Marcel van Oost

Hey Payments Fanatic! Mastercard is in late-stage talks to acquire crypto infrastructure firm Zerohash for $1.5–$2 billion, according to Fortune. This potentially marks one of its biggest moves yet in blockchain and stablecoins. Founded in 2017, Zerohash powers crypto services behind the scenes, including trading, custody, and stablecoin

Hey Payments Fanatic! Western Union has announced plans to launch USDPT, a US dollar-backed stablecoin built on the Solana blockchain, with rollout expected in the first half of 2026. The token will be issued by Anchorage Digital Bank, a federally regulated institution, and made accessible to users through partner exchanges.

Hey Payments Fanatic! Paying your Uber is now easier. They announced a new strategic partnership with payments provider Checkout.com. Under the agreement, Checkout.com will bring acquiring and gateway services to Uber’s ridesharing and on-demand delivery platforms across markets worldwide. Through this partnership, the mobility app can offer

Hey Payments Fanatic! Agent-driven commerce is no longer a concept. It’s happening as you read this. Mastercard and PayPal have announced a strategic partnership to integrate Mastercard’s Agent Pay technology into PayPal’s digital wallet. This means consumers will be able to complete purchases via AI-powered agents, with

Hey Payments Fanatic! Favikon just dropped its yearly list of top creators to follow on LinkedIn, including a global Top 10 for the payments industry. I’ve already met quite a few of them here in Vegas at Money20/20 (Day 1 was wild). Except for Simon Taylor, who couldn’

Hey Payments Fanatic! Coinbase introduces Payments MCP, a new tool designed to bring AI agents on-chain, no API keys required. Built on x402 Foundation, Payments MCP is the first solution enabling LLMs like Claude, Gemini, and Codex to access wallets directly, perform on-ramp operations, and send payments within one integrated