FinTech 17 February 2026 - 10 March 2026

Mastercard Incorporated launches AI ‘Virtual CFO’ for small businesses in new push beyond payments
···

Mastercard Incorporated launches AI ‘Virtual CFO’ for small businesses in new push beyond payments

PURCHASE, N.Y., March 10, 2026, 15:00 UTC-04:00 Mastercard Incorporated rolled out Virtual C-Suite on Tuesday, an AI-powered offering aimed at small businesses that debuts with a Virtual CFO. The product is set to reach users later this year via banks, accounting platforms, and software firms. With this launch, the payments giant is taking a bigger step into layering software solutions on its own rails.
March 10, 2026
Visa Inc launches AI payment tool as stablecoins and AI shopping reshape checkout
···

Visa Inc launches AI payment tool as stablecoins and AI shopping reshape checkout

Visa Inc rolled out its new payment-processing service on March 9, targeting merchant-facing banks with a promise: speedier transaction approvals, even as AI-driven shopping and stablecoins push old infrastructure to the limit. Dubbed Visa Intelligent Authorization, the platform allows acquirers—banks and financial institutions serving merchants—to tap into multiple card networks using just one software integration. Machine learning runs under the hood, scanning each transaction in real time. Company figures show 99.999% uptime and a 96.3% average approval rate for the 12 months ending February 2025, excluding India. Axel Boye-Moller, who heads value-added services for Asia Pacific, described the launch as “built for what’s happening now, and what’s coming next.” Timing is key here: AI shopping assistants are edging nearer to
March 10, 2026