When Zelle launched, consumers were enamored with the ability to send and receive instant, frictionless payments without leaving their banking app. Fraudsters took notice. Social-engineering scams quickly exploited Zelle’s speed and irreversibility, leaving banks, regulators, and consumers tangled in years of disputes over a deceptively simple question: Who was responsible? …
Read More »Visa Unveils a Host of AI, Token, and Stablecoin Initiatives
Visa Inc. announced multiple technological initiatives this week that aim to enhance the roles of artificial intelligence, stablecoins and tokens in payments, including usage of the ChatGPT AI program. The plethora of announcements came at the Visa Payments Forum 2026 in San Francisco. “AI is transforming the front end of commerce,” Jack …
Read More »JetPay Charters A Crypto Path and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 6/11/26
JetPay, a payments platform specializing in charter flights, has agreed to work with fiat and stablecoin payments platform Nuvion to speed cross-border payments for bookings. Xplor Technologies, a payments-technology provider, announced it has acquired Bitlancer, a developer of software for payroll and other functions aimed at fitness businesses. Bank of …
Read More »The Argument Over Interchange Is Far from Settled, Observers Say
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 …
Read More »COMMENTARY: Predictive Payments: Using AI to Solve the Margin Crisis
For the better part of two decades, I’ve watched the payments industry evolve from a straightforward utility into a labyrinth of technical complexity. Merchant fee structures today are no longer just the cost of doing business. They are a volatile variable that can quietly erode a company’s bottom line. As …
Read More »Agent Pay for Machines and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 6/10/26
Mastercard announced Agent Pay for Machines, a system for the initiation, orchestration, and settlement of payments conducted at high speed between AI agents. The network is collaborating with more than 30 companies on the initiative, including Adyen, Global Payments, Stripe, and BVNK, a stablecoin platform it has agreed to acquire for $1.8 …
Read More »Klarna Looks to Shake up Banking With Its Savings Accounts
The payments platform Klarna AB may be a leading provider of buy now, pay later lending, but it is seeing increasing opportunity in other banking services. Early Tuesday, it launched savings accounts in the U.S. market. In its announcement, the company calls the move “a natural next step” following its …
Read More »Feedzai’s IQ Score and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 6/9/26
Fraud-prevention specialist Feedzai announced Feedzai IQ Score, an AI-native scoring service to measure fraud risk for banks. Braid FI, which develops payments technologies for banks, announced an agreement with Koard, a specialist in in-person payments, to help financial institutions offer tap-to-pay capability on mobile phones. Xplor Pay, an embedded-payments technology provider, has …
Read More »With Their Eyes on Affordability, Consumers Increasingly Gift Themselves, Blackhawk Finds
The number of consumers planning to buy gift cards for self-use rose from 31% last year to 56% in 2026, according to new research results released Monday by Blackhawk Network Inc., a major prepaid card services and technology provider. Overall, 77% of Americans plan to buy gift cards this year, …
Read More »Findustry AI Takes Aim at Chargebacks
A perpetual bane of payments, chargebacks create issues for merchants and their payment providers. Now, Findustry AI Inc. hopes its new artificial intelligence-enabled Chargeback Agent product will help ease the work of complying with card-brand dispute processes. Led by Jonathan Razi, who sold CardX, a surcharging-services provider, to Stax in 2021, …
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