The Green Sheet Online Edition
November 9, 2026 • 26:11:01
News Briefs
Colombia instant payment network sets records <- click to read full story
Colombia's Bre-B instant payment network reached 83 percent of adults within a year of its October 2025 launch, according to EBANX. The company said Brazil's Pix took almost three times as long to reach that adoption level. Bre-B processes more than 8 million transactions daily, triple its first month's volume, and has moved nearly $80 billion since launch.
The network connects previously separate payment systems, with interoperability mandatory for participating institutions. EBANX said Bre-B helps merchants reach consumers without credit cards, which Colombia's financial regulator estimates are held by 24 percent of adults. One retailer introducing Bre-B through EBANX reported a 5 percent revenue increase during an initial rollout.
Of consumers choosing Bre-B, 45 percent said they had not previously purchased from that retailer through EBANX.
OCC orders AmEx to pay $350M over AML deficiencies <- click to read full story
American Express National Bank will pay a $350 million civil penalty after the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency found deficiencies in its Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering compliance program.
The OCC cited inadequate resources, insufficient expertise, weak controls, testing and training. Risk assessments emphasized deposit products while giving insufficient attention to larger credit and charge card operations.
The weaknesses contributed to failures to timely identify, evaluate and sufficiently report approximately $13 billion in suspected trade-based money laundering activity over a decade, the regulator said. The OCC and Federal Reserve issued related enforcement actions Oct. 8. American Express said it has increased compliance investments and begun remediation.
IRS clears way for direct credit and debit card acceptance <- click to read full story
Federal regulations effective Oct. 19, 2026, expand the Internal Revenue Service's authority to accept credit and debit card tax payments and contract with payment processors. The rules remove restrictions that prevented the IRS from paying processing fees and recovering those costs from taxpayers. Under the framework, the agency may pay contracted processing fees if taxpayers reimburse the full amount when paying their taxes. Reimbursement charges cannot exceed the agency's processing costs, and the IRS must seek to minimize fees during contract negotiations.
The regulations permit direct card payments to the IRS but do not establish a new service or change existing processor contracts. Their practical effect will depend on implementation. The changes could create opportunities for payment providers through different contracting arrangements while supporting efforts to reduce paper-check processing.
Amazon's Muse block exposes hurdles for agentic payments <- click to read full story
Amazon blocked Meta's Muse shopping agent, underscoring that payment capability does not guarantee permission to shop on a merchant's website. Amazon said Muse accessed its marketplace without agreement, failed to identify itself and raised credential-security concerns.
Meta said Muse protects credentials, requires purchase approval and maintains an audit trail. Walmart is taking a different approach, introducing Agent Profiles, an Agent Gateway and terms for automated shopping.
Customers will be able to authorize agents, establish spending limits and delete profiles. Separately, Visa's Trusted Agent Protocol uses cryptographic signatures to help merchants identify approved agents and distinguish them from malicious bots. These developments distinguish between whether an agent can securely initiate payment and whether a retailer permits it to access the store and make purchases for customers.
OCC finalizes payment stablecoin rules under GENIUS Act <- click to read full story
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced Oct. 21 that it finalized regulations implementing the GENIUS Act's framework for payment stablecoins. Effective Jan. 18, 2027, the rules establish requirements for reserves, redemption, risk management, audits, reporting and custody. Covered issuers must back outstanding stablecoins with eligible liquid assets, including cash and short-term Treasury securities.
The framework covers eligible bank subsidiaries, federally qualified nonbank issuers, certain state-qualified issuers and foreign issuers. The OCC has not announced when it will accept issuer applications. Bank Secrecy Act, anti-money laundering and sanctions requirements remain subject to separate rulemaking coordinated with the Treasury. The regulations establish standards for stablecoin issuers but do not require merchants or processors to accept stablecoins. 
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