Amazon.com Inc.’s interest in launching a checking-account-like product, reported Tuesday by The Wall Street Journal, could have deep roots in its strategy both for payments in general and for Amazon Pay, the payment wallet it operates for non-Amazon sites, expert observers say. Talks between the Seattle-based retailing colossus and banks …
Read More »Seeking Fast Growth, WorldRemit Expands Into New York’s Remittance Market
As the emergence of smart phones and online services make cross-border remittances easier and less costly for users, companies have emerged to serve that fast-growing market. The latest move comes from WorldRemit, an 8-year-old firm that last week expanded into the state of New York, home to 4.5 million immigrants. …
Read More »As Faster Payments Draw Near, the Fed Disbands Its Secure Payments Task Force
The Federal Reserve announced Thursday it is shutting down its Secure Payments Task Force this month. The Fed invited its more than 200 members, made up of payments executives from across the financial-services industry, to work with its FedPayments Improvement Community. Members may also participate in “new collaborative industry work …
Read More »With a Fleetcor Pilot, Ripple Gains More Momentum As the SEC Shines a Spotlight on ICOs
Interest among mainstream financial institutions and payments providers in the potential for cryptocurrency is heating up just as the top U.S. financial regulator is reportedly eyeing a crackdown on so-called initial coin offerings, or token sales used by digital-currency startups to raise capital. In the latest sign that processors and …
Read More »Eye on E-Commerce: Klarna Racks up Gains; PayPal Shuts Down Early In-Store Gambits
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 …
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