Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals
By John Stewart It operates so much in the background that many payments professionals may not have noticed, but the automated clearing house network is on a hot streak. The 41-year-old system notched a 5.9% year-over-year increase in transactions in the quarter ended Sept. 30, reaching a total of 4.83 …
Read More »Groceries, Drug Stores, C-Stores Yawn at Mobile Payments, Focus on E-Commerce
By John Stewart What kind of technology are grocery stores, drug stores, and convenience stores most interested in? Not mobile payments, at least not right now. That’s the conclusion of the Los Angeles-based Center for Advancing Retail & Technology LLC, which operates an online marketplace of retail solutions for merchants …
Read More »ComScore: Cyber Monday Spending Surpasses $3 Billion as M-Commerce Grows 53%
It looks like Cyber Monday came through for e-commerce payment processors, if the latest spending numbers from comScore Inc. hold true. ComScore reported Wednesday that spending from desktop computers and smart phones and tablets on Nov. 30 hit $3.12 billion, a 21% increase from $2.59 billion on 2014’s Cyber Monday. …
Read More »Holiday Spending May Feature More Debit And Cash. Mobile Payments? Not So Much
By John Stewart The annual holiday-spending frenzy is about to kick off, and if a consumer survey released on Monday is any indication, it will feature a lot more debit card and cash usage and a lot less mobile payment than you might have expected. Some 39% of consumers intend …
Read More »Mum About the Details, MCX’s Mooney Hints at ‘Plans on the Table’ Beyond Chase Deal
By John Stewart Last month, the spotlight shone on Merchant Customer Exchange LLC when JPMorgan Chase & Co. officially unveiled its Chase Pay wallet, set to launch next year, and said it will be included in MCX’s merchant-controlled CurrentC application. But, as big as that deal is for MCX, the …
Read More »Flawed Policies Weaken Passwords, Though Online Retailers Are Doing Better
With nearly half of all holiday shopping expected to be conducted online, attention is turning to the first line of defense against fraud: the humble password. As it turns out, this bulwark isn’t nearly as strong as it could be, according to a study released Tuesday by Dashlane Inc., a …
Read More »NEWS ANALYSIS: Why Apple May Be Planning To Launch a P2P Payments Service
Is Apple Inc. laying the groundwork for an application that would let individuals pay each other electronically? Citing “people familiar with the matter,” The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that the tech kingpin is doing just that, and has already started talking to a handful of major banks. If the …
Read More »With Holidays Nearing, EGift Cards Are Likely To Be More Popular Than Ever
By John Stewart As the holidays approach, retailers and banks can expect to sell more electronic gift cards than ever, if research released Monday by Bankrate.com is any indication. The survey, which covers 60 general-purpose and proprietary gift cards, shows two-thirds are available as e-cards, up from 59% last year. …
Read More »Square Will Soon Exit the Ranks of Unicorns, But Those Ranks Are Fast Expanding
Square Inc.’s official filing to go public means it will soon exit an exclusive club that’s becoming less exclusive by the month: the so-called unicorns, or privately held companies that are worth $1 billion or more. There are 143 such companies now, up from 123 in early August. Indeed, more …
Read More »After a Year in the Dumps, Bitcoin’s Price Stages a Rally As Usage Steadily Climbs
After languishing in the $200s most of the year, the price of the Bitcoin digital currency rallied this week, briefly flirting with the $500 level on some exchanges before settling in the high $300s by Friday morning. At the same time, Bitcoin usage, though still relatively rare, is steadily rising. …
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