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March 2026: top five payments stories of the month. FinTech Futures takes a look back at five of the top payments stories from March. March 27, 2026 March saw several significant advancements and developments in the payments sector. Here, we run through five of the top payments stories from the month, featuring Santander, Visa, Zepz, and more. Santander tests agentic AI payments in Latin America with Visa. Spanish banking giant Santander has completed the "first controlled pilot agentic commerce transactions in multiple Latin America markets", achieved in collaboration with pilot partner Visa. According to a joint statement: "AI agents successfully completed the purchase of books across Argentina, Chile, Mexico and Uruguay, while in Brazil the transaction involved the purchase of chocolates." To achieve this, Banco Santander used its own regulated payment network alongside Visa Intelligent Commerce (VIC), a platform launched in April 2025 to enable AI agents to search for, recommend, and complete purchases on behalf of consumers. Bank of Shanghai integrates Mastercard Move to streamline cross-border payments. China's Bank of Shanghai has partnered with Mastercard's money movement platform, Mastercard Move, to streamline cross-border payments for individuals and businesses. The collaboration will enable bi-directional money movement between international consumers and businesses and Chinese account holders via cards, through connectivity with UnionPay; digital wallets, including AliPay and WeChat Pay; and direct bank account payments. Payments can be settled in CNY or USD and will be settled on domestic clearing rails such as CIPS. Huawei and Yowpay bring SEPA POS payment acceptance to smartwatches. Chinese tech heavyweight Huawei has teamed up with Luxembourg-based fintech Yowpay to enable smartwatches to double as payment terminals. This collaboration has led to the launch of what the companies claim is the world's first smartwatch application for open banking and SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area) transactions. Powered by Yowpay's account-to-account orchestration technology, the point-of-sale application allows merchants to "accept instant SEPA payments directly on their wrist", says the vendor. Vinted granted UK EMI licence for payments business. Vinted Pay, the payments business of online marketplace Vinted, has received an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) licence from the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Vinted Pay was first launched as an in-house payment service in 2023, and is designed for users of Vinted's marketplace to manage transactions, receive and send funds, and store earnings. A company statement confirms that Vinted Pay will utilise the EMI licence from the FCA to "issue electronic money and provide payment services in the UK". This includes an expansion of its wallet service to UK consumers. Zepz names Barrie Morris interim CEO as Mark Lenhard steps down. UK-based cross-border remittance platform Zepz has announced that its CEO and board director, Mark Lenhard, is stepping down from his role and will be succeeded by chief financial officer Barrie Morris on an interim basis. Having joined Zepz in 2022 from Bill.com, where he served as COO, Lenhard took to LinkedIn to share: "In the coming weeks and after much heartfelt deliberation, I've decided the time is right for me to step down as CEO." Reflecting on Lenhard's tenure at the company, Morris shared in an official statement that under his leadership, the company has achieved "cash-flow profitability, healthy revenue growth and a leaner cost base". Reporter, FinTech Futures Cameron Emanuel-Burns, a reporter at FinTech Futures, is dedicated to enhancing the accessibility of fintech for a broader audience. He has contributed articles to various media platforms and possesses a strong interest in all aspects of fintech. Prior to his involvement in the financial industry, Emanuel-Burns worked in the podcasting field, where he held editorial, hosting,and production positions for renowned production companies, covering diverse topics. With a research master's degree in conflict analysis, he conducted a study on the influence of anti-refugee policies on extremism. Join us to explore the future of fintech marketing and unlock strategies for success in 2026!

Zepz acquires Pomelo to push beyond remittances into credit cards. Zepz, the global payments group behind worldremit and Sendwave, has acquired Pomelo, a fintech platform known for offering the "first credit card built for money transfer." The deal marks a significant strategic pivot for Zepz, signaling its intent to evolve beyond pure cross-border payments into broader financial services, including lending and credit building. Merging credit with remittance. Based in San Francisco with a strong foothold in the Philippines, Pomelo has carved out a niche by integrating consumer credit with global remittances. Unlike traditional money transfer services that require upfront cash, Pomelo allows users to send money using credit, eliminating cash advance fees and high APRs typically associated with using credit cards for transfers. Crucially, the product enables users to build their credit history through their remittance obligations - a feature designed to serve cross-border communities that are often excluded from mainstream financial scoring systems. Mark Lenhard, CEO of Zepz, described the move as a "natural next step" in the company's evolution. "It will allow us to offer customers access to cards and credit services, and supports our broader ambition of financial empowerment for cross-border communities," Lenhard said. "Pomelo is a strong product built by a fantastic team, and we're looking forward to extending these capabilities together over the long term." Strategic expansion. The acquisition builds on Zepz's recent product expansions, such as the Sendwave Wallet, and aims to strengthen its position in core markets like the Philippines, where both companies already possess deep local knowledge. By bringing Pomelo's team and technology in-house, Zepz plans to broaden its revenue mix and improve customer retention by offering a more complete suite of financial planning tools. Eric Velasquez Frenkiel, CEO at Pomelo, commented: "Zepz shares our focus on serving cross-border communities and has tremendous potential to accelerate access to credit and everyday financial tools for people who have historically been underserved." While the acquisition has been finalised, Zepz noted that the Pomelo product has been "temporarily paused" for customers while the technology is integrated into the wider Zepz product roadmap. The company has not yet specified a timeline for the relaunch.

Zepz acquires Pomelo to bring credit-powered transfers to cross-border customers. Zepz's strategic acquisition of Pomelo paves the way for affordable, credit-enhanced remittances and broader financial services for global migrant communities. London-based global payments group Zepz, the parent of remittance brands WorldRemit and Sendwave, has completed the acquisition of Pomelo International, Inc., a fintech platform that fuses consumer credit with cross-border money transfer capabilities. Under the deal, Pomelo's team and product vision will be integrated into the Zepz ecosystem to help evolve the company beyond traditional remittances into credit, cards and long-term financial tools for cross-border communities. Pomelo's core product, a remittance-linked credit card system, fits into the Zepz family by giving senders in developed markets a way to fund transfers with a credit line while building credit history, rather than relying solely on debit balances or cash. In practical terms, users can make transfers using credit and then repay the balance on time to avoid interest and fees, making this option more affordable and flexible compared with traditional cash-advance cards that often charge high fees and interest. By folding this credit-based remittance model into its existing money transfer infrastructure, including the Sendwave Wallet, Zepz aims to offer customers a broader financial relationship, not just the movement of funds. That means access to cards, lending, and credit-building tools that can help users manage cash flow and strengthen their financial profiles over time. This acquisition also strategically reinforces Zepz's presence in key remittance corridors such as the Philippines, where Pomelo already has traction, while giving the group a stronger product set to serve underserved cross-border users across the Global South. The remittance market remains a massive and growing global industry with total cross-border flows valued in the hundreds of billions of dollars annually and projected to continue expanding as digital solutions become more widely adopted. Globally, 67% of respondents favour sending money to a bank account using a mobile or web app, and 40% transfer money digitally from physical locations, like banks or retail outlets. The majority of receivers also prefer remittance apps to cash and checks. As digital remittance services rise in popularity, combining affordable transfer options with credit-building features can help differentiate offerings and provide tangible benefits to users who regularly send money home.