The payments company is opening its real-time payments network, Visa Direct, to stablecoins through a prefunding pilot that will allow businesses to move money across borders when banks are closed.

A flurry of product launches are designed to keep the payment company's merchants in-house by making it easier to deploy artificial intelligence-driven payments and stablecoins.

Real-time cross-border payments are in demand, but lack interoperability — creating demand for Swift and Ripple to add new tech. Plus, PayPal pledges to add payment technology in the Middle East and Africa, and more international payments and fintech news.

The bank added an AI assistant to improve business payment tools, a move that comes at the same time that Citigroup and Temenos pushed their strategies for emerging AI at banks.

After a slump of several years, there's been a renewal of payment and financial tech firms going public.

The cards, which are expensive, have not grown quickly. But payment companies are angling for a pickup.

The bank teamed up with Euronet Worldwide subsidiary Dandelion for cross-border payments to digital wallets in the Philippines, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Colombia in an optionality play.

The crypto company's x402 Foundation will standardize transactions, making the company one of many technology firms working on standards for AI-powered commerce.

PayPal agrees to a $7 billion BNPL loan purchase agreement with Blue Owl Capital, while Revolut, which is building a financial superapp, is looking for permission to offer more banking products. That and more in the American Banker global payments and fintech roundup.

The president is charging $100,000 for H-1B visa petitions that allow skilled workers to migrate to the U.S. Here's a look at the impact on banks and payment firms.