Issuing/Originating

Capital One Financial Corp. said it will acquire Brex Inc., a San Francisco-based specialist in corporate cards and expense-management software, for $5.15 billion in stock and cash. Brex founder and chief executive Pedro Franceschi will continue in that role. The deal is expected to close by mid-year. Visa Inc. said it will …

Stablecoins have moved into the mainstream of digital payments, according to a report from cryptocurrency platform provider zerohash. In 2025, stablecoin transaction volume as measured in U.S. dollars increased nearly seven-fold year over year, while the average transaction size rose 157%. In addition, the number of customers actively transacting with …

PayPal Holdings Inc. has agreed to acquire Cymbio Ltd., a payments-orchestration platform, with a closing expected in the first half of the year. Terms were not disclosed. Lightspeed Commerce Inc. announced Lightspeed AI along with a number of other new services. The AI service is aimed at aiding merchants in decision making …

Forage Technology Corporation Inc. has partnered with Adyen NV to enable Adyen merchants in the United States to accept SNAP EBT payments. Some 42 million U.S. consumers receive the benefits. SNAP, short for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, is a federal assistance program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s …

PayPal Holdings Inc. is getting a boost from Blackhawk Network, a major gift card platform, which early Tuesday launched a promotion that could lift results for Blackhawk as well. Pleasanton, Calif.-based Blackhawk announced early Tuesday it is offering 5% cash back to consumers who opt in and buy digital gift …

Restaurant chain Steak ’n Shake says it has reduced its transaction fees by nearly 50% compared to credit card acceptance costs, while at the same time increasing sales by 15%, since it began accepting bitcoin last May. Steak ‘n Shake has nearly 400 locations in the United States. Steak ‘n …

The Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA) was dead in the water. Most of Congress would have preferred to leave it that way, avoiding a vote in which they would have to take sides between two powerful interests: banks and merchants. But President Trump, with a single Truth Social post on …

The stablecoin hype is real. The pitch sounds irresistible: instant settlement, lower costs, fewer intermediaries. So, will the world move on from cards to stablecoins? Nope. Why not? Because it’s more nuanced than that. Stablecoins and cards aren’t competing for the same job. Rather, they solve different problems in the …

[Aug. 12] Stablecoin giant Circle Internet Group Inc. early Tuesday unveiled Arc, a new payments platform aimed at major money flows, including foreign exchange. The new service, part of the existing Circle Payments Network, will speed up foreign exchange while offering what the company calls “sub-second instant finality” in settlement, the …

Currys, a United Kingdom-based technology retailer, formed a new partnership with Stripe Inc. that will see Stripe point-of-sale terminals installed in the merchant’s nearly 300 stores. The global credit card market is forecasted to grow in transaction value from $14.83 trillion in 2025 to $17.73 trillion in 2030, according to a report from Mordor …