payment

According to The Defiant, Australian bank Westpac announced that starting in December, it will set a monthly limit of 10,000 Australian dollars on payments involving cryptocurrency for its customers, and it will not provide exemptions or arrangements for higher limits.Westpac also stated that withdrawals from cryptocurrency exchanges to Westpac accounts are not affected by this adjustment and will continue to be processed as before.

According to Cointelegraph, Stellar has launched Project Thruput, a new execution model that has gone live on FutureNet. Early benchmarks show that the model achieves 7.02 million payments per second by scaling across multiple machines.

According to an official report from Cointelegraph, the competition among cryptocurrency exchanges is undergoing transformation, with the industry's focus gradually shifting from trading data to users' broader daily financial needs. During TOKEN2049, Gate officially launched a one-stop financial service application, Gate Money, to lead this new competitive landscape.Dr. Han, the founder and CEO of Gate, pointed out that Gate Money aims to break down the barriers between traditional investments and daily consumption. It integrates users' named bank accounts, fiat currencies, cryptocurrency assets, and traditional financial holdings such as stocks and gold into the same account system, combined with the Gate Card that supports Apple Pay and Google Pay, as well as a Visa co-branded card, granting assets instant consumption capabilities. It also integrates various fiat currency deposits and withdrawals, on-chain transfers, instant exchanges, and up to 3.6% annualized wealth management, achieving a one-stop experience for asset management, appreciation, and payments.While expanding its business, Gate always places compliance and transparency at its core. Currently, the platform has obtained compliance qualifications in Malta, Dubai, Australia, and the United States; the platform's total reserves amount to $8.688 billion, with a comprehensive reserve ratio of 118.49%. The launch of Gate Money marks Gate's acceleration towards upgrading into a comprehensive financial ecosystem that encompasses daily payments and comprehensive asset management.

On October 28, the payment network Visa released its performance for fiscal year 2026 and the fourth fiscal quarter. The fiscal year 2026 spans from October 1, 2025, to September 30, 2026, and the fourth fiscal quarter spans from July 1, 2026, to September 30, 2026.In fiscal year 2026, Visa's total operating revenue was $45.903 billion, a year-on-year increase of 15%; operating profit was $28.11 billion, a year-on-year increase of 17.15%; the operating profit margin was 61.24%, an increase of 1.25 percentage points year-on-year. The net profit attributable to the parent company was $23.504 billion, a year-on-year increase of 17%; operating cash flow was $23.728 billion. Basic earnings per share were $12.34, diluted earnings per share were $12.32, a year-on-year increase of 21%; the debt-to-equity ratio was 61.73%.In the fourth fiscal quarter, Visa's total operating revenue was $12.139 billion, a year-on-year increase of 13% and a quarter-on-quarter increase of 4.35%; operating profit was $7.262 billion, a year-on-year increase of 18.12%; the operating profit margin was 59.83%, an increase of 2.5 percentage points year-on-year. The net profit attributable to the parent company was $6.002 billion, a year-on-year increase of 18% and a quarter-on-quarter increase of 6.65%; both basic and diluted earnings per share were $3.19, a year-on-year increase of 22%; the debt-to-equity ratio was 61.73%.

According to an exclusive report from "Du Jia," Douyin is currently testing exclusive interactive props for short drama scenes. Viewers can spend platform diamonds to send these props, which will trigger corresponding interactive effects in the short drama, allowing viewers to transition from simply "watching the drama" to paying for participation in the storyline.The report indicates that some short dramas will display entrances for props like "Iron Sand Palm · 1 Diamond" at key conflict points in the plot, with 1 diamond approximately equal to 0.1 yuan. This model opens up an interactive tipping monetization channel beyond traditional full episode unlock payments, advertisements, and short drama cards. In terms of industry background, current short drama revenue is highly concentrated among a few hit titles, putting significant pressure on small to medium projects to recoup costs, while one-time full episode payments filter out users who are only willing to make small payments. Prop payments will connect live tipping capabilities to short drama content, aiming to tap into the fragmented consumption potential of existing users.The report also warns that low-threshold props may provoke controversies related to deliberately creating conflicts and inducing consumption, requiring the platform to maintain ongoing regulation.

According to The Defiant, the V2 version of Privacy Pools has been deployed to the BNB Chain, providing BNB Chain users with payment and yield shielding features.This deployment supports BNB as well as stablecoins including USDT, FDUSD, and U. However, users still need to go through the deposit screening approval of 0xbow for private consumption.

According to The Block, Ripple expects to reach an annualized product revenue run rate of $900 million by the end of 2026, with growth coming from payments, custody, stablecoins, prime brokerage, and capital markets. The number of customers and partners using multiple Ripple products has doubled this year.The Ripple payment network is expected to reach a cumulative transaction volume of nearly $150 billion by the end of the year, with the stablecoin RLUSD's market capitalization reaching $2.6 billion. Financial institutions are utilizing Ripple's infrastructure for tokenized assets and transactions, with related business extending beyond payments and stablecoins.Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse stated that traditional finance and digital finance are merging, market infrastructure is moving to a modern track, settlements are shifting to real-time and around the clock, and tokenized assets can be used for trading, financing, and collateral.

According to First Financial News, the Korea Communications Commission (KMCC) has determined that Google and Apple violated the Telecommunications Business Act by enforcing in-app payments, and has decided to impose a total fine of 63.7 billion Korean Won on the two companies. Among them, Google was fined 42.9 billion Korean Won, and Apple was fined 20.81 billion Korean Won.The regulatory agency also issued a corrective order, requiring both companies to modify their relevant business procedures. This penalty comes about three years after South Korea first announced its sanction plans in 2023.

According to data from paymentscan.xyz, the monthly transaction volume of crypto cards has shown signs of slowing down after continuous growth. The total transaction volume for September was approximately $1.231 billion, setting a new peak for this phase; while as of October, the cumulative total is about $1.15 to $1.2 billion, making it unlikely to achieve month-over-month growth for the entire month.Among them, leading projects such as RedotPay, EtherFi, and KAST have all experienced a month-over-month decline in October. According to data from approximately 30 card projects tracked, the cumulative transaction volume of crypto cards has reached $13.69 billion, but the recent monthly momentum has weakened.

According to Tencent news, on October 27, Tencent's cross-border payment platform TenPay Global reached a cooperation with South Korea's Samsung Wallet and Woori Bank to jointly promote the interconnectivity of cross-border QR code payments.After South Korean users come to China, they can use the Samsung Wallet Money e-wallet within Samsung Wallet to scan the WeChat Pay collection code or show the payment code to merchants, allowing them to spend at tens of millions of WeChat Pay merchants within China.

Recently, the cryptocurrency exchange Echobit has partnered with the stablecoin infrastructure platform Interlace to launch a customized ceramic stablecoin card, combining stablecoin payment functionality with personalized card designs, further enriching VIP customer benefits and expanding service scenarios beyond trading.As competition among digital asset platforms becomes increasingly diversified, enriching user scenarios and shaping differentiated VIP services have become the core of customer operations. In this collaboration, Echobit leverages Interlace's ceramic card solution to integrate stablecoin payments with everyday consumption scenarios, and through unique materials and exclusive designs, creates a cardholder experience that differs from traditional cards, providing VIP customers with more recognizable exclusive benefits.As a stablecoin infrastructure platform, Interlace focuses on issuing card infrastructure, helping exchanges, wallets, fintech platforms, and financial institutions quickly launch their own branded card projects through API and white-label solutions, supporting virtual cards, physical cards, and customized card designs. As of now, Interlace has issued over 10 million cards, continuously assisting global partners in accelerating the implementation of stablecoin payments.

According to a report by the Korean News Agency, South Korean credit card company Shinhan Card announced that it will collaborate with Upbit's parent company Dunamu to launch a pilot program for token payments based on GIWA Chain in the South Korean credit card industry for the first time. The testing will take place at Shinhan Card's headquarters, where employees will receive tokens issued by Shinhan Card through the GIWA Wallet and complete payments by scanning a QR code.The system uses on-chain identity verification technology Dojang to verify employee identities, allowing only pre-registered wallets to participate in transactions. Shinhan Card stated that it plans to promote commercialization after the relevant legislation is completed and gradually expand the access scope for merchants and the global blockchain network.

According to Bitcoin.com News, a cooperative project in Thailand has launched a digital wallet application called WORPT, allowing foreign tourists to exchange stablecoins such as USDT and USDC for Thai Baht and make payments to local merchants through Thailand's QR PromptPay network. The application was launched under the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission's tourist Digipay regulatory sandbox program, jointly developed by Waan Exchange and Wipay, with partners including Tether, The Mall Group, and Visa.According to the sandbox design, local merchants do not directly accept cryptocurrencies, and payments are settled in Thai Baht through standard payment systems. WORPT also plans to launch physical and virtual Visa prepaid cards, allowing users to share the same Thai Baht balance for QR code payments and card transactions. The project is scheduled to hold an official launch event in November 2026 and must comply with the sandbox requirements for identity verification, transaction monitoring, and anti-money laundering rules.

On October 21, the payment network Visa announced three capabilities aimed at the growth of commercial cards, the security of virtual cards, and the automation of commercial payments in San Francisco, serving financial institutions, fintech companies, and enterprises. Darren Parslow, Global Head of Visa Commercial Solutions, stated that companies are accelerating the automation of payment-related tasks from identifying vendor opportunities to approving invoices and executing transactions. These capabilities are designed to provide the necessary data, security, and control.The three capabilities are SESA 2.0, Visa Commercial Fraud Solutions, and a live pilot conducted with the billing platform BILL and the accounts receivable platform Billtrust. SESA 2.0 combines AI vendor scoring, Visa commercial payment data, buyer benchmarks, and business value modeling to help identify vendors more likely to accept commercial cards and estimate growth opportunities. Visa claims that since its launch, SESA has helped financial institutions discover over $600 billion in potential cardable spending.Visa Commercial Fraud Solutions covers vendor verification, authenticating commercial virtual card users through 3-D Secure, and transaction-level controls such as spending, merchant category, location, and time. Payment controls have already been provided to eligible issuing institutions in supported countries and regions, while the other two are currently in pilot and are planned for full rollout in 2027. Visa also stated that the pilot with BILL and Billtrust has gone live, allowing trusted AI agents to initiate and assist in completing approved invoice payments through the vendor portal, using tokenized payment credentials without relying on shared vendor portal login credentials.

According to Bloomberg, Hong Kong cryptocurrency payment card company Redotpay is preparing to submit a confidential IPO application to the U.S. SEC by the end of the year, with a target valuation of at least $5 billion.The report indicates that the company is still negotiating pre-IPO financing with a valuation between $4 billion and $5 billion. Public information shows that the company currently has over 9 million customers and an annual revenue of over $180 million. Redotpay also raised $194 million in 2025, with supporters including the venture capital arms of Coinbase and Circle.