Sweden’s Klarna Bank AB enjoyed a good year in 2017, as documented by results the privately held online-checkout and financing specialist released on Wednesday. The firm, which was founded in 2005 and has operated a U.S. unit, Klarna Inc., since 2015, had already achieved distinction by ranking third among so-called …
Read More »Survey Results Show a Surprising Slowdown in Merchant Compliance With Key Security Rules
At a time when the payment card industry continues to struggle with the consequences of data breaches, the last thing acquirers and issuers need is a slowdown in merchant compliance with critical data-security rules. Yet that is what’s going on, warn the Merchant Acquirers Committee and ControlScan Inc. in survey …
Read More »Mass Card Replacements Wreak Havoc. A Startup Says It Has an Answer
For years, the change in card credentials that occurs when issuers send out replacement plastic has caused heartburn for cardholders and merchants alike. New card numbers, expiration dates, or three-digit card-verification values can help thwart fraud when cards are lost or stolen, but they also wreak havoc with unaware merchants, …
Read More »Nearly 60% of U.S. Storefronts Are Now Accepting Chip Cards, a Visa Update Shows
Some 2.7 million merchant locations, or 59% of U.S. storefronts, were accepting EMV chip cards as of December, according to the latest update from Visa Inc., issued Friday. That’s up from 392,000 locations in September 2015, just before the major card networks began enforcing a mandate for chip card acceptance. …
Read More »Remember Carrier Billing? It’s Poised to Triple by 2022, Research Indicates
It doesn’t get a lot of attention in these days of EMV, mobile payments, and digital currency, but carrier billing, one of the oldest forms of digital payments, is poised for growth. Total payment volume globally will triple by 2022, rising from $2.9 billion last year to $9 billion, according …
Read More »Gateway Provider NMI Snaps up Creditcall in a Bid for Wider Payment Capabilities
Network Merchants LLC has agreed to acquire Creditcall, a United Kingdom-based payment gateway provider, processor, and vendor of EMV kernel software. Terms of the deal, including a price and an estimated closing date, were not disclosed in NMI’s official announcement. Roy Banks, NMI’s chief executive, tells Digital Transactions News the …
Read More »Bitcoin’s Price Rebounds Past $11K As Its User Fees Slide to Lowest Level in Five Months
Capping an eventful week for cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin is now trading above $11,000 for the first time in three weeks. Even more important, the fees its users must pay when they spend Bitcoin—which had soared into the stratosphere in recent months— have crashed back to earth, according to data available Monday …
Read More »Operation Choke Point Lives on in Actions by Other Federal Agencies, ETA Chief Warns
While the U.S. Department of Justice’s Operation Choke Point initiative ended last year, over-zealous efforts by other federal agencies threaten law-abiding payments companies in the same way Choke Point did, the chief executive of the Electronic Transactions Association warned Congress on Thursday. Testifying before the House Financial Services Subcommittee on …
Read More »As Players Jockey for Position, Faster Payments Will Total $650 Billion This Year
Last year, the Federal Reserve set a goal of having ubiquitous faster payments available in the United States by 2020, and now the first estimates are emerging of just how much dollar volume will flow across systems already in place and in progress. The total will come to $650 billion …
Read More »A Startup Enlists E-ZPass for Car-Based Payments Away From Toll Booths
A Boston-based startup on Tuesday announced a service that lets holders of E-ZPass transponders pay for such things as car washes, gasoline, and drive-through items from their cars. Under an agreement with the E-ZPass Group, Verdeva Inc.’s PayByCar service will start a pilot program that lets users create an account …
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