Real-time Payments

July, 2026

• 10 July

  Circle Wins Approval of Its Banking Plan

  

  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 …
• 9 July

  Swift Launches a Service Based on Tokenized Money; Nium Buys Cypher

  

  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. …
• 8 July

  U.S. Bank Looks to Tap Into Small Business Demand for Faster Payments

  

  As small businesses increasingly look for faster payment capabilities, banks are starting to see a potentially profitable market. The latest offering emerged early Wednesday with U.S. Bank’s unveiling of Enhanced Payments, a bundled offering accessible online and through the bank’s mobile app. The new platform, open to entities with a …
• 1 July

  FedNow Marks a Third Anniversary Tally at More Than 1,800 Banks and Credit Unions

  

  Three years since FedNow’s launch, the real-time payment network from the Federal Reserve says the number of banks and credit unions enrolled in it now tops 1,800. That’s 200 more than in January, when it counted more than 1,600 participating financial institutions. That tally includes seven of the 10 largest …

June, 2026

• 30 June

  Visa Expands the Smart Phone’s Role in Payment Acceptance

  

  Visa Inc. has taken steps to make smart phones a more readily available way for merchants, especially micro-size ones, to digitally accept payments with updates to Visa Pay, Visa Accept, and Visa Direct. With Visa Accept, announced in April 2025, Visa makes it easier for these small sellers to get …
• 30 June

  Repay’s Latest Bid and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 6/30/26

  

  Payments platform Repay Holdings Corp. reported it has received a revised, unsolicited and non-binding offer from Forager Capital Management LLC to acquire the company’s outstanding shares at $5.25 per share, in cash. Repay says its board is reviewing the offer. The proposal follows an offer in April from Forager at $4.80 per …
• 22 June

  A Startup Works With Visa to Offer Real Time Payouts Cross Border

  

  The cross-border payments startup Nuvion said early Monday it will work with Visa Direct, a faster-payments network, to enable businesses to send real-time payouts globally. The service is aimed at smoothing faster payments to a host of everyday recipients, including suppliers, contractors, and customers, Nuvion says. Founded only in 2024, …
• 19 June

  Repay Takes a ‘Significant Step’ Toward Stablecoins

  
• 10 June

  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 …
• 9 June

  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 …