Issuing/Originating

Circle Internet Group Inc. said its plan to establish First National Digital Currency Bank, N.A., has been approved by the Comptroller of the Currency. The bank’s operating name will be Circle National Trust. Circle submitted its banking application June 30 last year and received conditional approval in December. The move …

A blockchain ledger developed by the financial-messaging platform Swift debuted with an announcement early Thursday by the Brussels-based network. Declaring the system “ready for initial use,” Swift said the technology will enable cross-border payments at all times of day or night using tokenized deposits, or digital equivalents of fiat currency. …

The economics of proprietary debit networks appears to be asserting itself as a consortium of big banks is reportedly looking to acquire a debit card system from Fiserv Inc. The banking group, which includes JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and PNC Financial Services Group, has had “tentative discussions” …

The buy now, pay later specialist Klarna AB said early Monday it has submitted applications with U.S. regulators to start an industrial bank called Klarna Bank USA. The company’s applications, filed with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. as well as the Utah Department of Financial Institutions, follow its move toward banking in …

Only a fraction of U.S. drivers redeemed rewards on millions of eligible gasoline-purchase transactions in June, payment-technology provider Verifone Inc. says following a study of its gas-station merchant base. Meanwhile, American Express Co. reported Wednesday that it has enhanced its Membership Rewards program by allowing cardholders to redeem points directly …

Processor Jack Henry & Associates Inc. said it will work with Google Cloud to introduce an AI-based security service for financial institutions to enable faster issue resolution and support routine operations. Elon Musk’s X social-media platform has started to roll out the X Money payment service to more users to elicit feedback and correct …

Payment card issuer CPI Card Group Inc. said it has acquired instant-issuance technology from HID Global Corp. The all-cash deal closed June 23, CPI said, though price and other terms were not announced. Affirm Holdings Inc. said retailer Backcountry will add Affirm as a payment method on Backcountry.com and its other sites. Mastercard …

PayIt, a payments provider for state and local governments, launched PayIt Smart Works, a slate of AI-enabled functions for back-office operations, including consolidation of payment, banking, and remittance data. Banking-technology provider Mercury launched Mercury Command, an AI-based platform enabling users to make payments and conduct other financial business via natural-language command. Sutton …

Payments executives who may be hoping that a court ruling Tuesday will put an end to years of bitter wrangling over card-acceptance costs are likely to be disappointed, experts tell Digital Transactions News. “This does not end the argument. It just stifles it,” says Cliff Gray, principal at Gray Consulting …