This Week in Credit Cards: UK Eyes Alternative Networks

Monday’s observance of Presidents’ Day made this a short week for certain U.S. workers in financial institutions and governmental agencies.

But just because it was a short week doesn’t mean it wasn’t one chock-full of developments impacting the card industry. Continue reading for a roundup of the biggest stories that landed on the CardRates team’s radar this week.

The U.K. is seeking to find an alternative payment network to the ones Mastercard and Visa offer. The country wants to ensure that it won’t run into issues if it can’t use Mastercard’s and Visa’s services.

This Week in Credit Cards: UK banks plan a new payment network, Iowa is the latest state to take a swipe at swipe fees, and Apple Pay brings installments to brick and mortars. Full story below👇 pic.twitter.com/npbz7TGipJ

— CardRates Industry News (@CardRatesNews) February 20, 2026

In Russia, U.S. sanctions required the two payment networks to shut down services, which resulted in people losing access to money, according to a recent report from the Guardian.

Approximately 95% of card transactions in the U.K. rely on either Mastercard or Visa systems, so installing another network that could replace those two may not be an easy task. The Guardian reports that a new payments system will likely be ready by 2030.

A new report from TransUnion casts a gloomy outlook for the card industry in terms of origination growth for 2026. While the company forecasted 9% growth for originations in 2025, it expects that figure to drop to 2% this year.

TransUnion also highlighted that the median VantageScore credit score decreased by two points from the end of 2024 to the same period in 2025. The credit reporting agency noted the importance of lenders using advanced tools to stay on top of evolving risk profiles.

But the news from TransUnion wasn’t all negative for the card industry. The company said that total credit card balances climbed to $1.15 trillion in 2025, and it expects balances to continue to grow in the short term. 

Last week, we wrote in this space about Illinois’s efforts to remove swipe fees from the taxes and tips portion of a credit card payment. And now Iowa has followed its lead.

Proposed bills in Iowa are seeking to disallow swipe fees on the state’s sales tax, according to a new report from Axios. Restaurants in the state pay close to $12 million in swipe fees per year on just the tax portion of a bill a person pays with a credit card, the report found.

The swipe fee law in Illinois will take effect on July 1, and how the state manages that change may affect whether other states follow in its footsteps.

Apple is seeking to capitalize on consumer appetite for paying for purchases over time. The company is touting Apple Pay’s ability to let users pay in installments in apps, online, and in stores.

The pay over time in-store payment method is only available with iOS 26 or later, according to a recent PYMNTS report. Users who meet the requirements and want to pay over time for an in-store purchase can find options when they select their method of payment, the report revealed.

Bank of America unveiled its plans for a new rewards program this week called BofA Rewards. The program aims to reward the bank’s customers according to their entire relationship with the bank, not just their spending on the financial institution’s credit cards.

Anyone with an active Bank of America personal checking account is eligible to join BofA Rewards and access perks, including discounts on certain lending products and enhanced fraud monitoring.

The bank is offering the new rewards program, which clients can enroll in beginning on May 27, without a fee.

Things move fast in the credit card world even on shorter work weeks. That’s why we publish This Week in Credit Cards to catch you up on the important events that took place in the card industry recently.

Check out future editions of This Week in Credit Cards here at CardRates.com.