Merchant acquirer Square Inc. increased its presence among consumers in the second quarter with the June rollout of its physical Square Cash Card, a Visa debit card, and the launch of a test in which Square provides loans to customers of its merchants. Both developments occurred as Square’s gross payment …
Read More »Global Payments to Acquire Active Network for $1.2 Billion; Sees Profits Rise Nearly 8%
Global Payments Inc. said Thursday that it has a deal to buy two major divisions of Active Network LLC, a growing event-management software provider and payment processor, for $1.2 billion from a private-equity firm. The merchant acquirer also reported its second-quarter financials, which include a nearly 8% year-over-year increase in …
Read More »Just One in Four Apple Pay Transactions Come From the U.S.
Apple Inc.’s Apple Pay service continues to roll out in foreign countries, so much so that 75% of its transaction volume is coming from abroad, according to Apple’s chief financial officer. Apple Pay, which uses near-field communication technology for contactless payments with the iPhone and Apple Watch wearable device, was …
Read More »Among Payments Fintechs, Software and Infrastructure Providers’ Stocks are the Priciest
Payments software and infrastructure companies rank third among 24 financial-technology sectors when viewed through the lens of stock price and earnings while point-of-sale device manufacturers rank 23rd, according to a new analysis from an investment firm. The study by San Francisco-based Financial Technology Partners covers scores of publicly traded global …
Read More »WEX’s Fraud Spike Puts the Spotlight on EMV-Induced Skimmer Placements on Fuel Pumps
Fraudsters are hitting fuel pumps hard as they hunt for the dwindling number of places where they can take advantage of magnetic-stripe payments while EMV chip card acceptance takes hold in U.S. stores and restaurants. Last week, fleet-fueling payment card specialist WEX Inc. revealed that it increased its second-quarter provision …
Read More »Eye on P2P: Link-Up Opportunities With Prepaid Cards; PayPal’s Dominance
Two recent studies have produced some interesting insights about person-to-person payments. One spells out the similarities among users of prepaid cards and P2P services. The other shows just how strong PayPal Holdings Inc.’s hold in money transfers and P2P and other payments is. The findings about prepaid and P2P come …
Read More »Eye on Networks: Mastercard’s Transactions Increase 17%; Pulse’s Pulse Quickens
Mastercard Inc. reported Thursday that its switched transaction volume grew 17% in the second quarter. Meanwhile, Discover Financial Services’ Pulse debit network saw volume jump 15% after growing slightly in the first quarter following a long period of decline. Purchase, N.Y.-based Mastercard said its transaction count hit 16 billion versus …
Read More »Are Subdermal NFC Payments Over the ‘Internet of Us’ the Next Big Thing?
A Wisconsin supplier of kiosks for employee break rooms is getting national attention in the wake of its announcement that it plans to implant radio-frequency identification microchips in the hands of volunteer employees Aug. 1, chips the company says will support payments. Three Square Market, based in River Falls in …
Read More »Paysafe To Buy Merchants Choice, but Itself May Be Acquired by a Private-Equity Consortium
In a payments play on acquire and be acquired, Paysafe Group plc announced Friday that it has a deal to acquire Delta Card Services Inc., parent company of independent sales organization Merchants’ Choice Payment Solutions, for $470 million in cash. Separately, United Kingdom-based Paysafe also confirmed that it has received …
Read More »Visa’s Quarterly Profit Quintuples as Payment Volumes Grow and Expenses Fall
Visa Inc.’s top brass talked at length Thursday about payments opportunities abroad, but they also noted that U.S. payment volumes, particularly in credit cards, did quite well in the quarter ending June 30. “Our global business benefited from an overall healthy economy as payments volume grew in every major region,” …
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