Latest news with #AlenkaGrealish
Yahoo
24-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Mastercard forms stablecoin pacts with Paxos, PayPal, Fiserv
Mastercard is joining the big names that are stating their plans to address an anticipated stablecoin boom. It's signaling a willingness to work with a variety of firms to provide scale and payment technology for digital assets. The card network said it is joining the stablecoin alliance Paxos Global Dollar Network, along with plans to integrate PayPal's PYUSD and Fiserv's pending FIUSD. Mastercard also supports Circle's USDC, the second largest stablecoin. Mastercard's other stablecoin-related moves include upgrading the Mastercard Move transfer feature to enable financial institutions and digital wallets to send and receive stablecoins. The card network is also enabling its Mastercard One centralized credential for the digital asset market, with Fiserv as the initial adopter. The card brand and Fiserv additionally plan to connect Fiserv's Digital Asset Platform, which is designed to power bank-branded stablecoins, with Mastercard's Multi-Token Network, a venue for other parties to develop digital asset products and validate users for financial institutions, fintechs and central banks. While Mastercard and Visa have expressed support for stablecoins for years and invested in enabling technology, Mastercard's Tuesday announcement comes as the GENIUS Act's progress has sparked a bevy of announcements and media reports about potential or planned stablecoins from banks and large retailers. "Stablecoins are the popular new kid, literally, on the block," Alenka Grealish, an analyst at Celent, told American Banker. Mastercard says it currently enables consumers to spend their stablecoin balances at more than 150 million Mastercard merchant locations worldwide through partnerships with crypto firms like MetaMask, OKX and Kraken. And exchanges like Binance, Bybit and Coinbase accept Mastercard for crypto purchases. "We do this because stablecoins alone do not offer the global acceptance, security, reliability, consumer protections and scale that have made card payments trusted and preferred by billions," Jorn Lambert, chief product officer at Mastercard, said in Tuesday's release. "Mastercard plays a unique role in bridging that gap, working across crypto and financial ecosystems to unlock this potential." Stablecoins are helping solve real-world challenges, Lambert said, mentioning benefits such as reducing time and costs for cross-border remittances, enabling near-instant payouts for families, improving how content creators and gig workers get paid, and supporting B2B transactions that can be programmed to execute at a specific time or under prescribed conditions. Stablecoins will likely not be used for payments directly at the point of sale, but would require a conversion between traditional currency and the stablecion at both ends of the transaction. But that process could circumvent traditional card payments at the point of sale, thus draining revenue. The potential stablecoins from Walmart and Amazon are being cast as a counter to Visa and Mastercard. Walmart and Amazon have sparred with the card networks in the past, threatening to cut off cards over fee disputes. The overall stablecoin transfer volume in 2024 was $27.6 trillion, or about 8% greater than the combined total volume of Visa and Mastercard, according to crypto exchange however, said the impact of stablecoins on payment volume for Visa and Mastercard should be muted. "Visa and Mastercard will have a key role to play even if stablecoin adoption gains ground. Being centrally situated in the payments ecosystem and a trusted party for banks, merchants and consumers, makes the networks well positioned to add value and play a critical role in driving adoption of the stablecoin ecosystem, despite beliefs that stablecoin is a risk to their business model," KBW said in an analyst note, adding it expects Visa is working on similar initiatives to Mastercard. "Each wave of payments innovation has reaffirmed a simple truth: Consumers and merchants adopt solutions that are convenient, secure and dependable," Lambert said in the card network's release. "We don't see stablecoins disrupting this dynamic — in fact, they reinforce it. Stablecoins hold tremendous promise but should be held to that same simple but high standard. There's still work to be done to fully realize their promise." In an email, Visa's public relations department referenced a position paper that noted use cases for stablecoins such as improving settlement, enhancing cross-border payments and serving as an on-ramp or off-ramp for card payments. "In 2025, we believe that every institution that moves money will need a stablecoin strategy," Visa said in its stablecoin position paper. "As more players in the payments ecosystem explore this powerful new technology, Visa stands ready to help our partners navigate the transformation, bringing the scale, trust and innovation needed to help build the next generation of global payments." The hanging question, however, for all stablecoin providers is demand, Grealish said. There is some demand in countries plagued by high inflation and select currency corridors, she said. "But [stablecoins are regarded] ambivalently in the U.S., where consumers love their credit cards and need sustainable incentives to be motivated to use stablecoins." 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Business Wire
22-05-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Apiture Named Functionality Standout in 2025 XCelent Awards
WILMINGTON, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Apiture, a leading provider of digital banking solutions, announced it has been recognized by research and advisory firm Celent in its 2025 XCelent Awards for digital banking vendors serving North American community financial institutions. Apiture received an XCelent award for 'Breadth of Functionality' for small business digital banking platforms and earned a 'Functionality Standout' designation for both small business and retail digital banking. Calling Apiture 'one of the most client-driven providers' in the community financial institution marketplace, Celent recognized the Apiture Digital Banking Platform for its intuitive UI, superior user analytics, and proven customer-driven roadmap for both retail and business banking. Also underscored was Apiture's unique Data Intelligence solution, which supports financial institutions' advertising and marketing efforts, helping them deliver a highly personalized banking experience powered by AI. Highlighting the platform's support for small businesses, Celent called Apiture 'outstanding in not only functionality but also data analytics and workflow tools.' The platform's real-time payments messaging feature, intentional focus on financial wellness, and ability to make digital banking simple for small businesses were highlighted as strengths, earning Apiture a near-perfect score in business banking-specific functionality. 'Apiture stands out for powering digital engagement innovations at community FIs, enabling them to outcompete larger FIs that are not advancing as fast,' said Alenka Grealish, Principal Analyst at Celent. 'We are honored to be recognized by Celent in this year's XCelent Awards,' said Chris Babcock, CEO of Apiture. 'This acknowledgement reflects the dedication of our team and underscores Apiture's commitment to delivering innovative, feature-rich digital banking solutions that help our clients meet the evolving needs of their account holders—both consumers and businesses.' To download the Retail Digital Banking Platforms report, click here. To download the Small Business Digital Banking Platform report, click here. About Apiture Apiture delivers award-winning digital banking solutions to banks and credit unions throughout the U.S. Our flexible, highly configurable solutions meet a wide range of financial institutions' needs, from leveling the playing field with larger institutions to supporting growth through innovative data intelligence and embedded banking strategies. With our API-first approach, our clients can maximize the capabilities of their platform while preserving a seamless user experience. Our exclusive focus on digital banking, and a team with hundreds of years of collective experience working at U.S. financial institutions, means we are dedicated to meeting the unique needs of our clients while providing a level of support that is unmatched in the industry. Apiture is headquartered in Wilmington, North Carolina, with offices in Austin, Texas. To learn more, visit
