Payments

The Twittersphere erupted last week with incorrect conflations of the Federal Reserve's imminent faster payments network and exceedingly nascent interest in a central bank digital currency. Those misunderstandings could pose a real risk to FedNow implementation.

Klarna, Fiserv, Worldline and other tech firms are using artificial intelligence-powered systems such as ChatGPT to modernize their offerings.

Typically called softPOS or Tap to Pay, the technology allows sellers to receive transactions without add-on hardware. It's becoming a popular payment option for small business and mobile sellers and other users.

The card network vows to make all of its new cards from recycled plastic by 2028, but even the most ardent digital-first card issuers have met obstacles in finding affordable alternatives to using virgin plastic.

Stripe said growth in payments volume slowed last year after a pandemic surge, even as it helped more large business clients handle payments over the internet. 

PhonePe backs away from a buy now/pay later acquisition, Germany fines EY for Wirecard scandal, and more.

The fintech founder was also Square's first chief technology officer and the chief product officer of blockchain-based payments company MobileCoin.

JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Mastercard will extend Hello Alice's do-it-yourself "business health" score to entrepreneurs looking to improve their creditworthiness.

Finaro, Northmill and NMI are joining with the card network to expand contactless payment acceptance via smartphones without add-on hardware.

Circle has proposed using central bank digital currencies as part of a backstop to mitigate the same sort of risk that caused its own coin to lose its peg to the U.S. dollar during the run on Silicon Valley Bank.