Joey Pizzolato

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.

Payments greater than $1 million are favored among the Charlotte-based bank's corporate clients; the U.K.'s Financial Conduct Authority taps NVIDIA for AI testing and more in this week's global payments roundup.

The pending law, which has passed the Assembly and Senate, prohibits food and retail stores from refusing to accept cash payments. Cashless establishments have been prohibited in New York City since 2020.

In an interview with American Banker following Circle's IPO debut, President Heath Tarbert discussed the stablecoin issuer's go-public timing, the importance of regulation and transparency and how the fintech sees itself working with banks.

The stablecoin issuer's initial public offering is widely seen as a bellwether for the cryptocurrency industry at large. Circle's stock traded as high as $95.98 midday Thursday, nearly triple its $31-a-share pricing.

The card network behemoths and the London-based bank are looking to expand account-to-account payments through fresh partnerships and investments. Plus: President Trump withdraws Shift4 CEO's NASA nomination, and tokenized payments gain steam in Europe in this week's global payments roundup.

The Swedish buy now/pay later provider and the San Jose, California-based payments system separately launched payment cards in an effort to bring their digital finance offerings to brick-and-mortar stores and compete with established credit card issuers.

The payments fintech is partnering with credit unions such as Michigan State Federal Credit Union to offer cash-back rewards on debit transactions using account-to-account payment schemes.

A focus on client relationships, rather than products, and investments in AI are helping the company in an increasingly competitive market.

The card giant appointed Antony Cahill as its new regional president and CEO; Global Payments further simplifies its business; Curve adds Apple Pay rival to iOS devices; and more in this week's global payments roundup.