Skip to content
Archive · May 12, 2026

Five critical payments insights.
Zero noise.
Daily.

The 5-minute briefing for payments professionals who need to know what happened, what it means, and what to do about it — before their 9am.

Trusted by payments operators

Joined by 60+ product, risk, and partnerships leads at networks, issuers, acquirers, and fintechs.

The Lead

Story 01

Paymentology Secures $175M to Challenge Stripe and Adyen in Real-Time Processing

Paymentology raised $175 million from Apis Partners and Aspirity Partners to accelerate expansion, product development, and hiring. With this funding, Paymentology aims to deliver faster onboarding, expanded geographic coverage, and advanced analytics, directly targeting Stripe and Adyen’s real-time processing business. Merchants and fintechs could benefit from more competitive pricing and a wider selection of payment features as Paymentology scales.

Source: PYMNTS
Also Worth Knowing
№02

FedNow’s Initiation Gap Draws Galileo’s Fix as Banks Struggle to Send Instant Payments

FedNow’s rollout has enabled banks to receive but not easily initiate instant payments, limiting the system’s usefulness for business and consumer transactions. Galileo is developing tools to help banks send payments over FedNow, potentially enabling payroll, bill pay, and B2B disbursements through the new rail. If Galileo succeeds, banks could accelerate FedNow adoption and intensify competition with private real-time payment networks.

Source: PYMNTS
№03

Kraken Parent Payward Pursues National Trust Charter to Expand Crypto-Banking Reach

Payward, parent of Kraken, is seeking a national trust charter to complement its special-purpose depository institution, aiming to offer custody and settlement services for digital assets. If approved, Kraken could serve institutional clients and compete more directly with both fintechs and traditional banks in crypto-related financial services. This move may encourage other crypto firms to pursue similar regulatory pathways.

Source: Banking Dive
№04

Augustus Wins OCC Nod for AI-Native Clearing, Challenging Traditional Clearinghouses

Augustus, formerly Ivy, received conditional OCC approval to build an AI-native clearing platform that automates settlement and risk management. Unlike traditional clearinghouses, Augustus plans to use AI to reduce settlement times and operational costs, aiming to attract fintechs and smaller banks seeking faster, lower-cost clearing. This development could prompt established clearinghouses to accelerate their own AI initiatives.

Source: Banking Dive
№05

Mobile Wallet Usage Reaches 31% In-Store as Apple Pay Faces Faster Rivals

According to PYMNTS, 31% of surveyed consumers reported using mobile wallets in-store, with Apple Pay leading but facing competition from faster alternatives. As rivals improve transaction speed and user experience, wallet providers are investing in loyalty features and broader acceptance to retain users. Merchants may need to support multiple wallets to meet evolving consumer preferences at checkout.

Source: PYMNTS
The Long Memory
“In 2018, the International Monetary Fund reported that 1.7 billion adults worldwide remained unbanked, while global remittance flows reached over $689 billion.

Filed under: Payments History · The Long Memory

What's Hot