Payments News Update – February 20, 2026
Legal and Regulatory Developments
SPOTLIGHT: Visa, Mastercard Can’t Avoid Swipe Fee Claims Pass-On
Law360 – February 18, 2026 (subscription required)
Mastercard and Visa lost a bid on Wednesday to fend off a class action from retailers over unlawful card payment fees by arguing that the merchants didn’t suffer loss because they passed on the charges.
The Competition Appeal Tribunal ruled in a written judgment that the card companies had largely failed to prove that the damage caused by the so-called multilateral interchange fees, or MIFs, had been absorbed by merchants’ customers.
“We find that the defendants have not proved on the balance of probabilities that the claimants have mitigated their losses from the payment of the unlawful MIFs by passing those losses on to their suppliers by renegotiation of other costs,” the judgment says. . . .
UK Bank Bosses Plan to Set Up Visa and Mastercard Alternative Amid Trump Fears
The Guardian – February 16, 2026 (subscription may be required)
UK bank bosses will hold their first meeting to establish a national alternative to Visa and Mastercard, amid growing fears over Donald Trump’s ability to turn off US-owned payment systems.
The meeting, chaired by Barclays’ UK chief executive, Vim Maru, will take place this Thursday and bring together a group of City funders that will front the costs of a new payments company to keep the UK economy running if problems were to occur.
The City-funded, but government-backed, initiative has been under discussion for years. However, Trump’s recent threats against Nato allies over Greenland have amplified concerns that an over-reliance on US companies could put UK payments – and the wider economy – at risk. . . .
Industry Developments
SPOTLIGHT: Apple Pay Pushes Installments to In-Store Checkout
PYMNTS – February 17, 2026
Apple is promoting the ability of Apple Pay to let users pay over time in stores as well as in apps and online.
This capability is available with iOS 26 and users’ eligible cards, the company said in a Tuesday (Feb. 17) promotional email seen by PYMNTS.
While users can pay with installments online and in apps with a compatible iPhone with iOS 18, they can use that payment method in-store only with iOS 26 or later, according to a support page to which there was a link in the email. . . .
How Stablecoins Are Finding a Foothold
Payments Dive – February 17, 2026
While stablecoins command only a tiny fraction of annual global payments value, interesting use cases for the digital assets are beginning to emerge, according to two recent panel discussions.
Among them: foreign remittances conducted via mobile app; airlines’ payments to passengers for disrupted flight or baggage delays; retail and creative marketplaces that pay sellers or content creators with stablecoins instead of their local currency.
In the discussions this month, professionals in the crypto field explained the nascent and growing use of stablecoins and where they’re gaining traction. . . .