Global payments network
Appears in 7 stories · Last updated Oct 14, 2026
PBOC approved its preparation application in October 2026; operating license still required
China's central bank approved Visa's application to begin preparing a domestic bank card clearing business.
Updated Oct 14
As of September 2026: Cooling's former employer; crypto team publicly welcomed Atum
Atum emerged from stealth on September 22 with $13.5 million from Variant, PayPal Ventures, and six other investors. It issues no currency, runs no blockchain, holds no customer funds, and lets settlement providers compete for each payment request.
Updated Sep 23
As of September 2026: Strategic investor in Velocity; running a Visa Direct pilot with MVB Financial
Visa, Circle, and Ripple each invested in Velocity, a London startup letting businesses use stablecoins without replacing their banking systems. The $10 million extension brings Velocity's Series A to $48 million at a $200 million valuation.
Updated Sep 19
As of September 2026: Network operator and settlement-data provider
Visa's stablecoin-linked card programs grew payment volume nearly 200% year over year, and their settlement run rate just passed $20 billion at an annualized pace. Those programs must fund daily settlement obligations before cardholders repay them, a working-capital gap that bank credit lines were too slow and too rigid to fill.
Updated Sep 9
As of July 2026: Creating cash-back rewards platform for Trump Accounts
The program launched July 4, 2026, opening for contributions on America's 250th birthday. Treasury deposited $1,000 into 1.4 million eligible accounts, committing $1.4 billion in total; 6 million children are now enrolled.
Updated Jul 7
As of May 2026: Strategic partner and cornerstone IPO investor in PayPay
PayPay, the mobile wallet used by three out of four smartphone owners in Japan, began trading on the Nasdaq on March 12 after raising $880 million in its initial public offering. The company sold roughly 55 million American Depositary Shares at $16 each, below its marketed range of $17 to $20, valuing the business at approximately $10.7 billion. It is the largest stock offering by a Japanese company on a U.S. exchange in over a decade.
Updated May 30
As of May 2026: Strategic partner for X Money payments
Elon Musk founded X.com in 1999 with a vision of building an all-in-one financial services platform, though that company became PayPal and he was ousted as chief executive. Twenty-seven years later, he's trying again. X, the social network formerly known as Twitter, announced on February 14, 2026 that users will soon be able to trade stocks and cryptocurrency directly from their timelines through a feature called Smart Cashtags.
Updated May 29
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