by Matt Rej
From processor rate increases to new partnerships, acquisitions, and payment product updates, here’s a merchant-focused roundup of what’s happening this month:
Global Payments Increased Rates on August 1st
Merchants using Global Payments can expect to see higher discount rates on their August 2026 statements once they become available in September.
One standout of this increase is that not everyone was hit with the same amount. But all of the ones we saw were high.
The lowest increase that came across our desk this month was 100 basis points, and the highest was 225 bps.
Heartland Announced an Increase for September
Heartland (part of Global) notified businesses that rates are going up on September 1st.
While Heartland has been part of the Global umbrella for years, it’s only been about 8 months since all Heartland customers have seen the Global branding on their statements.
But this increase is a good illustration of how those accounts are still treated differently, as the Heartland accounts weren’t hit by the same August 1st increase mentioned above.
Though similar to Global’s August increase, Heartland merchant notifications did not contain the increase amount. Just that rates would be changed.
You still have time to contact your rep to see how much they’re trying to charge you.
PNC Annual Fee is Coming Next Month
If you use PNC Merchant Services for payment processing, you can expect to see a $109.95 annual fee on your September 2026 statement.
In the grand scheme of things, this isn’t the worst annual fee we’ve come across.
And it’s nice to know that the rate stayed flat from 2025 to 2026 without an increase (while everyone else seemed to go up).
Either way, you should be aware of this additional charge on your next statement.
Toast Adds Adyen for US Payments
While Toast and Adyen have had a strategic partnership for the last five years, August marked the first month where Adyen was added to Toast’s US payment rails.
Adyen will now acquire payments on the backend of Toast Payments for select accounts.
Though merchants won’t have a say in this, and the backend acquirer used to process payments is still at Toast’s discretion.
Theoretically, this could lower processing costs for merchants. But whether Toast decides to pass those savings to merchants remains to be seen (and I doubt they will).
Fiserv Partners With Stuut for Agentic AI Receivables
Fiserv announced a new partnership with Stuut Technologies, in which Fiserv’s Commerce Hub will be the foundation for Stuut’s platform and Fiserv’s SnapPay will also integrate with Stuut to automate B2B receivables.
Stuut already had AI automations in place, and has already collected over $2 billion in receivables in less than two years for B2Bs.
Toast Continues Push to Hotel Payment Processing
Toast has primarily been a restaurant-focused solution but has been taking steps recently to expand its hospitality scope in the hotel space.
And they definitely made a meaningful stride this month when BWH Hotels endorsed Toast for properties across North America.
They have over 4,300+ properties, and while Toast won’t necessarily be rolling out across all of them, the fact that the parent company endorsed another POS is just good news for those businesses in general. As competition forces processors to keep rates lower.
Square and Toast Both Offer Food Ordering on Google Maps
On the same day this month, both Square and Toast announced ordering integrations with Ask Maps: Google’s conversational AI feature inside Google Maps.
A customer asks for something specific, gets a nearby restaurant’s live menu in the response, and then can customize the order. They can check out as well without leaving the app.
Toast’s version routes orders through its own first-party ordering system. While Square’s setup syncs menus, hours, and location details from Square Dashboard and completes checkout through Order by Cash App.
But neither asks the merchant to build anything.
Fiserv and Mastercard Expand Their Partnership
Fiserv and Mastercard announced a Global Partnership that puts Mastercard Merchant Cloud inside Fiserv’s Commerce Hub.
This gives enterprise merchant accounts access to Mastercard’s value-added services across online, mobile, and in-store sales channels.
Moneris and Weave Both Acquired by Fransico Partners
Francisco Partners had a busy month.
On August 10th, the firm agreed to buy Moneris from BMO and RBC for roughly $2 billion. With the two banks split the proceeds evenly and signed long-term exclusive referral agreements to keep sending customers to Moneris.
Nine days later, Francisco Partners announced its acquisition of Weave for $650 million. A Utah-based patient communication platform serving about 40,000 dental, optometry, and veterinary locations.
This is big news because Pransisco Partners already holds NMI, Verifone, and Paysafe. As private equity continues to buy up payment companies, it means they’re looking for returns that historically come from existing accounts.
Major Processors Announce Earnings
This time of year is always busy for quarterly earnings from payment processors. I published a dedicated summary of page earnings that included key numbers, trends, and takeaways for:
- Toast
- Fiserv
- Global Payments
- Square
- FIS
- Adyen
- Shift4
One of the biggest recurring trends throughout the results and earnings calls was the fact that each processor is attempting to get more from each merchant. Whether it be in the form of a VAS, banking service, or new AI product, the lines between payments and general business services are really starting to blend across the board from all of these names.
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