With the Federal Reserve’s rollout of the FedNow real-time payments service expected by the end of the month, a regional Federal Reserve Bank official on Wednesday outlined a roadmap for the new network that includes network interoperability, the possible addition of peer-to-peer payments, and, overall, the prospect of fewer payment …
Read More »It’s Time for Congress to Dump the CCCA And Modify the Durbin Amendment, a Report Argues
With proposals aimed at controlling merchants’ costs for accepting credit cards having re-emerged in Congress, research has been emerging on both sides of the issue this summer as advocates for sellers and card issuers compete to influence any eventual legislation. The latest thrust appeared Monday with a research report arguing …
Read More »FIS Makes It Official: It’s Selling a 55% Worldpay Stake to GTCR at an $18.5 Billion Valuation
In a fleeting 10-minute conference call, FIS Inc. announced early Thursday a move to sell a 55% interest in its merchant-processing business, which principally consists of the Worldpay unit it acquired four years ago, to the private-equity firm GTCR. The deal is expected to close by the end of the …
Read More »FIS Is Reportedly Working to Sell a Majority Stake in Its Merchant Unit to GTCR
FIS Inc. is talking to the private-equity firm GTCR LLC about taking a majority stake in the Jacksonville, Fla.-based company’s merchant-processing business, according to a report late Monday from Reuters. The report indicates the talks are “advanced” and value the stake at between $15 billion and $20 billion. The latest …
Read More »Why Goldman Sachs Is Looking for the Exit
An overwhelming risk-management burden, coupled with a lack of familiarity with consumer credit, may have triggered the decision at Goldman Sachs Group to negotiate a withdrawal from its agreement to support Apple Inc.’s credit card and its recently launched buy now, pay later service, according to observers. The Wall Street …
Read More »Processors Are Starting to Adopt AI, But Consumers May Not Be Entirely Onboard
The explosive potential that lies in recent advances in artificial intelligence is beginning to be felt in the payments business as banks and fintechs search for ways to wring intelligible trends and operational improvements out of enormous masses of data. The nascent trend toward AI in payments was underscored by …
Read More »The NFC Forum Looks to Widen the Range for Contactless Payments
A significantly longer range for contactless transactions could be a reality in the market within the next two to five years, according to news released this week by the NFC Forum, the standards body for near-field communication technology. The current standard for contactless payments is five millimeters, or about one-fifth …
Read More »Payments Apps Are Sparking More Complaints From Military Personnel, the CFPB Says
Members of the U.S. military are reporting problems with digital payments apps more frequently than the general population, and peer-to-peer payment apps account for more of those complaints than any other type of payments technology, according to data released Tuesday by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The CFPB reported receiving, …
Read More »The CFPB Looks to Define ‘Larger Companies’ for Rulemaking in Payments
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is looking at creating a rule to define so-called larger companies in the consumer-payments industry, according to a notice the regulator posted on Tuesday. The rule if established would clarify the CFPB’s supervisory authority with respect to nonbank payments companies, lending more impetus to a …
Read More »Eye on Restaurants: New Gambits From SpotOn, Toast, And Oracle
Few retail markets have rebounded from Covid lockdowns as fast as restaurants have. And few have attracted as much attention from payments companies. No wonder. Sales at what the National Restaurant Association calls “eating and drinking places” in the United States totaled $88.1 billion in April, up 0.6% from March. …
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