Amazon Rolls Out Pay by Bank in the UK
Amazon has launched Pay by Bank in the UK, allowing customers to pay directly from their bank accounts without using debit or credit cards. The rollout is powered by open banking and represents one of the strongest endorsements yet of account-to-account payments by a global e-commerce leader. By bypassing card networks, Amazon can significantly reduce transaction fees while offering a smoother checkout experience. For consumers, the move normalises open-banking payments at massive scale, helping build trust in bank-to-bank alternatives. For merchants and fintechs, it validates years of investment in open banking infrastructure. Strategically, Pay by Bank challenges the dominance of card schemes and could accelerate similar launches across other large platforms. If adoption scales, this could mark a structural shift in how digital commerce payments are made in the UK and beyond.
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Insight of the Day
A clearer view of stablecoin payment activity
Most people still quote $30–35 trillion in annual stablecoin transaction volume and assume it represents payments.
It doesn’t.
A new McKinsey analysis, done with Artemis Analytics, stripped out trading, internal wallet movements, arbitrage, and smart-contract loops to isolate real payment activity.
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The result is far smaller, but far more useful.
Actual stablecoin payments today are ~$390B annually, roughly 0.02% of global payments volume. That number has more than doubled year over year, but it is nowhere near the headline figures often cited.
What matters is where that $390B is coming from.
Breakdown of real stablecoin payment usage:
-> B2B payments: $226B annually, ~60% of total stablecoin payments. Up 733% YoY. Primarily cross-border supplier and trade flows.
->Global payroll & remittances: $90B annually. Still <1% of the $100T+ global segment.
->Capital markets settlement: $8B annually. Early use cases like tokenized funds paying dividends on-chain.
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Some pockets are scaling fast:
-> Stablecoin-linked card spending: $4.5B in 2025, up 673% from 2024.
-> Asia dominates: $245B of stablecoin payments originate from Asia, about 60% of global volume. Activity is concentrated in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan.
-> North America follows at $95B, Europe at $50B. Latin America and Africa remain sub-$1B each.
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The key insight is not that stablecoins are “small.” It’s that headline blockchain volume is a terrible proxy for payments adoption.
Most on-chain volume reflects:
-> Exchange and custodian rebalancing
-> Automated contract loops
-> Liquidity and arbitrage flows
-> Protocol mechanics that inflate transaction counts
None of that maps cleanly to revenue-generating payments. The signal is clear if you remove the noise.
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Stablecoins are gaining traction only where they deliver structural advantages: faster settlement, better liquidity control, and fewer intermediaries. Today that means B2B and specific cross-border corridors, not retail payments at scale.
For financial institutions, this reframes the strategy:
-> Ignore raw transaction volume headlines.
-> Track payments-classified activity by use case and corridor.
-> Invest where growth is already compounding, not where narratives are loudest.
-> Stablecoins still have long-term potential as a payment rail.
But the market is earlier, narrower, and more uneven than most dashboards suggest.
Curated News
💳 Payments
Deel Partners with MoonPay on Stablecoin Salary Payments
Deel has teamed up with MoonPay to enable stablecoin-based salary payments. The partnership highlights growing demand for faster, borderless payroll solutions using digital assets.
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Ingenico Launches Next-Gen AXIUM Devices and Unified Cloud Platform
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Para Introduces Instant Wallet Infrastructure via REST API
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Trust Wallet Launches QR Crypto Payments in Vietnam
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🏦 Banking
Nationwide Enables Fully Digital Mortgage Deed Signing
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LHV Bank Doubles Deposits and Loans in 2025
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💡 Fintech
Barclays US Reports Strong Gains from Call Centre GenAI
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Square AI Launches for UK Small Businesses
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UiPath Acquires Financial Crime Fintech WorkFusion
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🪙 Crypto
Interactive Brokers Expands Crypto Futures with Coinbase Derivatives
Interactive Brokers has expanded its crypto futures offering through Coinbase Derivatives. The move boosts institutional access to regulated crypto products.
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Robinhood’s Ethereum Layer-2 Enters Public Testnet
Robinhood has moved its Ethereum Layer-2 network into public testnet. The project signals deeper infrastructure ambitions beyond retail trading.
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Citadel Securities Teams Up with LayerZero
Citadel Securities has partnered with LayerZero on a new blockchain initiative. The collaboration highlights increasing TradFi interest in cross-chain infrastructure.
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Tether Invests in LayerZero Labs
Tether has invested in LayerZero Labs as it doubles down on cross-chain and agentic finance technology. The move reinforces Tether’s push beyond stablecoins alone.
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Ripple Expands Institutional Custody Capabilities
Ripple has enhanced its custody offering with added security, compliance, and staking features. The update targets institutional digital asset adoption.
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📜 Regulation
UK Regulator Moves to Block HTX Crypto Promotions
Britain’s financial regulator is seeking to block crypto exchange HTX from UK social media promotions. The action underscores tougher enforcement of crypto marketing rules.
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Blockchain.com Secures FCA Registration
Blockchain.com has secured registration with the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority. The approval strengthens its regulatory footing in a key market.
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📊 WealthTech
Betterment Data Breach Impacts 1.4 Million Customers
Betterment has disclosed a data breach affecting 1.4 million customers. The incident highlights ongoing cybersecurity risks facing digital wealth platforms.
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Experian Launches High-Yield Digital Savings Account
Experian has rolled out a new high-yield digital savings account. The launch deepens its expansion into consumer financial products.
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🧩 Other
Circle and Polymarket Partner on Onchain Markets
Circle and Polymarket have partnered to strengthen onchain financial markets infrastructure. The collaboration bridges stablecoins and decentralized prediction markets.
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