Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals

More consumers appear to be keeping their credit cards in their wallets when they shop. Credit union service organization PSCU says its data show that overall credit card spend among consumers who use credit and debit cards issued by credit unions working with PSCU is down 29.3% for the week …

The Internal Revenue Service has begun sending $1,200 stimulus payments to individuals as provided for under the CARES Act. Payments are first going to about 60 million persons for whom the IRS has bank-account information, making direct deposit possible. Others will receive checks. The process is expected to take until April 20, …

The screeching slowdown in consumer spending caused by efforts to stem the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic has hit U.S. small businesses particularly hard, but there are some bright spots, according to the Electronic Transactions Association and merchant-acquiring research and consulting firm The Strawhecker Group. The survey of more than …

Fraud prevention firm Kount Inc. released a weekly tracker of e-commerce purchase trends. In mid-March it showed that U.S. online sales of home office furniture and electronics increased 54%.Installment payments provider Klarna Bank AB said data from consumer use of its shopping app shows that e-commerce purchases are shifting to health and beauty and …

The Covid-19 crisis is making cobranded travel credit cards less valuable.  Demand for travel has taken a nosedive amid flight restrictions to international destinations, mandatory stay-at-home orders, and rising alarm over the coronavirus pandemic. Airlines have had to cancel flights and ground thousands of aircraft. Airline lounges and hotels have …

Like other payment networks, the automated clearing house was going great guns until mid-March, but thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic it’s now in the midst of a slowdown. ACH governing body Nacha reported Thursday that total volume rose 7.1% year-over-year in the first quarter to 6.4 billion transactions, up by …

Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. have postponed their planned U.S. interchange revisions until July, but when these changes do take effect the net impact on merchants will be deep, according to an analysis released by CMSPi, an Atlanta-based global merchant payments consultancy. Indeed, the new pricing planned by the two …

Payments-software provider Repay Holdings Corp. said it has integrated with lending-software vendor TurnKey Lender Inc., allowing financial institutions to fund loans at any time of day and accept loan payments by card or via the automated clearing house network through TurnKey’s platform or through mobile apps or other channels available to consumers.Upgrade …

Jack Dorsey, co-founder and chief executive of merchant processor and business-software provider Square Inc., on Tuesday pledged $1 billion for Covid-19 relief, and Mastercard Inc. committed $250 million over five years to help small businesses hit hard by the economic slowdown caused by the highly infectious disease. Those two announcements …

The good news is that attempted and actual payments fraud declined last year. The bad news is it went down only a tick and remains very close to the all-time high, according to the latest report from the Association for Financial Professionals, a Bethesda, Md.-based trade group for companies across …

Visa Inc. reportedly denied a request to delay the Oct. 1 EMV liability shift for petroleum businesses, according to a ConvenienceStoreNews.com article, which says several fuel-retailing groups petitioned Visa for the delay. Visa, the Web site said, attributing it to NACS, an association for convenience store operators, is said to be monitoring the …

Losses from identity fraud grew 13% in 2019 to $16.9 billion even though instances of ID fraud fell nearly 10%, according to the newly released 2020 Identity Fraud Report from Javelin Strategy & Research. The study also found that person-to-person payments fraud increased 733% from 2016 to 2019. Based on …

Two point-of-sale system providers are taking action to help ailing restaurants as they contend with the repercussions of measures to stem the Covid-19 infection. First, TouchBistro Inc., a provider of payments technology for restaurants, launched its Restaurant Recovery Navigator, a collection of products and services aimed at helping dining establishments …

Payments processor Global Payments Inc. reported it began to see a significant impact on its results in mid-March from the Covid-19 pandemic, and now expects first-quarter adjusted net revenue to be up “slightly” for the quarter year-over-year. Citing the unknown “duration and severity” of the pandemic on its business, Global Payments suspended …

Contactless payments already capture a big share of point-of-sale purchases in Canada, and that share is sure to grow with recent announcements by Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. that they are raising their contactless transaction limits to C$250 to limit the handling of cards that could spread the coronavirus, according …

As many merchants, especially those in hospitality, are challenged by slumping consumer demand amid the Covid-19 outbreak, payments companies are developing new resources and designating millions in aid. Restaurants, in particular, are experiencing steep drops in demand as consumers abide by shelter-at-home directives. They’re closing their dine-in spaces and, if …

Scammers are calling consumers to gull them into giving up personal financial details as a way of allegedly receiving stimulus money sooner from the CARES Act, warned the Pennsylvania chapter of the American Association of Retired Persons.Prepaid card program manager Paysign Inc. reported its 2019 revenue increased 48% year-over-year to $34.7 million. Net …

Independent sales organization VizyPay LLC is buying one-time competitor Echo Daily Inc., and Nuvei Technologies Inc. is launching its Merchant Guru program to assist merchants affected by the Covid-19 outbreak. West Des Moines, Iowa-based VizyPay says its acquisition of Minden, Nev.-based Echo Daily will provide a boost in employee expertise …

Supermarket giant Publix said it is installing contactless-payment capability in all 1,242 of its stores in an effort expected to be completed by Saturday. The move will allow customers with mobile devices to pay via Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Samsung Pay. The chain also said it is beefing up efforts to …

The Covid-19 virus is taking a fearful toll not only on lives but also on U.S. commerce, and now even everyday staples are feeling the pinch. Grocery stores saw a sharp spike in card-based purchase volume in March as consumers scrambled to lay in supplies against the rapid spread of …