Payments Weekly · 2026-W45Weekly

Section overviewRegulators continue to subject payment institutions, trading platforms, and banks to intense scrutiny over anti-money laundering, identity verification, and sanctions controls. FinCEN restricted MEXC’s access to the U.S. financial system, Block reached an agreement in principle with the U.S. Department of Justice, the Central Bank of the UAE imposed a heavy fine on a foreign bank branch, and FINRA also fined Webull for deficiencies in customer verification and investigations into unauthorized transfers. FATF pointed out that stablecoins and fast payments are being used by scam compounds in Southeast Asia to move funds quickly.

CCryptopolitan11.07

FinCEN Restricts MEXC’s Access to the U.S. Financial System Over Alleged Handling of $16.7 Billion in Illicit Funds

FinCEN ordered U.S. financial institutions to stop processing fiat or cryptocurrency transfers with MEXC Global, stating that the exchange processed up to approximately $16.7 billion in suspected illicit transactions during the relevant period. The prohibition is based on provisions of the Combating Russian Money Laundering Act and will take effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register; approximately $1.5 billion involved sanctions evasion by Russia. MEXC said user assets were safe and services remained normal. FinCEN’s separate A7 subsidiary restriction is currently still at the proposal stage.

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Payments Dive11.04

Block and U.S. Department of Justice Reach Agreement in Principle on $964M Deal

Block said it had reached an agreement in principle with the U.S. Department of Justice on a deal totaling $964M, including a payment of $764 million to resolve allegations that its AML program was ineffective and violated the Bank Secrecy Act. If Block fulfills the terms of the agreement, the DOJ will defer the related charges for three years and may dismiss them; Block will also receive a $200 million credit for prior regulatory settlements. The company said the agreement has not been finalized and that the ultimate loss could exceed the $764 million already accrued.

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CCryptopolitan11.06

FATF Says Crypto Assets Have Become a Core Money-Laundering Channel for Scam Compounds in Southeast Asia

A FATF report said scam compounds in Southeast Asia use virtual assets and fast-payment systems to move illicit funds, with funds moving from victims’ accounts to cash-out points in as little as 2 to 5 minutes, while victims discover the theft approximately 20 hours later on average. The report divides the money-laundering process into seven stages and says most blockchain-based illicit activity currently takes place through stablecoins. It also stated that Huione Group laundered at least $4 billion between 2021 and 2025, while associated wallets received at least $24 billion.

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Fintech News Middle East11.02

UAE Central Bank Fines Foreign Bank Branch AED 200 Million for AML Violations

The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) fined a foreign bank branch AED 200 million for serious and repeated failures in AML/CFT, governance, compliance, and sanctions controls. The bank’s CEO and compliance head were fined AED 500,000 and AED 300,000, respectively. The bank must also undertake mandatory remediation and undergo an independent-party inspection, while the two executives will undergo new fit and proper assessments.

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Finance Magnates11.06

FINRA Fines Webull $4.2M for Identity Verification and AML Deficiencies

FINRA fined Webull $4.2M for deficiencies in its AML, identity-theft prevention, and best-execution programs. Between January 2020 and September 2023, Webull approved more than 120,000 customer accounts with inadequate identity verification. It also failed to investigate promptly 473 unauthorized ACH transfers exceeding $1.5 million and an account that generated nearly 13,000 suspicious-transaction alerts. Webull agreed to remediate deficiencies in its AML and identity-theft prevention programs and appoint an independent consultant to review its best-execution program.

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Section overviewThe stablecoin market is both expanding the boundaries of compliance and exposing reserve and security risks. Nigeria requires offshore issuers targeting retail users to establish local entities and maintain at least NGN15 billion in capital; U.S. regulatory rules establish a pathway for community banks to issue stablecoins through subsidiaries, while research shows that only two major dollar stablecoins meet the relevant reserve requirements. The theft of approximately $6.3 billion from Binance, along with customer withdrawals, has also heightened attention to custody, recovery, and risk arrangements.

Finance Magnates11.07

Nigeria Requires Dollar Stablecoin Issuers to Establish Local Entities and Maintain NGN15 billion in Capital

New rules that took effect in Nigeria require offshore issuers offering USDT or USDC to retail users to establish a local company, obtain a Class 2 issuer licence and CBN approval for the token, and maintain at least NGN15 billion (approximately $11.1 million) in paid-up capital.

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PYMNTS11.04

OCC Establishes Path for Community Banks to Issue Stablecoins Through Subsidiaries

In its final GENIUS Act rules, the OCC stated that community banks may issue stablecoins through subsidiaries, while retaining a $5 million minimum capital threshold. Issuers must maintain eligible reserves covering the value of stablecoins in circulation, with operating reserves generally equivalent to 12 months of expenses. The rules will take effect on Jan. 18, 2027.

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PYMNTS11.07

BPI Research Shows Only Two Major Dollar Stablecoins Meet GENIUS Act Reserve Requirements

Research by the Bank Policy Institute (BPI) shows that, among 10 major dollar stablecoins covering 97% of the market as of June this year, only two—representing 26% of tokens in circulation—meet the GENIUS Act’s reserve-asset requirements.

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Fintech News Singapore11.03

Binance Suffers US$6.3 Billion Theft, Four Times the Previous Crypto Theft Record

Binance suffered a US$6.36 billion theft on October 29, 2026. TRM Labs said most of the funds were moved out within approximately 20 minutes, making it the largest known cryptocurrency theft by losses.

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PYMNTS11.03

Binance Theft to Test Crypto Industry’s Customer-Fund Recovery and Institutional Risk Arrangements

Approximately $6.3 billion in digital assets was stolen from Binance last Thursday. By Monday, customers had reportedly withdrawn more than $4.7 billion. Binance pledged to use SAFU to assume responsibility for compensating customers for their assets.

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PYMNTS11.05

Circle’s $13.9 Trillion Stablecoin Paradox: More Payments but Lower Profit per Dollar

Circle’s third-quarter 2026 results showed that USDC processed $13.9 trillion in on-chain transactions, up 49% year over year, while its circulating supply was approximately $73.9 billion and essentially flat. Reserve income fell 8% to $658 million.

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Section overviewHong Kong was the market with the greatest concentration of progress in tokenized financial infrastructure this period. HKMA expanded the Ensemble TX pilot, introducing tokenized central bank money to support 24/7 settlement of interbank tokenized deposits, with participating banks increasing to 12. Ant International completed an interbank Hong Kong dollar transfer in under five minutes. Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley created digital versions of U.S. stocks and Treasuries through the DTCC Tokenization Service, while Eurex incorporated digital and traditional assets into the same clearing framework.

HKMA — Press releases (简体中文)First party11.02

HKMA Advances Ensemble TX Pilot, Using Tokenized Central Bank Money to Support 24/7 Settlement

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority announced that the Ensemble TX pilot phase would introduce tokenized central bank money to support 24/7 settlement of interbank tokenized deposits. The number of participating banks increased to 12 and the number of industry pioneers to 20. The system was launched in November 2025 and initially processed the relevant settlements through the Hong Kong dollar Faster Payment System. Pilot transactions include corporate treasury management and tokenized money-market-fund transactions. HKMA will continue working with the Securities and Futures Commission to advance the relevant market infrastructure.

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Fintech News Hong Kong11.03

Ant International Completes Interbank Transfer in Under Five Minutes in Hong Kong EnsembleTX Pilot

Ant International completed Hong Kong dollar interbank transactions with three banks in HKMA’s EnsembleTX pilot, with transfers taking less than five minutes. The transactions took place between September and October 2026, were initiated through WhaleRTP, and used central bank money for settlement. The company said this approach reduced the need to pre-position liquidity. Ant International plans to further develop the ability of AI agents to make and execute treasury-management decisions autonomously.

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HKMA — Press releases (English)First party11.02

HKMA Launches Four Financial Technology Initiatives at Hong Kong FinTech Week 2026

At Hong Kong FinTech Week 2026, HKMA announced four categories of initiatives covering agentic-finance governance, banks’ post-quantum cryptography migration, tokenized transaction settlement, and cross-border payment connectivity.

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CCryptopolitan11.05

Morgan Stanley Tokenizes U.S. Stocks and Treasuries Through the DTCC Tokenization Service

Through the DTCC Tokenization Service, launched on October 28, Morgan Stanley created blockchain-based digital versions of U.S. stocks and Treasuries. The service is operated by DTC. The digital versions retain the relevant ownership rights and may be sent to approved wallets or restored to their original state. The digital versions remain subject to DTC rules; this does not mean that U.S. stocks are now freely tradable around the clock.

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Fintech News Switzerland11.04

Eurex Clearing Brings Digital and Traditional Assets Under the Same Clearing Framework

Eurex Clearing clears native digital instruments and traditional securities under the same rulebook and risk model, creating what it calls a hybrid central counterparty (CCP). These digital instruments will trade in Eurex Repo’s GC Pooling segment and may serve as margin collateral and eligible collateral in the ECB GC Pooling basket. Clients can connect without adding new connections, risk models, or legal agreements.

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Section overviewPayment institutions are beginning to incorporate artificial intelligence into existing risk governance and are testing the use of agents to execute procurement and payments under restricted permissions. The OCC requires banks to manage AI risks according to use case, scale, and complexity, while retaining human control over agents capable of autonomously initiating payments. Companies such as Sunrate have launched virtual corporate cards with limits on amount, currency, merchant category, and region. Regulators are also promoting post-quantum cryptography migration, with the FCA requiring financial firms to inventory their systems and develop migration plans promptly.

CCryptopolitan11.05

OCC Tells Bank Examiners Not to Treat AI as a Standalone Risk

The OCC requires bank examiners to incorporate artificial intelligence into banks’ existing risks rather than create a separate risk category, and has issued a supervisory framework for AI use by large national banks. Reviews will consider how AI is used, as well as the bank’s size and complexity. For AI agents capable of autonomously initiating payments, banks may need to restrict their authority to act without human intervention or maintain close human involvement. The framework emphasizes technology neutrality and focuses on harm that could result from tool failures.

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PYMNTS11.06

Several Fintech Companies Launch Restricted Virtual Corporate Cards for AI Agents

Several fintech companies are providing AI agents with restricted virtual corporate cards so they can procure goods, book tickets, and pay suppliers within preset rules. On November 2, Sunrate launched the Agentic Card, allowing companies to set limits for amount, currency, merchant category, region, and validity period. The agent generates and uses a virtual card for each payment. The card has completed Mastercard Agent Pay certification.

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FFCA (UK)First party11.04

FCA Urges Financial Firms to Prepare Immediately for Post-Quantum Cryptography Migration

The FCA urged financial firms to inventory their existing cryptographic technologies and plan migration immediately to address security risks that future quantum computing may create. NCSC recommends that companies complete migration plans by 2028, carry out high-priority migration by 2031, and migrate all systems, services, and products to post-quantum cryptography by 2035. The FCA also said it is piloting a regulatory self-assessment tool and will consult on cyber-resilience guidance.

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金融庁First party11.06

Japan FSA Explains Unauthorized FX Transactions Linked to GMO Internet; Five Firms Report Customer Losses

The Japan Financial Services Agency said that, after user information on servers leased by GMO Internet was accessed without authorization, five FX firms reported that their customers had experienced unidentified transactions. The firms suspended some customers’ FX trading, blocked orders suspected of originating from overseas attackers, and reset passwords. GMO Internet announced that it would compensate for the related losses. The FSA also instructed all FX firms to remind customers to change their passwords, check for unidentified transactions, and strengthen transaction monitoring. No new unauthorized-transaction reports have been received so far.

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Finance Magnates11.05

FCA Completes UK Transaction-Reporting Rule Reform, Expected to Save More Than £100 million Annually

The FCA has completed reforms to the UK transaction-reporting regime, which are expected to save the industry more than £100 million annually. Reportable fields will be reduced from 65 to 52, approximately 7 million instruments that can be traded only on EU venues will be removed from the scope of UK reporting, and FX derivatives will be handled under the UK EMIR framework.

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