Penny’s End Pushes Cash Closer to the Checkout Exit
The U.S. Senate has passed the Common Cents Act, bringing the end of the penny closer and potentially giving a new push to the country’s shift away from cash payments.
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Half US Households to Use BNPL for 2026 Back-to-School Shopping
New survey data shows Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) is becoming a routine part of predictable, recurring shopping for American households, and almost half of US consumers will use it to make the annual back-to-school purchases possible.
CLARITY Act Stalls Before Recess as Coldcard Wallet Exploit Rattles Self-Custody Users
Crypto had a rough week on two fronts, regulation and cybersecurity, at once and it says a lot about where the industry actually stands.
Nayax Files for a US Bank Charter
Israel-based payments company Nayax has applied for a US bank charter, that would let it offer business cards, loans, and cash advances directly through its own platform instead of leaning on outside banks. The company filed the application with the Connecticut Department of Banking to create Nayax America Bank, which would be headquartered in Fairfield […]
CLARITY Act Senate Vote: Payments Industry Stakes Explained
The U.S. Senate has one real shot left to vote on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act before lawmakers leave Washington for the August recess. For payment processors and fintechs building on stablecoin rails, this bill matters far more than crypto trading stats.
Wall Street’s September Fed Bet Just Got a New Oil Wildcard
The Federal Reserve holds its next rate decision on September 15–16, and for the first time in months, traders are leaning toward a hike, not a cut. The Fed’s rate-setting group, the FOMC, held its benchmark rate steady on July 29 for a fifth straight meeting, at 3.50%–3.75%. But three of its twelve voting members […]
Trump Administration Refunds $100B in “Liberation Day” Tariffs, Most SMBs Locked Out
The U.S. President Donald Trump administration has refunded about $100 billion of the tariff revenue it collected under the 2025 “Liberation Day” duties, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) told a federal court this week. The refunds follow a Supreme Court ruling that struck down the tariffs as illegal, and a subsequent court order requiring […]
US GDP Growth Cools to 1.5% in Q2, But Private Demand Holds Firm as Energy Costs Bite
Q2 GDP growth moderated to an annualized 1.5%. This slowdown from prior quarters arrives alongside a steadier signal: underlying private-sector demand in the United States has not softened at the same pace. Brent crude has traded above $89 a barrel through the quarter, keeping energy costs elevated even as broader inflation readings show mixed signs […]
Increase Bank Goes Live: Programmable Rails, Direct FDIC Membership
Increase, the banking infrastructure and API provider used by Gusto, Ramp and Stripe, has launched Increase Bank, an FDIC-member banking institution designed to provide technology companies with programmable banking infrastructure.
USDC Merchant Adoption Hits 39% of US Businesses
USDC merchant adoption in the United States is shifting from isolated pilot programs to infrastructure-level integration. Adoption remains early-stage compared with card payments, but the mechanics of accepting the stablecoin have changed substantially over the past year. Merchants no longer need to build separate crypto integrations. USDC is increasingly available as a native checkout option […]
Q2 GDP 2026 & June PCE: What Today’s Data Means After the Fed Split
The Bureau of Economic Analysis publishes the Q2 GDP advance estimate and the June Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index at 8:30 a.m. ET today, according to BEA’s official release schedule. The data release timing is less than 24 hours behind Wednesday’s Federal Open Market Committee decision to hold the federal funds rate at 3.50%-3.75%.
X Money Goes Live in the US: Early Users Reveal the Real Challenge Behind Elon Musk’s Payments Vision
Elon Musk has made a significant move towards making X an “everything app” as the company has officially launched X Money for eligible Premium and Premium+ users in the U.S. The feature offers peer-to-peer transfers, a digital wallet, debit card services, direct deposits and much more, introducing banking services right through the X app. Now, […]
GENIUS Act Stablecoin Rules Miss Deadline, Leaving Issuers Racing Against the Compliance Clock
The initial significant deadline of the GENIUS Act in the USA has been crossed without the authorities issuing the full rulebook that the stablecoin industry anticipated. In spite of the fact that the law is taking effect much later than the July 18 deadline, the federal authorities have not released the bundle of regulations that […]
FOMC July 2026: A “No Dot Plot” Decision With Outsized Stakes for Payments
The Federal Open Market Committee began its two-day meeting on July 28. The rate decision lands Wednesday, July 29, at 2:00 p.m. ET, followed by Fed Chair Kevin Warsh’s press conference at 2:30 p.m.
What Investors Need to Know Before the Fed Meeting: Bitcoin’s Cold Signal Meets Warsh’s First Test
Eight times a year, a room of Fed officials decides one number that quietly shapes what the world pays to borrow money — the federal funds rate. It’s the setting that eventually shows up in your mortgage quote, your credit card APR, and the price of just about every asset investors trade. The decision belongs […]
Wise’s US Banking Ambitions Hit a Wall as Shifting Payment-Access Rules Sink Trust Bank Bid
Wise, the London-founded cross-border payments giant, saw its US banking ambitions stall on July 24 after the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) rejected its application for a national trust bank charter — a decision the company says was driven as much by a changing regulatory landscape as by its own compliance history.
