The Payments Industry Is Quietly Rethinking Fraud Prevention
Hey Payments Fanatic!
One of the biggest problems in payments right now isn’t fraud itself. It’s the fear of fraud.
As AI-powered scams become more sophisticated, merchants are tightening risk controls everywhere. But the side effect is massive: legitimate customers increasingly get declined by mistake.
Experian is trying to solve that with a new real-time debit card verification capability for Experian Link through a partnership with Fiserv.
The idea is pretty straightforward. Instead of relying only on behavioral signals or static fraud rules, merchants can instantly verify whether the debit card actually belongs to the person making the transaction.
And that matters more than it sounds.
False declines quietly cost merchants billions every year, often without customers ever coming back to retry the purchase. Experian says one major retailer using the platform recovered roughly $8 million per month in transactions that otherwise would have been blocked.
What we’re starting to see now is merchants rebuilding the entire trust layer around payments in real time.
And if you scroll further down today’s newsletter, you’ll also see how companies like PPRO and Coinbase are already preparing the next evolution of merchant payments through stablecoin infrastructure.
Today's remaining Payments headlines are just below. 👇 See you on Monday!
Cheers,
INSIGHTS
📰 Stanhope for FinTech Payments by DashDevs. Stanhope Financial is positioning its API-based infrastructure as a way for FinTechs to launch SEPA, SWIFT, multi-currency wallets, and virtual IBAN services more quickly without building banking infrastructure from scratch. According to Igor Tomych of DashDevs, infrastructure orchestration platforms can reduce FinTech launch timelines from years to weeks.
📊 Adyen reported 16% net revenue growth in Q1 2026, with processed volume reaching €382 billion and strong momentum across unified commerce and platform services. The company’s acquisition of Talon. One also signals a broader strategic push deeper into customer engagement and commerce infrastructure. Find the full breakdown here
NEWS
🇺🇸 Mastercard celebrates two decades as a NYSE-listed company, using the milestone to reflect on its expansion beyond card payments into areas including AI, cybersecurity, tokenization, and digital identity.
🇲🇽 Uber and Klar launch Uber Card in Mexico with Mastercard. The co-branded credit card aims to convert Uber’s 25 million active annual users in Mexico into financial services customers by offering cashback rewards, interest-free installments, and credit lines of up to MX$250,000 (US$14,453).
🇫🇷 AirPlus International and Kresus Technologies have partnered with Mastercard to help European businesses better manage indirect spending through a unified payments and approval platform. The solution combines virtual cards, configurable approval workflows, and ERP integration to improve visibility and control over supplier payments and tail spend.
🇵🇱 Checkout.com deepens European reach with BLIK. With a direct integration to BLIK, Checkout. com can offer merchants sharper pricing, stronger performance, and access to a high-converting customer experience. Checkout.com also supports BLIK's new recurring payments, which began rolling out across Polish banks in 2026.
🇺🇸 Fiserv and Experian pact aims to help merchants combat fraud. The collaboration integrates Fiserv’s debit card verification capabilities into Experian Link, enabling merchants to verify bank account and card ownership in real time while reducing fraud and false declines.
🇺🇸 PPRO and Coinbase announce strategic collaboration to bring stablecoin payments to merchants and PSPs in the U.S. market. The partnership allows merchants to seamlessly accept stablecoin payments without having to manage crypto complexity directly.
🇦🇹 PayPal is bringing its "Buy now, pay later" offer to Austria. This allows customers at online retailers that offer PayPal to pay for purchases either in a single payment or in installments. Consumers can select "Pay after 30 days" as a payment option for online purchases ranging from €1 to €2,000.
🇺🇸 SumUp launches SumUp Bookings, an all-in-one online scheduling and appointment booking tool built for service-based small businesses in the U.S. Bookings lets merchants manage appointments, automate confirmations and reminders, and accept payments from one platform, at no additional cost.
🇳🇱 Adyen CFO Ethan Tandowsky to step down to pursue an opportunity outside FinTech. During his almost ten years with the business, he has been a core member of the leadership team, overseeing the company’s global finance operations through significant periods of growth.
🇸🇽 Sint Maarten is considering new financial legislation that could open the door for global payment platforms such as PayPal and Revolut to operate locally. Finance Minister Marinka Gumbs said the proposed framework would establish the licensing and regulatory structure international FinTech firms require before entering the market.
🇺🇸 NALA secures $50M facility to scale global stablecoin payments. The funding will support NALA’s expansion of stablecoin-powered cross-border payment corridors and help scale its next-generation neobank infrastructure. Continue reading
🇺🇸 Visa invests in Replit to power agentic payments for developers. The partnership focuses on agentic commerce infrastructure, including Visa’s Trusted Agent Protocol and AI payment tools that could allow developers and autonomous AI agents to securely accept and execute payments inside Replit.
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