Issuers Face Increased Chargeoffs and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 12/28/17

Merchant processor EVO Payments International said it has an agreement with Madrid-based Liberbank SA to buy Liberbank’s merchant-acquiring business in Spain; terms of the deal, which is expected to close by March 31, were not disclosed.
Credit card delinquencies and chargeoffs have increased slightly over the past year, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s latest biennial assessment of the U.S. credit card market, but the increases are “occurring in the absence of any concurrent deterioration in broader economic conditions,” the report says.
Nxt-ID Inc., which provides security technology and owns the FitPay platform that brings contactless payment capabilities to wearables and Internet of Things devices, said it grossed $7 million in a just-completed sale of 1.75 million shares of its common stock for $4 per share. The company plans to use the approximately $6.5 million in net proceeds to pay down debt and for working capital and general corporate purposes.
The boom in Bitcoin’s price in recent months has been a boon to far-right hate groups that find it increasingly difficult to raise funds through conventional Internet sites and payment services, The Washington Post reported.
Wire-transfer provider MoneyGram International Inc. said CEO W. Alexander Holmes will become chairman of its board of directors Feb. 2 upon the retirement of current chair Pamela H. Patsley.

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