All briefings
Articles — Page 16
208 briefings on payments, fintech, and AI money infrastructure.
Card Scheme Fees Demystified: What's Inside the MDR
MDR = interchange + scheme fees + acquirer margin. Scheme fees hold 30+ line items; UK's PSR found over 30% real-terms growth, 2017/18–2021/22.
April 12, 2026
Stablecoin Treasury Operations: Custody, Keys, and Multisig
Stablecoin treasury requires decisions traditional treasury doesn't: custody model, key architecture, hot/cold tiering, insurance, and segregation of duties.
April 12, 2026
Why CoDi Failed and Pix Didn't: Lessons for New Rail Launches
Both launched as central-bank-mandated real-time payment systems. Pix hit 160M users in 18 months. CoDi is effectively dead. The delta isn't luck.
April 10, 2026
Braintree vs Stripe: An Operator's Decision Framework
Not a feature comparison — a decision framework based on operator archetype. Marketplaces, SaaS platforms, enterprise global expanders, and high-volume.
April 9, 2026
Card Testing and Enumeration Attacks: How to Detect and Stop Them
Card testing validates stolen credentials against your payment endpoint. Auth costs, fraud signals, and VAMP exposure — attack anatomy and operator defence.
April 9, 2026
Stablecoin Reserve Report Due Diligence: USDC, USDT, PYUSD, USDe
Reserve due diligence for USDC, USDT, PYUSD, and USDe: composition, custodian concentration, maturity profile, off-balance-sheet exposure, and timing flags.
April 9, 2026
Japan Payment Landscape: JCB, PayPay, and the Cash-Heavy Market Guide
How payments actually work in Japan: JCB and global cards, PayPay and QR wallets, konbini cash, and what cross-border operators need to accept them locally.
April 8, 2026
Working Capital Cost of Payments: Reserves, Settlement Timing, Float
Rolling reserves and settlement timing are capital your PSP holds — not line items. How to calculate the real cost and which contract terms move the number.
April 8, 2026
Chargeback Representment: Why Merchants Lose Money They Could Recover
Visa's VCR window is 30 days network-wide, though acquirers like Adyen enforce 9–18 days. CE 3.0 auto-qualifies since Oct 2025. Updated lifecycle guide.
April 7, 2026
USDC vs USDT vs PYUSD vs USDe: The Operator's Issuer Comparison
USDC, USDT, PYUSD, and USDe: reserve backing, regulatory standing, and redemption mechanics compared for acceptance, treasury, and settlement use cases.
April 5, 2026