The Green Sheet Online Edition
July 27, 2026 • 26:07:02
News Briefs
Consortium-backed Open USD raises stakes in stablecoin race <- click to read full story
Open Standard said it plans to launch its Open USD (OUSD) stablecoin this year, backed by a consortium of more than 140 companies, including Visa, Stripe, BlackRock and Coinbase. Unlike traditional stablecoins, OUSD will distribute most reserve revenue among consortium participants rather than a single issuer. RS2 CEO Radi El Haj called the initiative a shift toward shared payments infrastructure, comparing it to cooperative networks such as SWIFT.
He said the model could broaden adoption but warned that governance, reserve yield allocation and settlement priorities may become more complex as usage grows. He also expects processors to route transactions across multiple stablecoin networks.
Banks explore debit network deal that could reshape interchange landscape <- click to read full story
JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and PNC Financial Services reportedly have held preliminary talks about acquiring Fiserv's STAR and Accel debit networks, a move that could reshape the U.S. debit payments market.
Reports suggest banks believe owning a debit network could exempt certain transactions from Durbin Amendment interchange caps, allowing them to retain more fee revenue.
The discussions follow Capital One's acquisition of Discover Financial Services and its Pulse debit network. Merchant groups are expected to oppose any effort that increases debit interchange; analysts question whether community banks and credit unions would support a bank-owned network.
Block settles with states over Cash App allegations <- click to read full story
Block Inc. agreed to pay $45 million to settle allegations by 46 states that it misled consumers about Cash App's security, failed to adequately protect users from fraud and did not properly investigate fraud claims. Oregon and Texas led the investigation, with settlement funds earmarked to reimburse affected consumers.
Separately, Block agreed to pay Washington state $20 million to resolve allegations involving fraudulent unemployment benefit transfers during the pandemic. Under the multi-state settlement, Block agreed to strengthen fraud controls, expand live customer support, improve fraud education, investigate unauthorized transactions and stop making misleading claims about Cash App's safety.
UK expands oversight of BNPL, raising bar for providers <- click to read full story
New U.K. regulations took effect July 15, bringing most third-party buy now, pay later (BNPL) products under Financial Conduct Authority oversight. Lenders must now conduct affordability checks, provide clearer repayment information, support borrowers in financial difficulty and offer eligible consumers access to the Financial Ombudsman Service and Section 75 purchase protections. Industry executives largely welcomed the changes, saying stronger oversight should build consumer trust, while cautioning that affordability checks must be integrated seamlessly into checkout to avoid abandoned purchases.
Others warned the rules could create uneven treatment between third-party lenders and merchant-financed credit. Processors and acquirers also face new operational requirements involving transaction classification, reporting and dispute handling.
x402 Foundation becomes operational under Linux Foundation <- click to read full story
The x402 Foundation became operational July 14, completing the Linux Foundation's initiative to provide open governance for the x402 payments protocol. Designed to enable secure payments over HTTP, the protocol aims to let AI agents, applications and APIs exchange value as easily as they exchange data. About 40 organizations have joined the foundation, including Fiserv, Mastercard, Visa, Stripe, Google, Amazon Web Services and American Express.
Under the Linux Foundation's governance model, members will collaborate on developing an interoperable standard supporting multiple payment methods, from cards to stablecoins. Industry participants said the initiative could help establish a secure, vendor-neutral foundation for emerging AI-driven and machine-to-machine commerce.
Fed gauges consumer readiness for pay-by-bank at POS <- click to read full story
A new Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City report suggests U.S. consumers may be ready to adopt pay-by-bank at the POS, but widespread use will depend on stronger incentives. Pay-by-bank enables direct account-to-account payments through networks such as ACH, RTP and Fed Now, offering merchants lower acceptance costs and consumers greater spending visibility.
The Fed found adoption is most likely among younger, higher-income consumers already using mobile banking and payment apps, while older consumers remain less familiar with mobile payments. Although mobile payment use continues to grow, credit and debit cards still dominate POS transactions. 
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