Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals

Open banking, the ability for third-party developers to access financial data in traditional banking systems, as defined by Stripe Inc., may provide one component for a new payment type, at least one that has limited use today. Pay by bank, a payment method that enables an online payment without the …

(Editor’s note: This is Part II of a two-part article. Part I appeared Thursday.) Interchange fees paid by merchants are the credit card industry’s second-largest revenue source. For debit cards and neobanks, these fees are a primary revenue source. The 2010 Dodd-Frank Act imposed price controls on debit interchange fees …

American Express Co. reported first-quarter 2024 revenue of $15.8 billion, up 11% from the same period last year, and billed business of $367 billion, up 6%. Net income grew 34% to $2.44 billion. Affinipay, a payments platform specializing in the legal and accounting professions, said it has expanded its LawPay and …

Executives at Discover Financial Services Inc. early Thursday cut short their first-quarter 2024 earnings call, saying in advance they would not take questions after the presentation. Instead, equity analysts listening to the presentation were told to direct questions to Discover’s investor-relations team. On the call, executives duly reported a significant …

The Cato Institute’s Nicholas Anthony warned recently that the Biden Administration is waging “a war on (payments-industry) prices.” The payments industry provides services funded by a range of fees paid by consumers and businesses. Demagogic regulators and politicians pillory industry fees as exploitative, as “junk fees,” and “a tax.” These …

Point-of-sale technology provider PAX Technology Inc. introduced Airlink, networking technology that provides payment connectivity in outdoor settings and other venues where wireless Internet or other network service may be unavailable or insufficient. Mastercard Inc. introduced what it calls a mobile virtual card app, which is aimed at financial institutions and supports the loading …

Visa Inc. on Wednesday unveiled enhancements intended to further remove friction from the customers’ payment experience for merchants of all sizes. The enhancements, which are being launched on Visa’s Acceptance Platform, were developed in response to merchants’ needs for simpler implementation of payments technology, Visa says. The enhancements include Developer …

The buy now, pay later specialist Klarna AB signaled its intention Wednesday to issue a new credit card in the U.S. market. The company said it has opened a waitlist for the product, which it calls a “new and improved Klarna Card.” The new Visa card, which does not offer …

Fiserv Inc. introduced Clover Kiosk for the hotly competitive restaurant payments market, along with what it calls an enhanced Clover Kitchen Display System. Ferry, a tip-payout specialist, has launched a payroll card and tipping platform nationally for casual-dining chain BJ’s Restaurants, which operates more than 200 locations in 30 states. U.S.-based …

Shift4 Payments Inc. says it has added a new business-intelligence module to its SkyTab POS platform for restaurants. The new module, aimed at dining establishments of any size, provides more granular data-filtering options for restaurants’ point-of-sale system, such as detailed transaction-management and revenue-center reporting. Chains can use the module to …

Evolving merchant expectations are a primary factor in Aurora Payments’ newly released Arise Payment Platform, which is intended to match sellers’ needs, says Brian Goudie, Aurora chief executive. Announced Tuesday, the Arise platform includes same-day onboarding capability, surcharging, cash discounting, and dual- pricing options, Aurora says. It also offers acceptance …

Cross-border payments platform Nium has registered as a financial-service provider in New Zealand. The company, which maintains headquarters offices in San Francisco and Singapore, claims licenses and registrations in more than 40 countries. Payments provider Dejavoo announced a corporate rebranding and an overhauled Web site. Cigo Tracker, a delivery app, released a digital-tipping application …

As restaurants turn to surcharging and dynamic pricing to offset rising operating costs, consumer backlash is raising concerns the practice could negatively affect customer loyalty and ultimately, restaurant profits. The backlash comes hard on the heels of the Electronic Payments Coalition’s attacks on restaurant surcharges and other price increases. The …

Bitcoin was designed to be a medium of exchange, like dollars, but it has become over time more like an investment, such as gold. Now, Bitcoin investors and consumers alike face an event that will significantly affect the value of their holdings, drive up Bitcoin’s price, and affect the digital …

Mastercard Inc. said it is working with payments-technology platform VoPay to offer what the partners say will be near-real-time money-movement service in Canada. The service relies on Mastercard Move, a set of funds-transfer options. The Merchants Payment Coalition, which advocates for passage of the Credit Card Competition Act, cited the recent profits …

As a payments executive, he started an independent sales organization in 1998 that 19 years later would be acquired by Total System Services Inc. for $1.05 billion in cash. Now, more than four years since Henry Helgeson held a position at a payments company—other than as a board director or …

A trade group representing card networks and issuers is taking aim at restaurant surcharges and price increases by large grocers as part of its efforts to defeat the Credit Card Competition Act. The Electronic Payments Coalition’s first salvo in its new campaign against the CCCA was fired last week. In …

Processor Nuvei Corp. launched a financing option to allow client merchants to make invoice payments through their enterprise resource planning (ERP) platforms. Health and beauty retailers lead all sellers in adoption of gift cards, followed by general merchandise retailers and sporting-goods stores, according to scores developed by Blackhawk Network and NAPCO Research …

Restaurants are roaring again, and now the companies that enable digital payments for them are setting their sites on the biggest chains. Two major players, Toast Inc. and Qu POS Inc., separately announced early Thursday initiatives aimed at bolstering their positions with regional and national restaurateurs. The moves come as …

Consumer demand for buy now, pay later loans may be high, but consumers are still at risk of overspending when using BNPL to finance a purchase or missing a payment. A survey released Thursday by Bankrate LLC reveals that overspending and missing a payment are two of the most common …