📝 usncan Note: IPR, VRP, USDC in Japan, and Pix Automático
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Regulations are often seen as a drag by fintechs, but they can just as easily be a competitive advantage. (Photo by Daniel ROLAND / AFP) (Photo by DANIEL ROLAND/AFP via Getty Images)
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If you work in fintech long enough, you see a pattern: regulation lands with a thud, then, sometimes very quietly, becomes a revenue line. The past 12–18 months have delivered some of the most consequential payments rules in years. The smart fintech players aren’t treating them as compliance chores; they’re building products against the new rails.
Europe is the clearest example. The EU’s Instant Payments Regulation (IPR) locks in “pay in 10 seconds, 24/7,” equal pricing for instant vs. standard transfers, and Verification of Payee (VoP) to blunt misdirected payments. The timetable is phased with equal pricing in 2025 and VoP on a staggered schedule through 2027–28, but the strategic direction is unmistakable. The European Central Bank’s explainer, plus national supervisors such as De Nederlandsche Bank, lay out what providers must do and by when; the European Payments Council has published the dedicated VoP rulebook to make name/IBAN checks interoperable across PSPs.
A second European shift has received less mainstream attention but may prove just as commercial: direct access for licensed non-bank PSPs to Eurosystem payment systems, including TARGET/TIPS. The ECB codified this in Decision (EU) 2025/222 (ECB/2025/2), subsequently amended, with application expected as the TARGET guideline is updated. That moves PIs/EMIs closer to bank-like settlement privileges which will help with liquidity, cost and speed. Expect early adopters to productize that access, not just tick a box.
Case study #1: Europe’s instant-payments flywheel
IPR and VoP don’t just reduce fraud and friction; they expand addressable use cases. If instant rails are price-aligned with legacy SEPA and protected by VoP, merchants have fewer reasons to push cards over account-to-account (A2A) at checkout, corporates can automate payouts without “after hours” penalties, and treasurers can rethink reconciliation windows. The European Court of Auditors’ Special Report 01/2025 adds an important macro lens: price interventions and data-sharing gaps still need tightening, but the overall trajectory, i.e. safer, faster, less expensive payments, is directionally sound for competition. Translation: margin pressure on incumbents, opportunity for builders.
Open banking’s second act: from connectivity to commerce
The UK is pushing open banking beyond data pipes. The FCA’s recently published FS25/4 sets out a “Future Entity” to run a commercial scheme for variable recurring payments (VRP), enabling utility bills, tax payments and subscriptions as mainstream A2A experiences. Adoption is no longer hypothetical: by March 2025, the UK counted 13.3 million active open-banking users, with 31 million payments that month, about 1 in 13 of Faster Payments, and VRP already a meaningful slice. This isn’t just compliance telemetry; it’s a demand signal for A2A commerce.
Stablecoins move from theory to throughput
Two Asian regimes have quietly become the blueprint for fiat-referenced stablecoins. Singapore’s MAS finalized its framework in 2023, giving regulated issuers a clear path to market. Hong Kong’s regime for fiat-referenced stablecoins took effect this month, with licensing now live through the HKMA. For fintechs, those aren’t press releases; they’re distribution plans: where you can issue, where you can redeem at par, and how you can integrate into consumer apps without stepping into securities law crossfire.
Case study #2: Circle as a regulatory go-to-market
Circle’s trajectory shows how clarity converts to growth. The company priced its IPO in June 2025 and, in its first quarter as a public company, reported $658 million in Q2 revenue with USDC circulation up ~90% YoY to $61.3 billion at quarter end (and over $65 billion by August 10). Circle’s live dashboard now shows ~$67.5 billion USDC outstanding mid-August. Those aren’t crypto-winter numbers; they are regulatory-tailwind numbers.
The geographic expansion matters as much as the headline figures. In Japan, amendments to the Payment Services Act created a category for “electronic payment instruments” and allowed issuance via banks, fund transfer service providers and trust banks—unlocking credible structures for yen- and foreign-currency-denominated stablecoins. In March 2025, Circle announced an expanded Japan strategy (Circle Japan KK) and a partnership push; USDC is poised to plug into local rails through established financial groups. The FSA has continued adjusting, tightening AML/Travel Rule obligations in 2024 and proposing further PSA tweaks, so the legal plumbing keeps getting better.
Add Hong Kong’s live licensing regime and Singapore’s already-operational rulebook, and you get a regional corridor where stablecoins can be issued, redeemed, embedded and audited: exactly what large platforms and fintechs need to embed “digital cash” into everyday payments without legal ambiguity.
Case study #3: Brazil’s Pix Automático turns rails into recurring revenue
When regulators build real-time rails, the next unlock is recurring. Brazil’s central bank launched Pix Automático in June 2025, enabling subscription-like, pull-based debits with a single consumer consent. Official guidance, technical specs and rule updates are public; Pix is already the country’s most used payment method. The shift means card-like recurring economics without card fees; for the financially excluded, it means you can subscribe without plastic. If you’re a global fintech, Brazil just became a template for “real-time subscriptions” playbooks in other markets.
The U.S. still sets the tone on data portability
Across the Atlantic, the CFPB’s Section 1033 final rule (effective January 17, 2025) compels banks and providers to share consumer-permissioned data securely and recognizes industry standard-setting. That’s the legal foundation for account switching, multi-app financial management and A2A checkout experiences that compete on UX and price, not just card incentives. For fintech PMs, the question isn’t “are we compliant?” It’s “what will we build because this data now moves?”
Licensing as a product strategy
Finally, licensing arbitrage is back, only now it’s about building end-to-end capabilities, not regulatory theatre. Adyen is an instructive model: a 2017 EU banking license for passported services, Fed-approved U.S. federal branch in 2021, and FedNow certification by 2023. That stack lets Adyen control settlement, treasury and risk, and now, under IPR/VoP, offer A2A solutions with bank-like economics. Expect more fintechs to pursue multi-jurisdiction footprints that pair instant rails with direct or quasi-direct settlement access.
What winning teams do next
Treat the regulations as APIs:
- In Europe, design VoP-aware onboarding and payouts that assume instant settlement is always available and always price-aligned; use the ECB’s NB-PSP access to rethink liquidity.
- In Asia, decide where stablecoins are a product (B2B treasury, remittances, platform wallets) vs. a feature (embedded settlement under MAS/HKMA/PSA rules). Circle’s Japan push is the leading indicator.
- In Brazil, model card-to-Pix migration for recurring use cases; pilot Pix Automático and build billing/reconciliation that feels like cards but settles like cash.
- In the U.S., ship 1033-native account switching and A2A checkout that actually moves the needle on conversion and cost.
The through-line is simple: when regulators clarify the rules, customers change behavior. Fintechs that productize the rules, rather than treat them as paperwork, get there first.
