Payments News Update – July 24, 2026
Legal and Regulatory Developments
SPOTLIGHT: Oregon Proposes BNPL Rules
Payments Dive – July 21, 2026
Oregon has proposed requiring nonbank buy now, pay later financing companies to obtain a payday lender license or a consumer finance license to operate in the state under a proposal it issued last month.
The type of license would depend on the length of time that the consumer signing up for the financing has to repay it, and the rule would apply regardless of the fees or interest that apply to the offering, including if it’s a “nonrecourse loan,” the state said.
The American Fintech Council objected to the proposal Monday, saying it had sent a letter to the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services asking it to reconsider the idea. . . .
States Step Up Scrutiny of Surcharges, Junk Fees and Interchange Fees
PYMNTS – July 22, 2026
State lawmakers are intensifying their scrutiny of the fees consumers encounter at checkout, pursuing measures that range from restrictions on credit and debit card surcharges to broader “junk fee” disclosure mandates and limits on interchange fees.
An analysis by attorneys with the Global Advertising Lawyers Alliance (GALA) finds that the 2025-2026 legislative cycle produced a wide variety of proposals aimed at pricing transparency and payment practices.
Although many bills failed to become law, the authors say they illustrate approaches likely to reappear in future legislative sessions and could leave businesses navigating increasingly divergent state requirements. . . .
Brazil and US Clash Over Future of Payments as Popular Pix System Stirs Global Interest
Reuters – July 21, 2026
Brazil’s Pix, one of the world’s most successful instant-payment systems, has become a flashpoint between Brasília and Washington as the Trump administration aims to protect U.S. firms from the model’s growing appeal in dozens of countries.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer named Pix, operated by Brazil’s central bank, as one of the barriers to trade that he cited to justify fresh 25% tariffs on imports from Brazil taking effect this week.
“We’re not asking Brazil to get rid of Pix,” a senior Trump administration official said. However, Washington is pushing to avoid a situation in which “Pix gets special treatment simply because it’s owned and operated by the government,” the official said. . . .
Apple in Early Settlement Talks With DOJ Over Antitrust Case
Bloomberg Law – July 17, 2026 (subscription may be required)
Apple Inc. and the US Justice Department are in early discussions about settling a 2024 lawsuit that alleges the iPhone maker violated antitrust laws.
The discussions are active, however there is no guarantee that the two sides will reach an agreement, said people with knowledge of the matter. No trial date has been set in the case.
Apple has made multiple offers this year to the Justice Department to bring the case to a close, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the discussions were private. . . .
Industry Developments
SPOTLIGHT: Inside the High-Stakes Race to Build an Open Financial System Specifically for AI Bots
CoinDesk – July 16, 2026
Lessons from the early days of building the web are being applied to establish an open standard for AI-driven commerce, according to members of the Linux-affiliated x402 Foundation, which is developing a payment protocol for AI agents.
Denelle Dixon, CEO of Stellar Development Foundation, one of the premier members of the x402 Foundation, helped engineer open-source browsers during the first iteration of the internet.
She witnessed firsthand when walled gardens were erected, and “five companies basically took over content on the web,” leading to the advertising-driven attention economy that exists today. . . .
How Stablecoins Are Becoming Currency for ‘Everyday Transactions’
Digital Transactions News – July 21, 2026
Stablecoins have been on payments companies’ radar screens for years, but only recently has the digital currency gained the credibility needed to move processors, merchants, and users toward using stablecoins for everyday payments.
The latest example of this emerged early Tuesday with an announcement from Mesh, a San Francisco-based crypto payments network, that it will work with Bitget Wallet to make Bitget simpler to use.
The integration between the two companies is expected to ease payments for users of Bitget Wallet, as they can invoke an account with a few taps on their phone. . . .
Payments M&A Spools Up
Payments Dive – July 20, 2026
Payments deal-making has spooled up this month as the industry heads into what is often more merger and acquisition activity in the latter half of the year.
Digital startup Stripe’s reported $53 billion bid for digital payments pioneer PayPal Holdings, and processor Fiserv’s possible sale of a debit network are inklings of busy boardroom discussions with investment bankers.
With some stocks in the industry badly beat up – witness Fiserv’s 70% drop over the past year – there are increased incentives to buy and sell. . . .
Visa Unveils Stablecoin Platform for Banks and Fintech Companies
Decrypt – July 16, 2026
Visa has introduced a new platform that enables banks, fintechs and payment providers to issue, hold and transfer stablecoins through its payments network.
In a blog post on Thursday, Visa said Visa Stablecoin Platform, or VSP for short, combines stablecoin minting, redemption, wallet infrastructure, and treasury management into a single enterprise system.
Rather than requiring financial institutions to build their own blockchain infrastructure, the platform integrates stablecoin operations into existing payment and settlement workflows. . . .