The Green Sheet Online Edition
July 14, 2025 • 25:07:01
News Briefs
NY says no to cashless stores <- click to read full story
New York State passed a bill requiring food stores and retailers to accept cash, reinforcing similar laws in New York City and other states. Introduced by State Senator James Sanders Jr. and Assemblymember Catalina Cruz, the bill aims to protect vulnerable groups, such as the unbanked, seniors and immigrants, who rely on cash. Senator Sanders emphasized that marketplace access is a right, not a privilege for the digitally connected.
Advocates like the National ATM Council support it as a means of privacy and emergency preparedness. Cannabis retailers, often cash-only due to banking restrictions, also benefit.
New York joins states like Massachusetts and New Jersey, and cities like Philadelphia and San Francisco, in preserving cash payment options amid rising digital transaction trends.
Block to roll out bitcoin payments on Square <- click to read full story
Block Inc. said it plans to launch bitcoin payment capabilities via the Square Point of Sale app using the Lightning Network, a layer-2 solution offering faster and cheaper transactions. This integration allows Square’s 4 million merchants to accept bitcoin seamlessly; customers can pay by scanning a QR code.
This rollout complements Block’s broader bitcoin ecosystem, including Cash App’s crypto tools, the Bitkey self-custody wallet with advanced recovery features, and Proto, its decentralized bitcoin mining venture.
Bitcoin acceptance aims to provide faster settlement and more revenue control for small businesses, Block stated, emphasizing its commitment to building an open, decentralized financial system accessible to all. The move, Block noted, strengthens its positioning as a leader in bitcoin innovation and economic empowerment.
Fiserv is betting on stablecoins <- click to read full story
Fiserv introduced FIUSD, a new stablecoin issued through its digital asset platform on the Solana blockchain.
The initiative follows growing momentum around stablecoin regulation, including the Senate-passed GENIUS Act. FIUSD will be available across Fiserv’s network, including 10,000 financial institutions and 6 million merchants, at no additional cost.
Fiserv partnered with Paxos and Circle for interoperability and is exploring deposit tokens for banks. New partnerships with PayPal and Mastercard are expected to expand stablecoin use in cross-border payments, merchant settlements and stablecoin-powered cards.
Fiserv, PayPal and Mastercard view this as a transformational move to increase financial access and efficiency, solving issues such as delayed settlement, currency volatility and inflation through 24/7 programmable payments.
Regulators want to help FIs fend off fraudsters <- click to read full story
Federal regulator the OCC, Federal Reserve and FDIC issued a request for information (RFI) on how to combat payment fraud, especially non-card fraud, citing reports that check, ACH and wire fraud incidents have soared, with a 489 percent increase in related Suspicious Activity Reports over the past decade.
The RFI outlines five key focus areas: external collaboration, education, supervision, data sharing and enhancements to Fed-operated systems.
The agencies are considering joint guidance or system updates and encouraging responses by Sept. 18, 2025, from FIs and non-FIs. Regulators emphasized that trust in the nation’s payment system is vital and under threat.
The initiative seeks actionable input to help shape fraud mitigation strategies and improve overall security, accessibility and resilience across the U.S. financial infrastructure.
Walmart hit with $10M fine for turning blind eye to scammers <- click to read full story
Walmart will pay $10 million to settle FTC allegations that it allowed scammers to misuse its in-store money transfer services between 2013 and 2018. The FTC said Walmart failed to implement effective anti-fraud protocols, train staff properly or warn customers, enabling fraudsters to use transfers in scams like sweepstakes and IRS impersonations.
Though a court dismissed some telemarketing-related claims, the settlement mandates Walmart take preventive actions moving forward.
These include prohibiting transfers it suspects are fraud-induced and stopping support for telemarketers engaging in such activity.
Walmart didn’t admit wrongdoing but agreed to the terms and affirmed its commitment to consumer protection. With the case now closed, funds from the judgment will go toward consumer relief. 
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