The payments landscape shifted tremendously in 2025, and the next phase is just getting started. Regulatory shifts and rapid innovation are bringing crypto, fintech, and AI companies into payments in a big way, reshaping how money moves. This week, we’ll break down how the year wraps up amid big moves from Visa, PayPal, Stripe, and other industry giants.
The Weekly Swipe ❯❯❯❯
1. Identity is the New Gatekeeper
Citi’s latest analysis shows that identity verification is becoming the foundation for financial blockchains. Slow crypto adoption often comes down to transparency and KYC compliance. For ISOs, digital wallets, and fintech innovators like Velocity Transactions, robust identity verification is now a must-have.
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2. AI’s Transformative Potential
McKinsey’s Global Payments Report calls out artificial intelligence as one of the most transformative forces in 2025. From underwriting and fraud detection to operational automation, early adopters are streamlining workflows and reducing manual effort. Expect AI adoption to accelerate across ISO operations, payment gateways, and merchant-facing tools, changing how portfolios are managed.
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3. Visa’s Data Rules Push Costs Higher
Visa’s updated data requirements are quietly driving interchange costs higher, putting more pressure on merchants and forcing ISOs and PayFacs to pay closer attention to transaction qualification. As data thresholds tighten, incomplete or poorly structured transactions risk falling into more expensive interchange categories. The takeaway here: data quality is no longer just a technical concern it directly impacts margins, pricing conversations, and merchant retention.
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4. Visa Makes a Stablecoin Move
Visa is expanding its support for stablecoins in U.S.-based settlement, signaling that digital assets are moving beyond experimentation and into real payment infrastructure. The focus is on faster settlement, improved liquidity management, and modernizing how funds move behind the scenes. For ISOs, fintechs, and platforms watching from the sidelines, this is another sign that stablecoins are becoming a serious consideration within regulated payment flows, not a fringe use case.
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Why This Matters in Payments
This week’s stories all point to the same reality: payments is becoming more data-driven, more automated, and more tightly regulated at the same time. Networks are tightening rules around transaction data, regulators are shaping who can participate, and AI is increasingly being used to manage complexity behind the scenes.
Whether you like it or not, artificial intelligence is quickly becoming essential for underwriting, risk management, and portfolio operations. Those who adapt and innovate will continue to maximize efficiency and revenue, while late adopters will inevitably fall behind. Having clean, accurate data isn’t just about compliance anymore, it directly impacts interchange, pricing, and merchant profitability. At the same time, stablecoins can no longer be dismissed as a buzzword, with real settlement use cases emerging as regulation continues to take shape.
The next phase of payments won’t be won by who moves the fastest alone, but by who can balance speed, compliance, and operational efficiency. The players that get this right will be better positioned to protect margins, scale intelligently, and stay ahead as the rails continue to evolve.
Reader Pulse
What’s the biggest shift you’re seeing right now in payments? Is it AI adoption, tighter data requirements, or new settlement rails?
Hit reply and let us know. We may feature your perspective in a future edition of The Transaction Times.
Made for those who move money.
- Will Redd, Founder of The Transaction Times