The Green Sheet Online Edition
September 14, 2026 • 26:09:01
Letter from the editor
Keeping up with payments regulation has never been simple, but increasingly, knowing the federal rules isn't enough. States are taking their own approaches to card surcharges, interchange fees and related practices, creating differences that can become especially challenging for acquirers and merchants operating across state lines.
Our lead article by Patti Murphy examines this emerging patchwork and the practical problems it creates. With new laws taking effect, others working their way through state legislatures and still others facing legal challenges, payments providers may find that what works in one state doesn't necessarily work in the next.
The legal and regulatory questions continue in News Briefs, where we report on PayPal's successful defense against an antitrust challenge to its merchant rules and a North Carolina lawsuit alleging unauthorized processor fees. We also report on Sionic bringing its pay-by-bank technology to Microsoft Marketplace and Walmart's embrace of tap-to-pay after years of holding out against contactless checkout. In addition, we look at consumers' continuing enthusiasm for gift cards and the launch of MoneyPass Group as an independent ATM and cash infrastructure company.
Our contributing writers take a wider view of the forces reshaping payments. Chris Jones weighs competing M&A strategies, while Scott Dawson and Ruta Kairyte examine how the UK and Baltic fintech markets are positioning themselves in an increasingly competitive global environment. Jaki Kackert looks at how mobile and contactless acceptance are taking commerce beyond the traditional checkout counter. Technology gets a closer look as Robert Kraal explores the relationship between real-time data and authorization performance, and Ken Musante considers whether AI-driven efficiency could actually expand underwriting and merchant monitoring rather than eliminate human roles. Dr. Saheer Nelliparamban examines the evolving mix of rails supporting cross-border B2B payments, while Chad Otar considers proposed legislation that would extend existing credit card protections to BNPL loans.
There's even more to explore in Industry Update, including three notable acquisitions: Priority Commerce's move to acquire IntelliPay, Nayax's $350 million deal for IPS Group and Mollie's completed acquisition of GoCardless. The section also covers Visa's expanded cybersecurity capabilities, new payment partnerships, advances in agentic AI and developments in cross-border and faster payments. Elsewhere in the issue, you'll find our product and innovator profiles, Resource Guide and words of inspiration.
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