Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals
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. …
Read More »Despite Rise of Online And Mobile Methods, Cash And Checks Rule in P2P Payments
When it comes to payments between individuals, cash and checks are still wildly popular, even among Millennials, despite years of penetration by online and mobile methods. Indeed, 71% of consumers made at least one person-to-person payment with cash last year, and 56% did so with a check, according to a …
Read More »As Real Time Hits Prime Time, Early Warning And Fiserv Target Bill Payments, Deposits
The Federal Reserve may be shepherding a nationwide effort to bring real-time payments to the United States, but that doesn’t mean payments companies are marking time while that process unfolds. The latest development is Tuesday’s announcement that bank processor Fiserv Inc. will work with risk manager Early Warning Services LLC …
Read More »Visa Inc. Will Buy Visa Europe, But Can It Get From Europe What It Earns in the U.S.?
Ending months of speculation, Visa Inc. on Monday announced it will buy its European counterpart, London-based Visa Europe Ltd., in a cash, stock, and earn-out deal valued at $23.4 billion. “We’re delighted to be reuniting the Visa family,” said Visa Inc. chief executive Charles W. Scharf in discussing the acquisition …
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