PAYMENTS NEWS
New York eyes rounding rule for retailers as U.S. cancels pennies
Nov 20, 2025
New York lawmakers introduced the New Yorkers for Common Cents Act, which would require all in-store cash totals to be rounded to the nearest five cents as the state moves away from using pennies, while digital and card transactions would stay the same. WHY IT MATTERS TO MERCHANTS: This creates a consistent statewide rule for handling cash payments, reducing confusion at checkout and helping merchants avoid compliance issues as penny circulation declines.
White House nominates Vought aide to lead Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)
Nov 20, 2025
The White House nominated OMB official Stuart Levenbach to head the CFPB, a largely procedural move meant to extend Russell Vought’s ability to serve as acting director even as he signals major shifts at the agency, including the possibility of closing it and noting funding could run out in early 2026. WHY IT MATTERS TO MERCHANTS: CFPB leadership directly shapes oversight of BNPL, digital wallets, open banking, and other payments-related rules. Uncertainty at the bureau could affect future compliance expectations and the regulatory environment in which merchants operate.
Visa CFO trumpets legal pact
Nov 13, 2025
Visa and Mastercard have reached a proposed settlement with U.S. merchants rooted in a long-running dispute over alleged excessive interchange fees. One key change: the “honor all cards” rule (which required merchants to accept all Visa/Mastercard cards) would be removed, giving merchants more control over which cards they accept. Visa estimates that formal approval and implementation won’t happen until after September 2026. WHY IT MATTERS TO MERCHANTS: This agreement could give merchants greater acceptance flexibility and provide more control over which cards they accept.
Trump administration declares CFPB funding illegal
Nov 12, 2025
The decision, disclosed in a court filing, puts the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on track to shut down in ‘early 2026’ when its remaining cash runs out.
Why a Visa-Mastercard legal settlement could lead to your rewards credit card getting declined
Nov 12, 2025
Visa and Mastercard have proposed a settlement in their long-running legal dispute with merchants and retailers over how much they charge merchants to accept their cards.
Visa, Mastercard reach $38 billion swipe fee settlement, draw opposition
Nov 10, 2025
NEW YORK, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Visa (V.N), opens new tab and Mastercard (MA.N), opens new tab announced a revised $38 billion settlement with merchants who accused the card networks of charging too much to accept their credit cards, hoping to satisfy a judge who rejected a smaller accord as inadequate.
U.S. Bank and Mastercard Debut BNPL Alternative ‘Split Card’
Nov 6, 2025
U.S. Bank has debuted a credit card that converts purchases into monthly payment plans.
China’s Analog RRAM Chip Shatters GPU Limits with 1,000× Speed Boost
Nov 7, 2025
What if a century-old computing concept suddenly leapfrogged the most advanced GPUs on the planet? That’s exactly what researchers at Peking University have demonstrated with a new analog processor built from RRAM arrays-a device that, in specific workloads, delivers up to 1,000 times the throughput of Nvidia’s H100 and AMD’s Vega 20, while consuming about 100 times less energy.
Google Identifies New Forms of AI-Powered Cyberattacks
Nov 6, 2025
State-sponsored threat fraudsters have developed malware powered by artificial intelligence (AI) that can not only generate malicious scripts but also “change its code on the fly” to get around detection systems, Google Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG) said in a Wednesday (Nov. 5) blog post.
Judge blocks open banking rule enforcement
Oct 30, 2025
The preliminary injunction in a federal lawsuit enjoins a U.S. open banking framework until the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issues a new rule.
Bad Customer Service Drives 85% of Consumers to Seek Chargebacks
Oct 30, 2025
For years, merchants treated fraud prevention like seasonal window dressing — a necessary expense to get through the holiday rush. But this year’s PYMNTS Intelligence-Worldpay Payments Optimization Tracker, “Securing the Season: Fighting Fraud Without Losing Customers,” shows that strategy no longer works. What began as a December problem has evolved into a structural one, where the same tools that keep criminals out also define how shoppers experience trust, speed and personalization all year long.
Court Halts CFPB’s Open Banking Rule as Banks, FinTechs Await Rewrite
Oct 30, 2025
Open banking’s path toward implementation took another turn on Wednesday (Oct. 29) when the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky enjoined the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau from enforcing its Personal Financial Data Rights Rule — the regulation built on Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act — until the Bureau completes its ongoing reconsideration.
Is there a penny shortage? Why stores are asking for exact change
Oct 30, 2025
Customers say some stores are already rounding prices up to the nearest dollar or ten cents, or down to the nearest five cents.
Fate of Illinois’ first-in-the-nation credit card ‘swipe fee’ ban awaits judge’s ruling
Oct 28, 2025
A law that would make Illinois the first jurisdiction in the world to ban financial institutions from charging “interchange fees” on the tax and tip portions of debit and credit card transactions finally got its day in court this week nearly 18 months after its passage.
Card surcharge ban bogged in detail
Oct 28, 2025
The Reserve Bank of Australia will need more time to consider submissions on the proposed ban on payment card surcharges, earmarked to take effect from 1 July 2026.
Agentic AI raises liability issues
Oct 28, 2025
Payments companies seek ways to address problems with AI agents making mistakes when shopping for consumers.
How AI shopping agents are rewiring retail
Oct 28, 2025
Retailers are on the verge of losing control over their customer relationships as artificial intelligence (AI)-powered shopping agents begin to reshape how people buy online, according to a new report from Boston Consulting Group.
PayPal, Mastercard advance agentic strategy
Oct 27, 2025
The digital payments pioneer and card behemoth are locking arms to add agentic e-commerce shopping options.
BBB Warns Of ‘Ghost Tapping’ Scam Targeting Contactless Payments
Oct 27, 2025
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is alerting consumers to a growing scam known as “ghost tapping,” in which fraudsters exploit tap-to-pay cards and mobile wallets to steal money without physical contact.
Security Notes: Cryptology: The Battle of Wits May Be Ending
Oct 24, 2025
It has been going on for thousands of years. Smart people build secret codes, and smarter people crack them. New codes are put forth, smarter cryptanalysts show up. This long-lasting battle of wits has decided the fate of two world wars, as well as ancient conflicts. This smart-versus-smart drama is also the cornerstone of cyber payments.