News

January, 2026

• 15 January

  North’s Merchant Management API: CRM‑Level Control for Modern Payments Partners

  

  North’s Merchant Management API gives Wholesale ISOs, Full Service Providers (FSPs), and Payment Facilitators deep, It is designed for partners that own risk, manage underwriting, and want to differentiate themselves with custom tools and portals for both internal teams and merchants. What the Merchant Management API does At its core, …
• 15 January

  An ETA Report Calculates How Digital Payments Drive the U.S. Economy

  

  Digital payments last year generated $354 billion in economic output and supported more than 2 million jobs in the United States, says a report from the Electronic Transactions Association. In addition, each job directly related to digital payments supported an additional 2.6 jobs in the economy outside the digital- payments …
• 15 January

  A Contractor Platform Enlists PayEngine for SoftPOS

  

  Payments-technology provider PayEngine will enable its softPOS tap-to-pay service with ServiceTitan Inc., a software developer for contractors in the HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and other service sectors. Santa Monica-based PayEngine says this means consumers will be able to pay their contractor invoices on the ServiceTitan platform by tapping a contactless card …
• 15 January

  A World Cup Betting Boom? and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 1/15/26

  

  Research from the processor Paysafe indicates strong interest in online betting during the 2026 World Cup, with 19% of consumers globally planning to place their first online bet during the tournament. Block Inc.’s buy now, pay later service, Afterpay, said 96% of pay-in-four users who shopped during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday …
• 14 January

  The CCCA Gets New Life Thanks to a Presidential Endorsement

  

  The proposed Credit Card Competition Act staged a comeback Tuesday with a huge boost from President Trump, who endorsed the bill on the Truth Social platform the previous day. The President’s backing breathes new life into the bill, which has been bandied about Capitol Hill for years. The last major …
• 14 January

  Eye on BNPL: Affirm’s Underwriting Open Banking Reliance; Klarna Delves into P2P Payments

  

  With more than 100 million U.S. consumers expected to choose a buy now, pay later payment option by 2027, according to eMarketer Inc., BNPL providers are preparing better underwriting and new services as the payment option is further cemented in the U.S. payments economy. Affirm Holdings Inc. says its underwriting …
• 14 January

  Blackhawk’s EV and Grocery Cards and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 1/14/26

  

  Payments and rewards platform Blackhawk Network said it will issue two Mastercard-branded products: the Drive Prepaid Card, aimed at EV adoption programs, test drive incentives, and other programs related to automobiles; and the Grocery Prepaid Card, meant for cost relief. Polygon Labs, a blockchain-based payments company, announced agreements to acquire Coinme, a …
• 13 January

  A Credit Card Rate Cap Will Harm Most Consumers And the Economy, Banking Groups Argue

  

  The Electronic Payments Coalition and other banking industry groups late Monday warned that enacting President Trump’s proposed one-year 10% cap on credit card interest rates would cause the majority of credit card holders to lose access to credit. President Trump, who first floated the proposal during his 2024 presidential campaign, …
• 13 January

  Surcharges Come With Acute Abandonment Risk, J.D. Power Research Finds

  

  Merchant surcharges are proving problematic for card-accepting merchants, as nearly one-third of small businesses say customers walk away from a potential transaction when faced with the extra charge, according to a study released early Tuesday by J.D. Power. Some 35% of merchants are now surcharging when customers use credit cards, …
• 13 January

  Papa John’s Picks PARTech and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 1/13/26

  

  PAR Technology Corp. will provide its PAR POS and PAR OPS technologies for ordering and restaurant management under an agreement announced by Papa John’s International Inc., operator of more than 6,000 locations globally. PAR OPS is a back-of-house management platform. Ingenico Group announced it will work with Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions to …