Payments

Synchrony issued the Walmart credit card for nearly two decades until 2018, when it lost the partnership to Capital One Financial. The latest deal does not include the balances tied to Walmart's existing credit card program.

In an interview with American Banker following Circle's IPO debut, President Heath Tarbert discussed the stablecoin issuer's go-public timing, the importance of regulation and transparency and how the fintech sees itself working with banks.

The stablecoin issuer's initial public offering is widely seen as a bellwether for the cryptocurrency industry at large. Circle's stock traded as high as $95.98 midday Thursday, nearly triple its $31-a-share pricing.

The payments company hopes to build its brand outside of its U.K. home base while attracting a deeper investor pool.

The card network behemoths and the London-based bank are looking to expand account-to-account payments through fresh partnerships and investments. Plus: President Trump withdraws Shift4 CEO's NASA nomination, and tokenized payments gain steam in Europe in this week's global payments roundup.

The Swedish buy now/pay later provider and the San Jose, California-based payments system separately launched payment cards in an effort to bring their digital finance offerings to brick-and-mortar stores and compete with established credit card issuers.

The payments fintech is partnering with credit unions such as Michigan State Federal Credit Union to offer cash-back rewards on debit transactions using account-to-account payment schemes.

Using watches, wristbands and other accessories at the point of sale is set for a boom, pressuring financial institutions to develop a strategy for the banking tech.