Skip to content
Archive · July 15, 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 Advent’s $53B Bid for PayPal Realigns Payments Industry Power

Stripe and Advent have offered $53 billion to acquire PayPal, a 28% premium over PayPal’s last close. If completed, this deal would consolidate two of the largest digital payment companies, forcing competitors like Square, Adyen, and major banks such as JPMorgan Chase to reassess their strategies. The proposed acquisition faces regulatory and antitrust scrutiny, with rivals likely to accelerate their own M&A or product launches in response.

Source: Financial Times
Also Worth Knowing
№02

UK BNPL Regulations Push Klarna, Affirm, and Afterpay to Tighten Lending Controls

The UK’s new buy now, pay later rules require providers like Klarna, Afterpay, and Affirm to implement stricter transparency and affordability checks for consumers. Smaller BNPL firms such as Zilch and Laybuy may struggle with the increased compliance burden, potentially leading to exits or consolidation. The regulatory shift could prompt global BNPL players to proactively enhance risk and disclosure systems in other markets.

Source: Finextra
№03

Velocity Raises $38M to Expand Stablecoin Treasury Platform for Global Enterprises

Velocity secured $38 million in Series A funding to scale its stablecoin payments and treasury management platform for multinational businesses. The funding positions Velocity to compete with banks like Citi and HSBC, as well as PSPs such as Worldline, for cross-border B2B flows by offering faster settlement via stablecoins. Traditional banks and PSPs that rely on slower correspondent banking rails risk losing high-margin corporate clients to stablecoin-enabled alternatives.

Source: PYMNTS
№04

Emirates NBD Launches Real-Time Blockchain USD Payments on Partior Network

Emirates NBD has enabled instant US dollar cross-border payments using the Partior blockchain network. This move allows Emirates NBD to offer faster, more transparent settlement to corporate clients, bypassing legacy correspondent banking. Regional competitors such as Mashreq Bank and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank may need to join blockchain consortia or risk losing cross-border business to early adopters.

Source: Finextra
№05

ECB Picks 36 PSPs for Digital Euro Pilot, Raising Stakes for European Banks

The European Central Bank has selected 36 payment service providers—including Worldline, Nexi, and CaixaBank—for the digital euro pilot phase. This pilot signals that digital currency integration is moving from theory to practice, with the ECB setting standards for access. European banks and fintechs not included in the pilot, such as Deutsche Bank and N26, may face competitive disadvantages as the initiative progresses.

Source: Finextra
The Long Memory
“In May 2010, Laszlo Hanyecz made the first documented purchase with Bitcoin, buying two pizzas for 10,000 BTC—worth over $600 million at recent prices.

Filed under: Payments History · The Long Memory

What's Hot