Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals

Ever since Apple Pay debuted in 2014, Apple Inc. has kept the near-field communication chip in its devices off-limits to payment apps from other companies. But now legislation has appeared in Germany that may force the computing giant to grant access to that all-important chip, which allows Apple phones and …

U.S. Rep. Chuy Garcia (D-Ill.) planned this week to introduce bills that would bar tech firms from developing their own cryptocurrencies and make it more difficult for non-financial firms to obtain charters for industrial-loan corporations, a form of a bank, according to Politico. Garcia’s office did not immediately respond to a request …

Merchant processor Priority Technology Holdings Inc. posted an 11% increase in payment volume in the third quarter despite the wind-down of its once-sizable processing business for online subscription billers. Alpharetta, Ga.-based Priority said it processed $10.8 billion in merchant bank card volume versus $9.71 billion in 2018’s third quarter, on …

Now that Google Inc. is making a play for the heart of payments—the checking account—some observers see the strategy’s first fruit as likely to be a move into a massive market long controlled by banks and service providers. “It’s huge,” Krista Tedder, director of payments at Javelin Strategy & Research, …

The Federal Trade Commission has started a preliminary inquiry into whether Visa Inc., Mastercard Inc., and large debit card issuers are blocking merchants from routing transactions over PIN-debit networks, the Bloomberg Law news service reported, citing anonymous sources. FTC investigators reportedly have contacted merchants and their trade groups, Bloomberg Law said. Spokespersons for …

Compliance with the Payment Card Industry data-security standard remains an elusive goal for many merchants and other organizations that handle general-purpose payment card data. In fact, compliance fell in 2018 for the second year in a row, according to Verizon Communications Inc. Verizon’s newly released Payment Security Report says only …

With Facebook Inc.’s launch Tuesday of Facebook Pay, the social-media giant may feel somewhat assured that many of its 1.6 billion daily users will at least try the new wallet when making purchases in one of the company’s social networks. But that does not mean the rest of the payments …

Boost Payment Solutions Inc., an acquirer for commercial card transactions, said it is collaborating with JPMorgan Chase & Co. to process payments and automate delivery for Chase’s Single Use Card Accounts and other commercial cards.Cardlytics Inc., which derives marketing intelligence from purchase data, reported a 116% year-over-year increase in monthly …

As peer-to-peer payments services like Cash App, Venmo, and Zelle grow in popularity in the United States, some observers fret that underserved populations are being left behind. PayPal Holdings Inc.’s Xoom money-transfer service said Tuesday it’s attacking that issue in a collaboration with Walmart Inc. and Euronet Worldwide Inc.’s Ria remittance …

A retail trade association as well as Target Corp. have endorsed the Federal Reserve’s planned FedNow real-time gross settlement service. In a letter posted last week on the official FedNow comment site, the Washington, D.C.-based Retail Industry Leaders Association said “over the past decades RILA has seen competition and innovation …

Unattended-payments specialist USA Technologies Inc. held its first quarterly earnings call in more than a year following the resolution of accounting issues. In it, USAT reported first quarter fiscal 2020 revenue of $42.1 million, a 25.7% increase from $33.5 million a year ago. Its net loss for the quarter was $12.8 million, …

Research firm eMarketer Inc. forecasted that 2019 U.S. holiday sales will surpass $1 trillion in value for the first time. Cyber Monday, the Monday following Thanksgiving, is expected to be the biggest online shopping day and could approach $10 billion in sales. With Thanksgiving falling on the last Thursday of …

Thanks to an influx of technological advancements, individuals now have more choices than ever to save and manage their money. But ensuring that financial tools are best serving consumers takes cooperation among regulators, policymakers, and the private sector. Recently, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Jelena McWilliams said the agency will …

USA Technologies Inc. said a solicitation from Hudson Executive Capital LP, the unattended payments provider’s largest shareholder, to call a special shareholder meeting is invalid under the company’s bylaws. HEC wants to take control of USA Technologies’ board of directors with its own slate of director nominees.The Singles Day shopping event on …

Prepaid-program manager Green Dot Corp. will launch a marketing campaign with talk-show host and comedian Ellen DeGeneres. DeGeneres’s celebrity will be used to promote Green Dot Bank, Steve Streit, Green Dot founder and chief executive, said during a conference call with analysts Thursday. DeGeneres is host of the popular TV …

Finance departments contain many functions that don’t always work together as well as they should. That’s especially true of Accounts Payable and Treasury. You’d think they’d work more effectively together as teams that both control the flow of funds for an organization, but in my experience, that’s rare. That lack …

U.S. District Judge Margo K. Brodie heard final arguments from lawyers Thursday on the fairness of a proposed settlement in the 14-year-old MDL 1720 credit card interchange case but, as attorneys involved in the case said was probable, did not make an immediate determination from the bench. Brodie in January gave preliminary …

A U.S. District Court jury in Marshall, Texas, awarded USAA $200 million in damages after finding that Wells Fargo & Co. infringed on two patents held by USAA related to mobile check deposit. USAA filed the suit in June 2018. USAA in August 2018 filed a separate suit in the same court against Wells …

If Square Inc. has made one thing clear in recent months, it’s that the company is determined to tie together two worlds most payments companies see as distinct: consumers on the one hand, and merchants on the other. That strategy took another step forward last month with Square’s announcement that …

Top executives of the newly combined Fiserv Inc.-First Data Corp. say they can save more than $1.1 billion in annual costs while still developing competitive new products and markets for their bank and merchant clients. “The power of this new company has far greater reach than I imagined when we …