Payment Expert’s Fintech Unwrapped delivers the latest and developing news that has shaped the sector over the course of the week.
This week, Facebook users will now be able to perform payments by clicking on ads after Stripe’s recent agentic integration.
Also this week, Visa is aiming to consolidate the subscription payment process, Mastercard has made agentic payments available to LatAm and Caribbean businesses, payabl. is making contactless payments more seamless, and GoCardless performed a company first pay-by-bank transaction.
Stripe’s agentic offering lands on Facebook
Facebook embedded Stripe’s Agentic Commerce Protocol on 24 March 2026, enabling users to make purchases from its in-app marketplaces or by clicking on advertisements.
The process enables buyers to purchase goods from companies, such as Fanatics, in one click. Businesses can opt into selling via their ads through Stripe’s dashboard by linking their Meta ads account.
This enables buyers to click the ‘Buy Now’ button on a Facebook ad, prompting the payment and checkout process powered by Stripe. The payment is transacted through the customer’s saved credentials from their Meta wallet.
Kevin Miller, Head of Payments at Stripe, said: “Reducing the steps between discovery and purchase is great for both consumers and businesses.
“We’re thrilled to partner with Meta to bring a new checkout experience to Facebook, powered by Stripe’s infrastructure for commerce in the AI era.”
Visa to simplify subscription payments
Visa is seeking to make subscription payment processing more simple with the launch of Enhanced Subscription Manager on 26 March 2026.
In partnership with Pinwheel, the new solution aims to provide a consolidated in-app bill management service that is easy to integrate and elevate the user experience. Issuers can give cardholders greater subscription visibility, payment switching options and cancellation capabilities, without them leaving their banking app.
With subscription payments set to total $12bn by 2030, according to Visa, the Enhanced Subscription Manager also intends to boost user engagement and improve customer retention in a bid to reduce churn.
Kathleen Pierce‑Gilmore, Global Head of Issuing Solutions at Visa, said: “Consumers today want clarity, control, and convenience when it comes to managing the subscriptions that touch so many parts of their lives.
“By enhancing subscription management capabilities with Digital Issuer Solutions, and expanding through strategic collaborations with companies like Pinwheel, we’re helping issuers deliver digital experiences that keep them top‑of‑wallet.”
Mastercard’s Agentic payments now live in LatAm and Caribbean
Mastercard confirmed the launch of end-to-end agentic payment capabilities across Latin America and the Caribbean on 24 March 2026.
Prior to launch, Mastercard tested agentic payments in a controlled environment with Mastercard Agent Pay, the infrastructure supporting the payments. Customers can pay using agents through existing payment infrastructure with their full consent.
Mastercard collaborated with regional banks such as Santander, Banco de la Nacion Argentina, Oriental Bank, and more. The transactions were enabled in partnership with regional processors and merchant payment platforms, supporting end‑to‑end authorisation across issuers, merchants and the Mastercard network.
Andrea Scerch, Mastercard President for Latin America and the Caribbean, said: “Agentic payments represent a fundamental shift in how commerce is initiated and executed.
“Building on early momentum in the region, we are now seeing agentic payments move from concept to reality across Latin America, with partners actively executing transactions in live environments. This isn’t a lab exercise or a future roadmap – these are real transactions happening today on our network. We see this as a critical step in building trusted, scalable AI driven commerce across the region.”
payabl. transforms mobile’s as payment terminals with Tap to Pay
European financial technology provider payabl. has launched Tap to Pay to support businesses in accepting contactless card payments from smartphones.
The payment method is a SoftPOS solution which allows merchants to turn Android devices into NFC-enabled payment terminals, enabling them to accept contactless payments without traditional card terminal hardware.
The solution also supports PIN entry and e-receipts, and covers transaction types such as sales, refunds, reversals and tips. Merchants can manage all online and in-person payments from a single platform, viewing transactions, payouts and settlement status.
payabl. Group CEO, Ugne Buraciene, said: “Payments should adapt to the way merchants operate, not the other way around. Tap to pay gives businesses a simple way to accept in-person payments using the devices they already rely on every day, whether that’s in-store or out on the move.”
GoCardless introduces pay-by-bank to Jellyfish Energy
GoCardless announced today (27 March 2026) it has completed Jellyfish Energy’s first pay-by-bank transaction.
GoCardless performed a recurring pay-by-bank transaction in a live testing exercise with banks to ensure payment visibility from both the sending and receiving bank accounts.
Jellyfish Energy has adopted pay-by-bank to provide an additional payment option for businesses seeking greater transparency. Some of the benefits outlined by GoCardless include full payer coverage from day one, a ‘bank guess’ feature, and 99.5% uptime for increased reliability of payment processing.
Pat Phelan, Chief Revenue Officer at GoCardless, said: “We’re thrilled to process the first live recurring Pay by Bank transaction with Jellyfish Energy, a major milestone as the industry prepares for the launch of this next-gen payment method.
“Recurring Pay by Bank offers a unique blend of speed, security and ease, helping forward-looking businesses like Jellyfish Energy unlock new revenue models, greater efficiency and best-in-class customer relationships.”
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