Skip to content
Archive · June 26, 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

Stripe and Major Banks Push Congress for Overhaul of Outdated Payment Regulations

Stripe and leading U.S. banks are urging Congress to modernize payment regulations, arguing that current rules restrict banks and fintechs from launching digital-first products and slow the adoption of real-time payments. Lawmakers are now under pressure to address these gaps, which could enable faster innovation and intensify competition among banks, fintechs, and payment processors. Industry groups expect draft legislation or committee hearings to emerge as the next step.

Source: PYMNTS
Also Worth Knowing
№02

Airwallex Raises $320M at $11B Valuation to Expand Into Agentic Commerce

Airwallex secured $320 million in new funding at an $11 billion valuation and plans to launch programmable cross-border payments and embedded finance products that leverage AI for transaction automation. The company is actively hiring engineers and forming technology partnerships to accelerate its agentic commerce roadmap, directly challenging Stripe and Wise in global B2B payments. Competitors must now contend with Airwallex’s expanded product suite and aggressive market entry.

Source: Finextra
№03

Binance Withdraws From EU Market as MiCA Compliance Deadline Looms

Binance will stop serving EU clients, citing the cost and complexity of meeting MiCA’s new regulatory requirements. This move could shift up to 15% of EU crypto trading volume to compliant exchanges such as Bitstamp and Kraken, giving them a significant opportunity to capture new users and liquidity. Competing global exchanges must now decide whether to invest in MiCA compliance or risk losing access to the EU’s sizable crypto market.

Source: Financial Times
№04

N26 Hits Full-Year Profitability, Raising the Bar for Neobank Sustainability

N26 reported its first full year of net profitability, surpassing €500 million in revenue under new leadership. This milestone puts direct pressure on neobanks like Revolut and Monzo, which are now expected by investors to demonstrate clear paths to profitability. Revolut has already announced plans to trim operating costs, while Monzo is exploring new lending products to boost revenue and meet rising expectations for sustainable growth.

Source: Finextra
№05

Goldman Sachs Leads $110M Series C in AI Fintech Taktile

Goldman Sachs led a $110 million Series C round for Taktile, an AI platform focused on automating underwriting, risk, and personalization for banks and fintechs. Taktile plans to use the funding to expand its platform into lending, insurance, and embedded finance, aiming to help financial institutions reduce manual processes and improve decision speed. Banks and digital lenders face mounting pressure to adopt similar AI tools to remain competitive.

Source: Finextra
The Long Memory
“The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) was introduced in 2004—not 1999—by major card networks to combat rising card fraud and unify security requirements.

Filed under: Payments History · The Long Memory

What's Hot