Western Union plots stablecoin; Corporates adopt BofA’s AI | PaymentsSource

• Key insight: Western Union plans to issue its own stablecoin. 
• What’s at stake: The firm hopes to compete against the fintechs that are expanding quickly in the cross-border payments market. 
• Forward look: Western Union plans to incorporate its stablecoin into its broader digital payments initiative. 

As Western Union grapples with the impact of the trade war and executes its expansion in Latin America, the transfer giant is also advancing its cryptocurrency strategy.

Western Union is partnering with Anchorage Digital to launch USDPT on the Solana blockchain. Anchorage Digital Bank recently launched a stablecoin platform, and hired U.S. Bank to serve as its custodian. Western Union will use Anchorage’s platform for issuance, custody, settlement and treasury management. Western Union is looking to improve its ability to lower costs for transfers between the U.S. and emerging markets or countries with less stable fiat currencies, a key use case for stablecoins.

“This partnership allows us to bring the benefits of digital dollars to our network and reach virtually every corner of the globe. With Anchorage Digital as our regulated partner and Solana’s blockchain technology, we’re taking a meaningful step toward faster, more efficient and more inclusive payments for our customers,” Devin McGranahan, CEO of Western Union, said in a release. 

In a research note, analysts at William Blair said, “Western Union has piloted the use of blockchain technology in the past, but the lack of clear regulatory frameworks have led to conservatism. The passage of the GENIUS Act was a catalyst, and over the past two quarters, management has outlined various stablecoin opportunities in both customer-facing and back-office functions.”

The William Blair analysts also said they see a clear use-case for USD-denominated stablecoin holdings by remittance receivers in highly inflationary/FX-volatile economies as a means to mitigate purchasing power erosion.

Banks are also pursuing stablecoins for many of the same reasons as Western Union. Making payments process faster and improving cross-border payments are the two top drivers of bank stablecoin plans, according to research from American Banker. —John Adams  

Bank of America’s Cash Pro Chat gains popularity with corporates

Corporate clients are increasingly turning to AI to manage their payments, according to Bank of America. 

Uptake for its virtual assistant CashPro Chat and AI-powered CashPro Search has increased from a year ago, according to the bank. CashPro is a banking platform that helps corporate clients manage payments, deposits, loans and trade transactions. 

Use of CashPro Chat increased 21% year over year, with nearly 70% of corporates using the tool. That number hovered around 65% as of September. 

“Clients expect instant access to information – without the delays of email or phone calls,” said Abbey Novack, CashPro service product executive in Global Payments Solutions at Bank of America, in a statement. 

CashPro Search, which launched in February 2023 and validates payment status across wires, ACH, RTP, FX and loan proceeds, has surpassed 18 million searches. About 2.4 million searches were logged in the third quarter, a new quarterly record. 

The bank is working on supporting credit inquiries and automating routing treasury tasks through CashPro Chat, it said. —Joey Pizzolato

Klarna launches membership program

Swedish neobank Klarna is rolling out a membership program complete with perks typically associated with premium credit cards in Europe, with plans for a U.S. launch in the coming weeks. 

Benefits include cashback, travel perks and lifestyle rewards, including subscriptions, Klarna said. 

“We believe consumers shouldn’t have to take on expensive credit to access premium benefits,” said David Sandström, chief marketing officer at Klarna, in a statement. “For decades, exclusive perks such as airport lounge access, concierge-style subscriptions, and premium travel insurance were only available to elite credit card holders.” 

Membership comes in two tiers: Premium and Max, for a flat monthly rate of 17.99 euros and 44.99 euros, respectively. Unlike most credit cards, rewards are not contingent on spending volume. —Joey Pizzolato

Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

Uber links to Checkout.com

London-based payment firm Checkout.com has partnered with Uber Technologies, enabling the ride-sharing firm to access Checkout.com’s acquiring network and payment products such as its AI-powered payment facilitation, which routes transactions based on cost or speed. 

“Helping to support the millions of transactions Uber processes daily requires a payments infrastructure that is resilient, global and continuously improving,” Guillaume Pousaz, CEO of Checkout.com, said in a release.

Adding Uber gives a boost to Checkout.com’s global expansion as well as its goal to provide payments to larger enterprise clients. This includes an application for a merchant acquirer license in Georgia, which would reduce the need for Checkout.com’s clients to use third party banks to connect to U.S. payment networks.

Checkout.com, which acts as a payment processor in the U.S. and a processor and acquirer in the U.K., has been expanding its payment technology as it pursues large enterprise clients in international markets to compete with rivals such as PayPal, Block and Stripe. —John Adams  

Diebold Nixdorf’s ATM tech finds takers in the Middle East

Bank AlJazira, one of Saudi Arabia’s largest banks, will add Diebold Nixdorf’s latest generation of self-service software, enabling transactions in Arabic and English, including NFC contactless technology, to its ATMs. 

Called VCP-Lite 7, the new ATM technology uses Windows 11, along with remote tech support and upgrades until the year 2034. “We recently completed a successful production installation of [the new ATM tech] within our network, a major step forward in our digital transformation journey,” Fahad Al Muteri, vice president and head of retail digital banking at Bank AlJazira, said in a release.

Diebold Nixdorf filed for bankruptcy in 2023 amid larger pressure on legacy ATM and payment terminal manufacturers. Since emerging from bankruptcy, Diebold Nixdorf has rolled out new ATM technology and focused on markets where there are lingering cash-centric economies and a high volume of tourism. —John Adams  

Worldpay files a patent for AI-powered security

Payment processor Worldpay has released a 3D secure service that uses artificial intelligence to improve the technology’s performance

3D secure is a protocol that adds a layer of authentication for cards used in e-commerce. While it’s more than 25 years old, 3D secure has been regularly updated to incorporate extra data and to provide merchants with more control over when extra authentication is required to vet suspicious transactions or users. 

Worldpay’s new service, which is patent pending, uses AI to analyze billions of global transactions to make real-time decisions based on risk and issuer preference. The service uses AI to decide when or if to bypass authentication steps, reducing processing time, which Worldpay is selling as a way to reduce cart abandonment. 

Worldpay’s transaction volume and accompanying data could soon get a major boost. Global Payments has made a deal to acquire Worldpay, a deal that Global Payments says will create a company that processes nearly $4 trillion in annual volume across 100 billion transactions. —John Adams 

Clear Junction names new CEO

London-based cross-border payments provider Clear Junction has named a new group chief executive. 

Teresa Cameron was named the company’s Group CEO Wednesday, effective immediately. Cameron has served as the company’s CFO for the past four years. 

She replaces Dima Kats, Clear Junction’s founder and former CEO, who will transition to the group executive chair role as the payments company establishes a formal board. Camelia Ion-Byrne, who joined Clear Junction in June, will assume CFO responsibilities from Cameron. 

“Teresa has already played a pivotal role in Clear Junction’s exceptional growth over the past four years. Her knowledge of the business and proven leadership stood out when we started planning the transition process last year, and these qualities make her the ideal person to step into this role,” Kats said. —Joey Pizzolato

Ingenico shuffles top job

Ingenico will have a new chief executive come November 1, the company said on Tuesday. 

Floris de Kort will take the payment company’s top job, replacing Laurent Blanchard, who is stepping down as CEO and a member of the board to pursue other opportunities. 

“We sincerely thank Laurent for his significant contributions since joining Ingenico in 2023,” said Catherine Guillouard, Ingenico‘s Chairwoman, in a statement. “After successfully redefining Ingenico’s mission, Laurent leaves behind a strong foundation and a team ready to drive the company’s next stage of success.” 

De Kort most recently served as CEO of Xplor Technologies, a global software-as-a-service and embedded payments firm. He also has served as CEO of Worldpay. —Joey Pizzolato