Payments Daily · Wednesday, October 21, 2026Daily
PAY.NEWS
Google Cloud outage disrupts multiple Revolut payment services
A Google Cloud outage disrupted services including Revolut card payments, transfers and ATM withdrawals. The company said customer funds and data were safe. The EPC launched the SCARLET initiative to develop a framework for PSPs to accept the EU Digital Identity Wallet for SCA; Visa, meanwhile, began agentic payment pilots with BILL and Billtrust.
Payments & Infrastructure
Google Cloud outage disrupts multiple Revolut payment services
A Google Cloud outage disrupted Revolut services including card payments, transfers and ATM withdrawals. Revolut said customer funds and data were safe. At the time of reporting, Revolut’s status page showed 28 services partially unavailable, while Downdetector had received more than 1,500 user reports. The company did not disclose how many customers were affected or when full service would be restored.
Cards & Issuing
CMA proposes requiring Apple to open iPhone contactless payments to UK competitors
The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has proposed requiring Apple to open iPhone contactless payment technology to competing apps in the UK and provide access at lower fees. The proposal requires Apple to provide HCE. The CMA expects fees to be significantly lower than Apple’s current charges but has not announced specific amounts; the UK consultation will close on November 17. The CMA said contactless payments accounted for 39% of UK payments in 2025, up from 3% a decade ago; a survey found that 62% of UK adults use digital wallets.
Regulation & Compliance
EPC launches SCARLET initiative to standardize use of the EU Digital Identity Wallet for payment authentication
The European Payments Council (EPC) has launched the SCARLET development initiative to establish a standardized framework for PSPs to consistently accept the EU Digital Identity Wallet for Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) in payment services.
Russian banks crack down on transactions involving USDT bought abroad and cashed out domestically
Russia’s central bank and commercial banks have begun blocking transactions in which USDT is bought through CIS countries such as Belarus and Kyrgyzstan and then exchanged for cash rubles in Russia. The arbitrage exploits the price difference between digital USDT and cash USDT, yielding at least 2% per transaction, but Russian monetary authorities see a money-laundering risk involving funds of unknown origin. The transition period will end on July 1, 2027, after which buying Tether through CIS platforms using Russian bank accounts and cashing it out domestically will no longer be possible; P2P cryptocurrency trading and transfers to self-custody wallets will also be prohibited.
European Central BankFirst partyECB Executive Board member Frank Elderson: banking supervision can be simplified, but financial resilience must not be weakened
ECB Executive Board member Frank Elderson said banking supervision could be simplified and made more proportionate, but must not turn into deregulation, as financial resilience remains the foundation for stable growth and competitiveness. He proposed raising the simplified supervision threshold for small, non-complex banks from €5 billion to €10 billion, which he expects would bring around 150 banks under the simplified regime. To address AI risks, banks need to reassess their cybersecurity measures and submit relevant action plans by the end of October.
Payments & Agent Economy
PYMNTSVisa launches agentic payment pilots with BILL and Billtrust to automate invoice payments through supplier portals
Visa has launched agentic payment pilot partnerships with accounts payable and accounts receivable solution providers BILL and Billtrust, enabling AI agents to initiate and complete approved buyer invoice payments end to end through supplier portals.