September was packed with major developments in the payments space. From acquisitions to new product launches and strategic partnerships, here’s a roundup of the most important headlines and payment news from the past month:
Worldpay Announces Major Rate Increase
Worldpay is increasing its rates on January 1, 2026. The increase is expected to impact all merchants on a tiered pricing structure, with increases to both mid-qualified and non-qualified transactions.
Depending on your merchant level, the rate hike starts at 0.05% for mid-qualified and 0.10% for non-qualified transactions. Other merchants will be hit with an increase as high as 0.40% and 0.80% for mid and non-qualified transactions, respectively.
For a full breakdown of the increases and merchants who might be excluded, read more here.
Global Payments Launches Genius For Enterprise
Global Payments has officially launched its Genius point-of-sale solution for enterprise customers across the US. This new offering provides a unified, modern, and modular commerce platform specifically designed to meet the needs of quick-service restaurants, fast-casual dining establishments, sports and entertainment venues, and foodservice management environments (like cafeterias).
Key features of Genius for Enterprise include an integrated POS, kitchen management capabilities, back office functionality, drive-thru support, kiosk integration, and more.
This launch represents Global’s continued push into the enterprise market, where they can look to further increase profits. Read more.
Fiserv Acquires CardFree to Expand Clover Hospitality Offerings
Fiserv has acquired CardFree, an all-in-one platform that provides merchants with customized ordering, payment, and loyalty solutions.
The acquisition is part of Fiserv’s strategy to expand Clover’s capabilities beyond traditional POS functionality, particularly in the hospitality sector.
For merchants currently using Clover, this integration with CardFree should support more ordering and loyalty options without having to use a separate third-party solution. Read more.
PNC Agrees to Acquire FirstBank for $4.1 Billion
PNC Bank announced its intention to purchase FirstBank in a $4.1 billion transaction. The acquisition is expected to close in early 2026 and is still subject to regulatory approval.
This will bring PNC 95 more branch locations, $26.8 billion in assets, and 700,000+ customers. PNC is using this as a way to expand its presence in western US markets. Read more.
US Bank Launches New Cash Flow Management Solution for Small Businesses
US Bank is rolling out a new all-in-one cash flow management platform that’s specifically designed for small businesses. Integrated directly into its online banking tool, it will allow business users to manage payments and records from a central source instead of switching between multiple dashboards.
US Bank Bill Pay for Business supports recurring payments, automated vendor invoicing, sync with third-party accounting software, and real-time updates. Read more.
Nuvei Announces Partnership With Early Warning Services to Expand Paze
Nuvei just announced a strategy partnership with Early Warning Services to bring Paze online checkout solution to additional merchants and consumers.
Paze will be integrated into Nuvei’s payment platform, allowing US merchants to offer a streamlined checkout with credit and debit cards issued from participating financial institutions. Read more.
Mastercard Rolls Out New On-Demand Authorization Decisioning Tool
Mastercard announced a new solution called On-Demand Decisioning. It’s designed to give financial institutions more control over authorizations.
Financial institutions can use this to automate and enforce unique business logic and policies to provide instant approvals (or declines) for transactions, ultimately giving banks more granular control over risk management strategies. Read more.
PayPal and Google Partner for Next-Gen Payment Solutions
PayPal and Google are deepening their partnership, with PayPal providing checkout services for even more Google services.
In addition to PayPal providing payment services to Google, PayPal will also be leveraging Google cloud services to power its next-generation commerce platform. Read more.
Federal Reserve Increases FedNow Limit to $10 Million
The Fed is lifting its FedNow transaction limit from $1 million to $10 million, effective November 2025.
More than 1,400+ banks and credit unions have been using FedNow for real-time payments. And the higher limit will allow these institutions to further customize operations. Read more.
Fortis Supports Tap-to-Pay on iPhone
Fortis Payment Systems has announced support for tap-to-pay on iPhone, allowing software platforms to offer contactless payment solutions through Apple’s technology.
This means that Fortis-powered software platforms can now accept contactless payments directly on iPhones without requiring additional hardware. Read more, and check out our Fortis review.
Amex Continues Expansion Into More Merchant Locations
New data shows that American Express has dramatically increased its merchant acceptance base. While historically Amex hasn’t been as widely accepted as Visa or Mastercard, it’s now accepted at over 160 million locations worldwide.
This is a 5x increase over the past eight years. Read more.
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