to pilot facial-recognition payments at airports, as such systems gain traction despite interoperability and privacy concerns.

NTT DATA Payment Services has launched the ADAPTIS Soundbox, a voice-enabled payment terminal for SMEs in Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand. The plug-and-play soundbox accepts contactless cards, QR codes and mobile wallets with an audio alert for each successful transaction – helping shop staff confirm payments during busy periods without checking screens.

CORPORATE ACTIVITY

RD Technologies, a Hong Kong fintech, has raised US$40 million in a Series A2 round led by ZA Group to advance its regulated stablecoin platform. As one of three participants in Hong Kong’s new stablecoin sandbox (with the licensing law taking effect this week), RD is well placed for approval to launch its HKD-pegged coin (HKDR); ZA Bank has signed on to custody the stablecoin’s reserves and act as a distributor under a new partnership.

CROSS-BORDER

Thunes, a Singapore-based cross-border payments network, has partnered with remittance fintech EzyRemit to enable real-time payouts to over 45 countries via Thunes’ Direct Global Network. EzyRemit (with offices in Australia, Japan, Vietnam and beyond) can now offer its expatriate customers instant transfers to billions of bank accounts, mobile wallets and cash pickup locations, targeting high-volume corridors such as Australia-to-Philippines remittances.

CRYPTOASSETS/BLOCKCHAIN/DLT

Alpha Ladder Group (Singapore) has secured a patent for its CNT® “Carbon Stablecoin” framework that converts verified decarbonisation data into blockchain-based stablecoins. The patented system tokenises carbon credits into fully backed digital tokens, elevating carbon offsets into a programmable financial instrument for cross-border payments and FX trading under rigorous regulatory safeguards.

DIGITAL & eCOMMERCE

Google Play has added Thailand’s KASIKORNBANK (K PLUS) mobile banking app as a new payment option, letting Thai Android users pay for apps, games and digital content directly via their bank accounts. The integration – enabled by Ant Group’s Antom merchant platform – opens Google Play to KBank’s 14 million K PLUS users and even supports recurring payments, with over one million accounts expected to link by year-end.

DIGITAL, RETAIL & ‘NEO’ BANKING

WeLab Group, a Hong Kong-based digital banking operator, announced it reached profitability in early 2025 and now plans to expand its user base to 500 million customers across Asia by 2032. Founded as an online lender, WeLab has grown to 70 million users and operates licensed digital banks in Hong Kong and Indonesia (with a third license application in Thailand), positioning itself for pan-Asian expansion as a “financial superapp”.

REALTIME/INSTANT PAYMENTS

Mainland China and Hong Kong have activated their new “Payment Connect” link between domestic instant payment systems, enabling near-instant small-value transfers across the border. By inputting a recipient’s mobile or account number, residents of Hong Kong and China can now send money to each other in real time via Hong Kong’s FPS and China’s IBPS networks – a move expected to boost cross-boundary commerce and financial integration.

REGULATION

Indonesia will sharply raise taxes on cryptocurrency transactions from August 1 under new Finance Ministry regulations. Sellers on domestic crypto exchanges will face a 0.21% income tax on each trade (up from 0.1%), overseas exchange trades will incur 1% tax (up from 0.2%), and crypto mining VAT will double to 2.2%, while previously required VAT on crypto buyers is being scrapped.

Hong Kong’s Legislative Council has passed a new Stablecoin Ordinance, effective 1 August, establishing a comprehensive licensing regime for issuers of fiat-backed stablecoins. The law requires any stablecoin issuer to obtain an HKMA license and hold 100% reserve assets in high-quality liquid form, plus comply with strict redemption guarantees, risk management standards and AML/CFT controls to safeguard financial stability.

SCHEMES

UnionPay International is enhancing payment interoperability for Chinese tourists in Malaysia as travel rebounds. About 95% of Malaysian merchants now accept UnionPay cards at POS, and the UnionPay mobile app is compatible with Malaysia’s DuitNow QR national standard – allowing Chinese visitors to scan QR codes for payment at millions of local outlets. In turn, UnionPay cards issued in Malaysia can be linked to WeChat Pay and Alipay for use in China (with the typical 3% foreign transaction fee waived), further streamlining two-way digital payments for travellers.

Middle East and Africa

CORPORATE ACTIVITY

CE-Ventures, the venture arm of UAE-based Crescent Enterprises, has invested in Silicon Valley firms Plaid and Mesh as part of their recent fundraising. Plaid raised $575 million (led by Franklin Templeton) with CE-Ventures joining in, while Mesh secured $82 million in a Series B led by Paradigm (also joined by CE-Ventures). The UAE investor views Plaid’s open banking data platform and Mesh’s crypto asset transfer infrastructure as foundational for the next generation of open, programmable financial systems.

CROSS-BORDER

Afriex, a Lagos/San Francisco-based money transfer fintech, has extended its service to Asia’s three largest remittance markets – China, India, and Pakistan – amid rising demand for low-cost, near-instant payments. The move positions Afriex to better serve African traders and diaspora communities by enabling seamless cross-border transfers in local currencies, bypassing traditional rails like SWIFT.

DIGITAL & eCOMMERCE

A new Visa study, “Value of Acceptance: Understanding the Digital Payment Landscape in Egypt,” highlights accelerating digital payment adoption among Egypt’s small businesses. 53% of merchants surveyed have begun accepting digital payments in the last two years, and over 77% of SMEs believe these technologies will drive business growth. Meanwhile, 55% of cash-only merchants plan to adopt POS systems, spurred by Egypt’s booming e-commerce market (59% of surveyed merchants recently started taking online payments) and the proven revenue and footfall benefits reported by current digital pay users.

DIGITAL, RETAIL & ‘NEO’ BANKING

Jeel, the digital innovation arm of Riyad Bank, has signed an MoU with Dubai-based zypl.ai to integrate the startup’s synthetic data generation and AI risk analytics into Saudi digital banking services. The partnership will use zypl.ai’s “zGAN” technology to produce privacy-safe datasets for stress-testing models, combined with AI tools to enhance fraud prevention and credit scoring. By embedding these real-time AI models into Jeel’s payment infrastructure, the initiative aims to speed up payment authorisations, reduce false fraud alerts, and improve credit decisions for underserved segments – supporting Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 digital finance goals.

FRAUD & CYBERSECURITY

The Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Abu Dhabi Global Market has approved new cyber risk management amendments for financial institutions, coming into effect on 31 January 2026. The updated framework, finalized after industry consultation, will require firms to embed cyber risk into overall risk management processes. It builds on existing guidance and introduces a 6-month implementation window, clarifying proportionality and third-party risk expectations. The FSRA’s CEO emphasized that aligning with global best practices in cybersecurity is vital to protect the integrity of ADGM’s financial sector.

MOBILE MONEY/WALLETS

Safaricom has partnered with PayPal to link their platforms, enabling M-Pesa’s 35 million users to seamlessly send and receive funds with PayPal’s worldwide network. Customers can now link M-Pesa wallets to PayPal accounts, allowing transfers between the two services and facilitating easier cross-border remittances and e-commerce payments for Kenyan traders and freelancers. The interoperability launches in Kenya (M-Pesa’s home market) with plans to extend to other M-Pesa countries, marking a significant step in connecting Africa’s leading mobile money system to global digital payments.

REGULATION

The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) has revoked the license of Al Nahdi Exchange after examinations found serious failures in the firm’s compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing rules. The exchange’s name has been removed from the official register pursuant to federal law, and the CBUAE stated it will continue taking action to ensure all exchange houses and their staff adhere to UAE’s AML/CFT regulations and sanctions framework to safeguard the integrity of the financial system.

SCHEMES

Banks across the UAE will raise the fee on international card transactions to 3.14% of the amount (up from the current 2.09%) effective 22 September 2025. This new rate applies to all overseas purchases and ATM withdrawals on UAE-issued credit and debit cards. The fee consists of a 1% currency conversion charge by card networks (Visa, Mastercard, etc.) plus a 2.14% bank fee. Consumers are advised to be mindful of these charges – for example, spending AED 5,000 abroad would incur about AED 157 in fees – and to avoid dynamic currency conversion offers that carry poor exchange rates. Banks suggest using cards with no foreign fees or fintech multi-currency wallets as alternatives for frequent travellers.