Payments News Update – August 29, 2025
Legal and Regulatory Developments
SPOTLIGHT:
Bloomberg – August 22, 2025 (subscription may be required)
Visa Inc. shut its open-banking business in the US amid regulatory uncertainty about consumer-data rights and the prospect of higher fees for customer information, according to people familiar with the matter.
The payments company has closed its open-banking operations, which provide technology to help third parties such as financial-technology firms access customer-account data, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing a private matter.
The decision comes as the fate of a rule banning banks from charging for access to their customers’ data hangs in the balance. . . .
Banking Dive – August 26, 2025
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is proposing a rule that would limit its ability to supervise individual nonbanks, according to a Tuesday entry in the Federal Register.
The CFPB said it’s seeking to adopt a standard definition of “risks to consumers with regard to the offering or provision of consumer financial products or services” that would “bind the Bureau” in designating nonbanks falling under CFPB supervision.
The proposed rule has the potential to affect “a large population of firms,” the CFPB noted. “The Bureau expects that under the proposed rule it will be less likely to designate any particular entity for supervision, all other factors being equal,” the proposal notes. . . .
PYMNTS – August 25, 2025
Open banking in the United States is in flux, characterized by fragmented private efforts and escalating bank-FinTech tension, while Europe evolves under regulation-driven market frameworks.
It may be the case that in the U.S., consumer demand helps pull open banking toward a more complete realization of its potential. There are still key issues to be ironed out, especially as fraudsters target faster payments.
In Europe, open banking emerged under firm regulatory mandates like PSD2, which requires banks to allow third-party access via APIs without charging fees. . . .
Competition Policy International – August 21, 2025
The crypto industry is pushing back against bank industry calls for changes to the recently enacted GENIUS Act governing the issuance and trading of stablecoins.
On Tuesday, the heads of the Crypto Council for Innovation and the Blockchain Association wrote to the chairs and ranking members of the Senate and House banking committees expressing “strong opposition” to a letter sent to the committees by several banking associations last week.
The bankers’ letter claimed that tacit agreements between stablecoin issuers and coin exchanges that enable indirect payments of interest or yield on payment stablecoin deposits, despite the law’s prohibition on such payments by issuers, could lead to significant deposit outflows from banks and undermine liquidity in the traditional financial system. . . .
Payments Dive – August 21, 2025
The Federal Reserve could benefit from deeper engagement with payments industry “innovators” to better understand new trends and technologies, especially as the use of digital assets grows, Fed Gov. Christopher Waller said Wednesday.
The Fed is conducting “technical research” to explore innovations that include tokenization, smart contracts, and artificial intelligence in payments, he said in a speech at the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium.
“It is my belief that the Federal Reserve could benefit from further engagement with innovators in industry, particularly as there is increased convergence between the traditional financial sector and the digital asset ecosystem,” Waller said. “We are working on ways to further that engagement, so stay tuned.” . . .
Industry Developments
SPOTLIGHT:
PYMNTS – August 26, 2025
After decades of copy-and-paste points programs, consumers and enterprises are rethinking what it means to earn and keep loyalty.
Retailers, issuers and brands are under pressure to improve unit economics, differentiate their offerings, and meet consumers where they are digitally, socially and emotionally.
“It’s a very exciting time,” Mladen Vladic, head of product at FIS Payment Networks, told PYMNTS in an interview. “There’s a lot of development happening in both the payments space and the loyalty space, and it’s really a reflection of changing consumer expectations.” . . .
Payments Dive – August 25, 2025
Digital currencies are proving to be a draw for cross-border payments as companies begin exploring stablecoins for faster, cheaper settlements relative to more traditional international payment providers such as Swift and MoneyGram.
PayPal Holdings’ global payments service has begun using its PYUSD stablecoin to settle Xoom cross-border payments, escaping what PayPal has called “traditional banking hours.” PayPal has also begun marketing digital currencies, including PYUSD, as a means for lower transaction costs at both Xoom and its new crypto payments tool.
Companies are beginning to understand that stablecoins can enable “cheaper remittances, lower transaction costs, less friction, more open access,” said Mark Nichols, a principal at consulting firm Ernst & Young, who specializes in financial services and capital markets strategy. . . .