Visa Expands Stablecoin Payments Across CEMEA with Aquanow Partnership
Visa has partnered with Aquanow to enable stablecoin settlement across the Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa (CEMEA) region. The initiative allows financial institutions and fintechs to settle transactions using blockchain-based stablecoins, improving speed and reducing cross-border payment costs. This move signals Visaโs growing confidence in regulated crypto infrastructure as part of mainstream payments. It also highlights rising institutional demand for always-on, programmable settlement rails. By targeting CEMEA, Visa is addressing regions where cross-border payments are often slow and expensive. The partnership strengthens Visaโs role as a bridge between traditional finance and digital assets. Overall, this marks another step toward real-world adoption of stablecoins in global payments.
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Insight of the Day
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๐ซ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐ฏ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฒ๐๐จ๐จ๐ค ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐
I just finished reviewing Sumsubโs Identity Fraud Report 2025โ2026. What they found is a very different fraud landscape than even two years ago and fintech must be aware of these changes.
โชDownload the full report here: https://lnkd.in/dKTQ-B5A
Sumsub analyzed 4 million+ fraud attempts across 300+ companies and surveyed 1.2K+ end users and 300+ fraud professionals.
Here are the numbers that stood out to me:
๐ ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐ก๐ข๐๐ญ: ๐๐๐ฐ๐๐ซ ๐๐ญ๐ญ๐๐๐ค๐ฌ, ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐๐๐ก ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐๐% ๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐๐๐ฏ๐๐ง๐๐๐
Fraudsters are abandoning low-quality tricks.
โ 180% increase in โsophisticated fraudโ
โ 142% YoY growth in synthetic identities
โ 388% surge in duplicate submissions
โ Deepfake-driven selfie mismatches now account for 35.4% of fraud in APAC
โ Forged documents dropped 11% YoY
โ Blacklist violations dropped 50% YoY
So even if fraud percentages remain stable, the impact of each successful attack is much bigger.
๐ ๐๐ ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐ข๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ณ๐๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐๐ฎ๐ โ ๐๐จ๐๐ฎ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ง๐จ๐ฐ ๐ง๐๐๐ซ-๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐๐๐๐ญ
Fraudsters have moved from โcopy-pasteโ edits to AI-assisted forgery factories.
The report highlights:
โ Advanced image generation tools now replicate fonts, holograms, and textures at near-human accuracy
โ Deepfakes are used to bypass liveness checks
โ Selfie-to-ID mismatches grew +73% YoY in some regions
๐ ๐๐จ๐๐ฎ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ-๐๐ซ๐๐ ๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐ข๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐จ๐๐ข๐ง๐ (๐๐๐% ๐๐จ๐ ๐ ๐ซ๐จ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ก)
One stat that shocked me:
Document-free verification grew 338% YoY, making it the fastest-growing KYC method globally.
Countries already scaling it:
โ Canada
โ Singapore
โ France
By connecting directly to government registries, Non-Doc Verification eliminates the main attack vector (fake documents).
๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ง๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ๐ข๐ ๐ข๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ซ๐๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ฅ๐๐ง ๐๐๐ฌ
Traditional stolen data is being replaced by AI-generated personal details.
Key numbers:
โ Synthetic personal data is up +142% YoY
โ Now 15.7% of all fraud cases
โ Deepfake + synthetic combos rising rapidly
๐ ๐ ๐ซ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ง๐ญ: โ๐๐ญ๐ญ๐๐๐ค ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฒ ๐ ๐๐ญ ๐ข๐งโ
The report shows fraudsters donโt give up after one try.
- Duplicate submissions โ +388% YoY
- Liveness bypass attempts โ major rise
- Bot-driven attacks affecting 37% of companies
- Card testing impacting 46%
- Identity theft experienced by 73% of APAC companies
Persistence is now a core fraud tactic. This means more:
โ rate limiting
โ device fingerprinting
โ behavioral analytics
Hereโs my fraud-prevention checklist:
- Multi-layer verification across onboarding and post-KYC
- AI-driven anomaly detection
- Behavioral analytics (typing, navigation flow)
- Government-verified identity data where available
- Unified fraud + compliance stack
Curated News
๐ณ Payments
Buy Now, Pay Later Becomes Essential for Merchant POS
Buy now, pay later is shifting from an optional add-on to a core requirement for merchant point-of-sale systems. As consumer budgets remain stretched, merchants increasingly rely on BNPL to boost conversion and basket size.
Source
PayPal and Perplexity Launch Instant Buy Ahead of Black Friday
PayPal and AI search firm Perplexity have launched โInstant Buy,โ enabling shoppers to purchase products directly from search results. The feature aims to reduce friction during peak shopping periods like Black Friday.
Source
Monex Canada Adds Mass Payments to Monex Pay
Monex Canada has expanded Monex Pay with a new mass payments capability. The update enables businesses to send large volumes of payments efficiently, supporting payroll and supplier use cases.
Source
Smarter POS and Faster Payments for Peak Sales Season
Merchants are upgrading POS systems and adopting faster payments to handle peak-season demand. The changes help improve checkout speed, reduce outages, and enhance customer experience.
Source
Thredd Enables Visa Cloud Connect Globally
Thredd has signed a global agreement to enable Visa Cloud Connect. The move simplifies secure connectivity for issuers and fintechs, accelerating card program launches worldwide.
Source
PayMe by HSBC Migrates to AWS
PayMe by HSBC has migrated to Amazon Web Services to support scalability and faster innovation. The move strengthens Hong Kongโs digital payments infrastructure.
Source
๐ฆ Banking
Crypto Finance Group Completes Bank-Led Digital Asset Pilot
Crypto Finance Group and several banks have completed a pilot focused on digital asset infrastructure. The project highlights growing collaboration between traditional banks and crypto-native firms.
Source
Tuum Extends Core Banking Partnership with Multitude Bank
Tuum has secured a long-term extension of its partnership with Multitude Bank. The agreement supports continued innovation and scalability for digital banking services.
Source
๐ผ Fintech
FE fundinfo Acquires Finscape
FE fundinfo has acquired Finscape to strengthen its fund data and analytics capabilities. The deal enhances its offering for asset managers and distributors.
Source
Ant International and Ho Chi Minh City Plan Fintech Hub
Ant International is partnering with Ho Chi Minh City to build a regional fintech hub. The initiative aims to support startups and accelerate digital finance innovation in Vietnam.
Source
Disseqt AI, HCLTech and Microsoft Push Agentic Finance
Disseqt AI has teamed up with HCLTech and Microsoft to develop agentic AI solutions for finance. The collaboration focuses on automating complex financial workflows.
Source
Malaysia Ecommerce Revenue Hits $226.7B
Malaysiaโs ecommerce revenue has reached $226.7 billion, reflecting rapid digital adoption. Growth is boosting demand for embedded finance and payment services.
Source
๐ช Crypto
Deutsche Bรถrse and AllUnity Partner on European Stablecoins
Deutsche Bรถrse Group and AllUnity are partnering to expand stablecoin adoption in Europe. The move supports regulated digital settlement for financial markets.
Source
KakaoBank Begins Development of Won-Pegged Stablecoin
KakaoBank has started work on a won-backed stablecoin. The project highlights growing interest among Asian banks in blockchain-based payments.
Source
Paxos Acquires Fordefi for $100M+
Paxos has acquired Fordefi for over $100 million to expand its DeFi custody capabilities. The deal strengthens Paxosโ institutional crypto infrastructure offering.
Source
US Bank Tests Stablecoin on Stellar
US Bank is piloting a stablecoin on the Stellar network. The test reflects increasing experimentation by major banks with blockchain settlement rails.
Source
Bitcoin Options Traders Watch for a Market Bottom
Bitcoin options traders are tracking key signals to identify a potential market low. The analysis reflects cautious sentiment amid ongoing volatility.
Source
๐ WealthTech
ING Launches Round-Up Investing Feature
ING has introduced a round-up-and-invest feature in its Dutch app. The tool helps users invest spare change automatically, encouraging long-term saving.
Source
โ๏ธ Regulation
FCA Unveils Stablecoin Regulatory Sandbox
A UK regulator has outlined its crypto strategy, including plans for a stablecoin sandbox. The move aims to balance innovation with consumer protection.
Source
Australian Scam-Sharing Network Reduces Financial Crime
Australiaโs scam-sharing network is helping institutions better detect and prevent fraud. Collaboration across firms is showing early positive results.
Source
๐ท๏ธ Other
Mastercard Launches Access Pass for Personalized Perks
Mastercard has introduced Access Pass to help partners deliver tailored experiences and rewards. The initiative strengthens consumer engagement beyond payments.
Source
Kraken Pushes โKrakโ as a Bank Alternative
Kraken is expanding its offering with a cashback debit card, salary deposits, and high-yield vaults. The move positions the exchange as a full-service financial platform.
Source
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