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Digital Payments

Coverage of real-time payments, card networks, wallets, merchant acquiring and cross-border rails shaping how money moves.

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Digital Payments
Digital Payments

Stripe's $53 Billion Acquisition of PayPal: Reshaping the Global Payment Landscape?

Payment giant Stripe, together with private equity firm Advent International, has offered approximately $53 billion to acquire PayPal. If successful, the deal would integrate merchant infrastructure with consumer scale, potentially accelerating stablecoin adoption and reshaping the digital payments landscape. However, the transaction faces stringent antitrust scrutiny and challenges in integrating different compliance frameworks and crypto strategies. Industry experts believe this move could drive stablecoin payments into the mainstream and mark a shift in fintech from fragmented innovation to platform consolidation.

Elena Richter4 min read
Digital Payments

S&P Global predicts: Global digital payment transaction volume will reach $83.9 trillion by 2030.

The latest report from S&P Global Market Intelligence shows that global consumer digital payment transaction volume is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 8.2%, reaching $83.9 trillion by 2030. The Asia-Pacific region contributes half of the transaction volume, but North America accounts for nearly 43% of processor revenue, highlighting a structural mismatch between transaction volume and profitability.

Sophia Dubois5 min read
Digital Payments

Why are commercial banking businesses in the Asia-Pacific region so dynamic?

The commercial banking business in the Asia-Pacific region is undergoing rapid transformation, driven by real-time payments, fintech competition, and the development of digital assets, which are reshaping the industry. This article, based on a collaborative report between Finextra and Visa Direct, analyzes the unique drivers and challenges of the Asia-Pacific market.

Julian Chen4 min read
Digital Payments

Weekly Fintech Headlines: SBI Acquires Bitbank, Lloyds Phases Out Halifax, FCA Issues New Crypto Regulations, First AI Agent Payment Completed, Open USD Stablecoin Launched

This week, several major developments have taken place in the fintech sector: Japan's SBI Holdings acquired crypto exchange Bitbank for $289 million; Worldline, Mastercard, and Crédit Agricole completed France's first AI agent payment; over 140 banks and tech giants jointly launched the Open USD stablecoin; Lloyds Banking Group announced the phasing out of the 173-year-old Halifax brand; and the UK's FCA released final regulatory rules on crypto assets and stablecoins.

Alistair Sterling9 min read
Digital Payments

Digital euro passes European Parliament committee vote, expected to be officially launched in 2029

The European Parliament's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs passed the digital euro legislative draft with 43 votes in favor and 14 against, paving the way for pilot testing in 2027 and full rollout in 2029. The digital euro, to be issued by the European Central Bank, aims to safeguard Europe's monetary sovereignty and reduce reliance on U.S. payment systems such as Visa and Mastercard.

Alistair Sterling3 min read
Digital Payments

Europe's Cross-Border Payment Dilemma: Sovereignty Struggles and Blockchain Dominance

According to a joint report by Money20/20 and FXC Intelligence, the European cross-border payment market will see outflows of $21.1 trillion in 2025, accounting for 48% of the global total. Stablecoins and blockchain have become core topics, and Europe is competing for payment sovereignty through real-time payment networks such as Wero and EuroPA.

Elena Richter3 min read
Digital Payments

Myanmar and Fintech: Pressing On in a Fragmented Economy

Myanmar's fintech development is not a simple growth story. Against a backdrop of political turmoil, economic fragmentation, and weak infrastructure, digital payments and mobile finance continue to struggle to provide basic financial services to the people. This article analyzes the current state, challenges, and future prospects of Myanmar's fintech ecosystem.

Elena Richter7 min read
Digital Payments

Money20/20 Europe Observations: How real-time payments, agentic AI, and tokenized settlement are reshaping financial infrastructure

Money20/20 Europe’s third day of discussions showed that the industry focus has shifted from proof of concept to implementable financial infrastructure upgrades: real-time payment networks, cross-border settlement, agentic AI governance, tokenized deposits and stablecoin applications, as well as post-quantum security and real-time fraud prevention.

Sophia Dubois8 min read
Digital Payments

Five major trends in the payments industry in May 2026: PayPal restructuring, AI reconciliation, and European payment license expansion

This article, based on FinTech Futures’ review of the five major payments industry news stories in May 2026, focuses on PayPal’s organizational restructuring, NBG Cyprus introducing AI reconciliation, Housing Bank upgrading its payments infrastructure, Currensea obtaining a European payment institution license, and management changes at The Payments Association, analyzing their impact on digital payments and financial infrastructure.

Alistair Sterling8 min read