Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals

American Express Co. launched “Stand for Small,” a platform of more than 40 companies who have agreed to lend expertise to small businesses impacted by the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.The World Bank predicted in a new report that global remittances will fall by about 20% this year because of the economic crisis …

Alphabet Inc.’s chief subsidiary Google revealed Tuesday that merchants can soon have free listings on its Google Shopping tab. No-cost listings will become available in the United States next week and elsewhere before the end of 2020, Bill Ready, president of commerce at Mountain View, Calif.-based Google, said in a …

The nation’s largest issuer of store cards sounded a note of optimism Tuesday as the Covid-19 crisis continued to ravage consumer spending. “Believe it or not, there are deals in the pipeline [with merchants],” said Margaret Keane, chief executive of Synchrony Financial. “We’re not sitting back. We’re highly engaged.” Keane …

Coinqvest launched its enterprise cryptocurrency processing platform. With it, merchants can be paid online in cryptocurrencies and convert them into traditional currencies.The New York City Department of Transportation announced two apps can be used to pay for parking at more than 80,000 metered spots. In addition to the ParkNYC app, which …

It’s well known that Alphabet Inc.’s Google unit wants to offer consumers checking accounts, though that service has yet to launch. But the search-engine giant also reportedly is developing a debit card that would work in concert with its Google Pay mobile-payments service, according to news reports from Silicon Valley. …

Nearly empty commercial airline flights mean a lot less tickets being purchased. This result of efforts to tamp down the Covid-19 infection packs a wallop for the travel industry. But, the time can be put to use taking care of formerly delayed payment projects and preparing for the resumption of …

In an update, eBay Inc. said it will expand its managed-payments platform later this year to Australia and Canada. The platform, which funnels payments to a variety of processors through a gateway provided by Adyen, has processed more than $2 billion so far for more than 25,000 sellers in the United States, …

Among payment devices, gift cards are unique in that they can promote a business as well as enable payments at the store or online. That’s an edge at a time of a pandemic, and now technology platforms that support digital gift cards are leveraging that advantage. Yiftee Inc. late on …

Payments provider FreedomPay has added support for Google Pay, enabling Google Pay users to make e-commerce payments in Android apps and in Web browsers. This can be done on a merchant’s Web site regardless of browser or operating system or within an Android app, with FreedomPay securely integrating to the Google Payments …

They say that in every crisis there’s an opportunity. E-commerce merchant processor Stripe Inc. and several providers of prepaid accounts think they’ve found some in the Covid-19 pandemic sweeping the globe. San Francisco-based Stripe announced Thursday it had raised another $600 million in an extension of its Series G funding …

Under pressure for months from governments and regulators worldwide, the Libra cryptocurrency venture has applied for a key payments-system license and changed course on a number of its prime strategies, including setting out new plans for single-currency stablecoins and a stronger compliance regime. FINMA, the Swiss financial regulator, confirmed Thursday …

Two reports analyzing sales at e-commerce merchants and small businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic indicate moderation in some categories may be happening. Many categories among e-commerce merchants moved a few percentage points for the week of April 7-13, according to the Covid-19 Weekly Pulse Report for E-commerce from San Jose, …

Saying the Covid-19 pandemic “is pushing the economy online,” e-commerce payment processor Stripe Inc. announced it has raised another $600 million through an extension of its Series G funding round. Stripe said it will use the funding “to step up product development, global expansion, and strategic initiatives.”Payments provider Clearent launched Clearent EDU, a free …

If the first quarter of the year is any indication, person-to-person payments might be getting a big lift as stay-at-home consumers look for safe ways to pay in the face of the Covid-19 outbreak. Bank of America Corp. reported Wednesday transactions on its Zelle platform shot up 76% compared to …

U.S. Bancorp’s big payments operation that includes merchant acquirer Elavon Inc. is usually a reliable revenue generator, but the bank-holding company’s exposure to the big downturn in travel-and-entertainment and business spending because of the Covid-19 pandemic became evident in the first quarter. Merchant payment volume declined 4.8% to $104.7 billion …

U.S. retail sales for March decreased 8.7% from February, according to figures released by the Census Bureau. One bright spot was a 28% increase in sales at food and beverage stores from March 2019. Clothing and clothing accessories store sales were down 50.7%.Fidelity National Information Services Inc. (FIS) said it is supporting …

JPMorgan Chase & Co., parent company of the nation’s biggest bank-owned merchant acquirer, managed to pull off a 5% increase in processing volume in the first quarter despite the restrictions on economic activity that took force in many states in the second half of March to control the Covid-19 pandemic. …

With restaurants in most major markets across the country forced to shut down on-premise dining because of the Covid-19 outbreak, online ordering, takeout, and delivery services are suddenly in the spotlight as local restaurants and other small, independent establishments grasp at technology to stay alive. That’s an immediate opportunity for …

EBay Inc. named former Walmart Inc. executive Jamie Iannone chief executive officer, effective April 27. Iannone, who will succeed interim CEO Scott Schenkel, most recently served as chief operating officer of Walmart eCommerce and was at one time chief executive of SamsClub.com. EBay indicated earlier this year it has plans to …

Visa Inc. is urging e-commerce merchants still using Adobe Inc.’s Magento 1 platform to upgrade to the newer Magento Commerce 2.3 because Magento will stop supporting Magento 1 at the end of June. Merchants continuing to use the older platform will fall out of compliance with the Payment Card Industry …