Fiserv and Metallicus are enabling downmarket development of digital assets. Payment experts say it's vital to have a plan, but one that doesn't give into a fear of missing out.

Carvana and Plaid, with the help of Cross River Bank, have launched Request for Payment, which combines billing with The Clearing House's RTP Network. The option has been slow to gain traction, but the companies are betting large-ticket purchases, such as for an automobile, will be popular.

The government's instant processing rail hopes to enable new use cases, while Klarna adds to its network.

Citigroup is on a quest to modernize its global payments stack and be the go-to financial institution for cross-border payments and international corporations. Debopama Sen, head of payments at Citi's Services business, spoke with American Banker about the divisions' progress since its Services Investor Day in June 2024.

The USDC issuer has added fintechs from Brazil and the U.K. to boost distribution. Plus, Klarna pumps the gas on AI and more in the global payments and fintech roundup.

Early Warning Services is teaming up with Fiserv to quickly drive uptake for its new Paze digital wallet with merchants and credit card issuers outside of its owner banks. Paze partnered with Worldpay earlier this month to unlock a similar distribution channel.

Buy now/pay later provider Sezzle has filed a lawsuit against Shopify, alleging that the e-commerce giant engaged in antitrust practices by making it difficult for merchants to integrate Sezzle's BNPL offering into their websites.

The 3.5% excise tax proposed in President Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill comes with wide-ranging implications for financial institutions engaged in money transmission services.

The retail giants are kicking the tires on their own currencies. The potential prize is a way to reimagine prepaid cards and gain a key position as new forms of artificial intelligence-powered payments take off.

The card, powered by fintech Cardless' embedded credit card platform, provides up to 4% cash back in bitcoin, and allows customers to service their account directly in the cryptocurrency exchange's app, similar to the way Apple Card works in Apple Wallet.