Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals

As 2019 draws to a close, the year’s super mergers in the payments-processing business may be creating super opportunities for startup service providers. That, at any rate, has been the experience so far of acquiring-industry veteran Trent Voigt and his new company, Paynetwork LLC, which does business as Paynetworx. The …

LexisNexis Risk Solutions released an analysis of transactions and cyberattacks between Nov. 27 and Dec. 3 that found the average shopping cart value rejected as high risk or fraudulent was $329, or 179% higher than the value of legitimate online transactions—$118—in the period.Juniper Research’s latest report forecasts that the installed base of contactless-enabled …

Gas stations and convenience stores won’t be getting an extension of the upcoming October 2020 fuel-pump EMV liability shifts, according to a merchant trade group. Meanwhile, Visa is warning of malware-based attacks against fuel retailers that invade their point-of-sale systems.  The major networks have set next October for pumps to …

PayPal Holdings Inc.’s latest financial-institution collaboration emerged Monday with news that institutional clients of Citigroup Inc. will be able to make payments directly into PayPal digital wallets globally starting in the first quarter. The arrangement opens up for PayPal Citi’s WorldLink cross-border payments network, which will be used to connect …

Point-of-sale payments technology provider Clover, which is owned by Fiserv Inc., added JazzHR, a recruiting app, to its Clover App Market, which is aimed at small businesses.Splitit Payments Ltd., a global provider of point-of-sale installment payments, announced it reached $3 million in merchant sales over the four-day stretch from Black Friday through …

The term “exceeding expectations” has long been a cliché in corporate America, but it certainly applies to this week’s initial public offering of stock from invoice-management and business-to-business payments provider Bill.com Holdings Inc. Now Sweden-based installment-payments provider Klarna AB, reported to be the most valuable financial-technology provider in Europe and …

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, which serves the area in and around the nation’s capital, plans next year to start allowing users of Apple Inc. devices to pay at fare gates with their iPhones and Watches using a virtual version of the agency’s SmarTrip card, according to The Washington Post. Android …

Over the past 10 years, regulators across the United States, Europe, APAC, and the Middle East have levied nearly $26 billion in financial penalties against financial institutions for anti-money laundering (AML), know your customer (KYC), and other sanctions-related violations. In today’s heightened regulatory climate, organizations need to be concerned with …

Departing PayPal Holdings Inc. chief operating officer Bill Ready in January will assume the role of head of commerce at Alphabet Inc.’s Google unit, TechCrunch reported. PayPal announced in June that he would leave the company at year’s end. Ready came to PayPal in 2013 as a result of the company’s $800-million …

PayPal Holdings Inc. on Wednesday sued the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau alleging the regulatory agency’s 8-month-old prepaid rule represents a “category error” and a violation of the First Amendment, and should be vacated by the court. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, charges …

The New York City area’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Wednesday activated 96 contactless card readers in Manhattan’s Penn Station, one of the nation’s busiest transit hubs, in its quest to accept contactless payment cards and mobile-payment apps across its vast subway and bus system by the end of next year. …

Mastercard Inc. on Wednesday announced it has begun its first real-world pilots for a new digital-identity system the company says has the potential to dramatically simplify payments and other interactions between consumers and government and commercial entities. Two separate pilots for the new service, which relies on mobile devices, are …

Bank of America Corp. next year will enhance Erica, its popular digital financial assistant powered by artificial intelligence, with two new features—one to make its credit and debit card holders aware of which merchants might be storing their card numbers, and another that will issue alerts about possible duplicate charges. …

Quebec-based Desjardins Group said the former employee suspected of orchestrating a massive data breach that affected 4.2 million members of the big credit-union federation also had access to the personal information of a further 1.8 million credit card holders who are not Desjardins members, the CBC reported.ACI Worldwide released the latest version …

Facebook Inc.’s Libra cryptocurrency may be struggling with regulators globally, but that doesn’t mean blockchain processors aren’t moving forward with other stablecoins. Atlanta-based BitPay Inc. on Tuesday introduced payment acceptance and settlement services in a trio of stablecoins whose value is tied to the U.S. dollar: Circle Internet Financial Ltd.’s …

In addition to merchant processor Shift4 Payments Inc., another payments-industry initial public offering of stock is in the offing. This one comes from Bill.com Holdings Inc., a provider of cloud-based invoice-management and payment services for small and mid-sized businesses. Palo Alto, Calif.-based Bill.com hopes to raise approximately $158.9 million after …

Payoneer Inc., a provider of cross-border payments for small businesses, announced it is moving into merchant services with its acquisition of optile GmbH, a Munich-based company whose technology eases payment acceptance. Terms were not announced.The Western Union Co. has added a feature to its mobile app that allows users to donate …

GoCardless Ltd., a London-based company specializing in handling international recurring payments, such as subscriptions, is eyeing a bigger presence in the U.S. market and has struck a deal that it expects will help process debits through the automated clearing house. The arrangement, announced Monday, will let GoCardless access ABA routing …

Like their American cousins, Canadians are rapidly adopting newer payment methods. In fact, they’re doing so even faster than U.S. consumers in some respects. The report, “Canadian Payment Methods and Trends: 2019,” released last week by Payments Canada, says contactless payments grew 30% year-over-year in 2018. Card- and mobile-based contactless …

Payments provider Super Processor selected a payments platform from TAS USA Inc. to manage merchant onboarding, merchant accounts, and transaction processing for both in-store and e-commerce transactions.Hudson Executive Capital LP, an investment firm that has been embroiled in a fight for control of vending-machine payments technology provider USA Technologies Inc., filed a proxy …