Agent Payments
How machines initiate, authorize, screen and settle a payment.
USDT's Share of Stablecoin Payments in Asia-Pacific Falls to 91%
USDT remains overwhelmingly dominant in Asia-Pacific stablecoin payments, but its share has slipped to 91%, signaling a marginal shift in the regional landscape.
Samsung Brings USDC Cross-Border Payments to Galaxy Wallet, Covering 82 Million Users
Samsung Electronics has integrated USDC cross-border payments into Galaxy Wallet, embedding stablecoin settlement into a consumer hardware touchpoint used by 82 million wallet users.
HKMA and Bank Negara Malaysia Expand Fintech Collaboration to Advance Cross-Border Stablecoin Settlement
The two central banks will explore using stablecoins to improve cross-border payment efficiency and study how to align their regulatory frameworks, marking their latest joint move on digital currency and cross-border payments.
Hong Kong and Malaysia Central Banks Deepen Ties, Including Cross-Border Stablecoin Use
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority and Bank Negara Malaysia are expanding bilateral cooperation to cover cross-border stablecoin usage, aiming to deepen fintech and payment infrastructure links.
BNY Launches Pay-to-Wallet, Enabling Banks to Send Cross-Border Payments Directly to Retail Digital Wallets
BNY says the capability leverages its existing global payment network, so banks do not need to integrate with each wallet provider individually; banks in Asia-Pacific are among the first users.
Citi and Coinbase Bridge Merchant Stablecoin Acceptance: Fiat Deposits Auto-Convert to Stablecoins, Stablecoin Receipts Settled by the Bank
Citi provides regulated banking infrastructure while Coinbase handles on-chain conversion and settlement, letting merchants accept stablecoin payments without holding stablecoins themselves—a division of labor between traditional banks and crypto infrastructure at the settlement layer takes shape for the first time.
WTO Stablecoin Report Cites XDC Network, Circle and BIS as B2B Stablecoin Payments Jump 733% Year-on-Year
The World Trade Organization's new stablecoin report references XDC Network, Circle and the Bank for International Settlements, signaling that stablecoins are being drawn into discussions of international trade infrastructure as B2B payment volumes surge.
Citi and DBS Complete First Weekend US Dollar Payment from Singapore to the US
The transaction, executed via tokenized deposits on Swift's digital ledger, settled in minutes—bypassing the typical two-day wait for cross-border payments.
Bank-Issued Stablecoins Enter Africa, Reshaping the Continent's Payment Landscape
African banks are launching fiat-backed stablecoins to bypass traditional correspondent banking, targeting the multi-billion-dollar remittance market with faster, cheaper cross-border payments.
SWIFT Doesn't Touch Money: How a Non-Settling Company Sat at the Center of Cross-Border Payments for 50 Years
It holds no funds, bears no credit risk, and competes with no customer. The six things it got right are now replaying in agentic payments.
Bottomline Partners with Chainlink to Connect 600 Banks to Blockchain Settlement
The Swift service provider teams up with Chainlink to offer blockchain-based cross-border settlement to its banking clients, marking one of the largest attempts to bridge the Swift messaging network with public and private blockchains.
Goldman Sachs, BofA Among 21 Banks Planning Joint Dollar Stablecoin
A consortium of 21 banks, including Goldman Sachs and Bank of America, is reportedly developing a dollar-pegged stablecoin for institutional payments and cross-border settlements, aiming to challenge incumbents like USDC and USDT.
a16z's Five Charts Break Down Argentina's Stablecoin Reality: Dollarized Payments in an Inflationary Economy Pave the Way for Agent Payments
a16z uses five charts to showcase real-world stablecoin use cases in Argentina—from savings to cross-border remittances and everyday transactions. The data reveals genuine demand for dollarized payments in an inflationary economy and offers a blueprint for AI agent payments in similar environments.
UOB and HSBC Complete Swift Blockchain Tokenized Deposit Cross-Border Transfer
Singapore's UOB becomes the first Singapore-headquartered bank to go live on Swift's blockchain-based ledger, following HSBC and Standard Chartered's initial transaction last week.
UAE's Zand Bank Integrates USDC, Plans Dirham-Pegged Stablecoin to Accelerate Cross-Border Payments
Zand Bank, a UAE digital bank, now supports USDC for transfers and settlements, and is developing a dirham-backed stablecoin to cut costs and speed up cross-border transactions, pending regulatory approval.
OpenPayd Partners with Circle to Enable Near-Instant Settlement for Cross-Border Fiat Payments
The collaboration integrates Circle's payment infrastructure to compress clearing and settlement from days to seconds, bridging traditional fiat rails with stablecoin technology.
Visa Becomes First Card Network to Settle Regulated Stablecoins Under MAS Framework
Visa announced this week it has become the first card network to support stablecoin settlement under the Monetary Authority of Singapore's regulatory framework, enabling licensed payment institutions to settle merchant transactions via USDC and other stablecoins.
Western Union Launches Stablecard: Turning Remittance Payouts Directly Into Stablecoin Spending
Western Union and Rain launch Stablecard, a payment card settled in USDPT that connects remittance payouts directly to stablecoin spending—marking the first time a traditional remittance giant uses stablecoin as a settlement asset at the payout end.
Project Agorá Test Cuts Wholesale Cross-Border Settlement to 80 Seconds
Shanghai Free Trade Account Upgrade Pilot: Cross-Border Payments Surpass 133 Billion Yuan, Renminbi Settlement Accounts for 83%
The People's Bank of China Shanghai Headquarters disclosed results of FT account functional upgrade: total cross-border payments exceed 133 billion yuan, with renminbi settlement ratio reaching 83%, indicating strengthened market confidence in renminbi-denominated settlement.
LemFi and BVNK Partner to Reshape Remittance Infrastructure with Stablecoins
The collaboration aims to reduce cross-border transfer costs and settlement times for diaspora communities using USDC.
Philippines' Oldest Bank Plans to Pilot Stablecoin Cross-Border Payments
Bank of the Philippine Islands to partner with compliant stablecoin infrastructure to enable USD stablecoin corridors for overseas remittances and corporate settlements; specifics and timeline to be announced.
BNY Mellon Eyes 24/7 Real-Time Settlement of US Treasuries by 2026
The custodian bank plans to extend T+1 to round-the-clock settlement, leveraging blockchain and tokenization to reshape sovereign bond back-office operations.
ICBC Shanghai Branch Completes Nation’s First Digital Yuan Cross-Border Payment on ShuBiDa CBETS Platform
Domestic enterprise settles with overseas recipient using digital yuan via ShuBiDa CBETS, marking first closed-loop cross-border trade application.
Hecto Financial Joins x402 Foundation, Linking AI Agent Payments to Stablecoin Settlement Networks
Hecto Financial has officially joined the x402 Foundation, combining its integration with Circle Payments Network (CPN) and traditional payment capabilities to further build out AI agent payment infrastructure.
Bitcoin Is Coming for the $12T Repo Market: Digital Credit and Onchain Repo
Hyundai Card Completes Stablecoin Cross-Border Remittance Pilot, $20,000 Settled in ~7 Minutes
Hyundai Card and Hyundai Motor have completed a proof-of-concept for stablecoin-based cross-border remittance, transferring $20,000 in USDT from the U.S. to Mexico in about seven minutes.
AI Agents Accelerate into Full-Chain Cross-Border Payments, Driving Autonomous Process Orchestration
IMF and payments industry research indicates that AI agents are gradually being applied to authorization verification, compliance screening, payment routing, FX management, settlement tracking, and automated reconciliation in cross-border payments, potentially integrating previously fragmented manual processes into end-to-end intelligent orchestration.