Payment processing

Amid competition for international transfers, the U.S. is taking baby steps to facilitate faster, more efficient transactions.

As consumers get more comfortable with the technology, they will want multiple checkout options beyond cards, creating a need for more digital wallets and account-to-account rails.

Some of the country's largest banks are reportedly considering buying a Fiserv-owned debit card network as a workaround to interchange caps instituted by the Durbin Amendment. It's an idea that looks good on paper, but could be harder to actually implement.

As JPMorganChase, Wells Fargo and others chase a potential $15 billion deal to buy Fiserv's Star network, experts say the growth of AI-powered transactions and competition among bank technology firms will make debit routing a hot commodity, portending more M&A and placing pressure on traditional card networks.

Banks face conceptual, operational and other hurdles that threaten further adoption of real-time payments.

The shutdown came in the middle of a match, knocking out processing at small businesses, a segment expected to see transactions spike during such an event.

As the Ohio-based bank absorbs a pair of banks in Texas, it's also enhancing its ability to quickly move larger sums for business clients.

The Dutch payment processor has agreed to acquire artificial intelligence-powered fintech biller Orb, its second acquisition in three months in an effort to speed development.

Within hours of a judge's approval of an interchange settlement, merchant lobbyists were crying foul over the latest attempt to end a two decade legal fight, making references to "next steps," while analysts predicted an appeal.

An automated alert system auto-closed "a very high percentage" of suspicious-activity flags at the bank, the OCC said.

The two fintechs will increase distribution of a 'pay by bank' option that has picked up steam in recent years as merchants and consumers seek relief from card fees.

Suncoast Credit Union moved from one-time identity checks to monitoring members for the life of the account. It says fraud losses fell more than a third.

The Charlotte-based bank is hoping to bring request for payment technology into the mainstream. Early Warning sees bill pay as another use case to expand its payment network beyond its peer-to-peer roots.

The RTP rail joins FedNow and digital asset firms in the quest to add speed for cross-border settlement.

The government's real-time rail, which had a banner year in 2025, has proposed a way for its members to access settlements for payments that include a party that's outside of the U.S. Payment experts say it removes some of the mud from cross-border real-time payments, but lingering hurdles remain.

The card network expanded work with blockchain firms OwlTing and Tempo, increasing its reach into agentic commerce and stablecoins.

Across Latin America, central bank-led instant payment networks have seen enormous growth. The next breakout market is Mexico. If bankers in the U.S. want to see the future of consumer payments, they should look south.

Can banks win at agentic commerce? What's next for real-time payments? And where are mobile wallets headed? The industry's top experts will dive into these issues at American Banker's Payments Forum from May 4-6 in San Francisco.