Top executives at American Express Co. early Friday celebrated the final quarter of what they said was a year to remember. “We delivered record revenue, record net income, and new records in many categories,” including all-time-high cardholder spending, AmEx chief executive Steve Squeri told equity analysts during a conference call …
Read More »Fiserv Finds a Successor As CEO Bisignano Prepares to Leave
Fiserv Inc. early Thursday announced Michael P. Lyons will take over as chief executive at Fiserv Inc., replacing Frank Bisginano. Lyons, who is also taking on the office of president at the Milwaukee-based company, arrives from PNC Financial Services Group, a Fiserv client, where he was president and a key …
Read More »Is 2025 Going to Be the Year of the Stablecoin?
As 2025 begins to unfold, some experts and network providers are beginning to think the year could see a breakthrough for stablecoins, the digital currency generated by a blockchain but with a value tied to a national currency, such as the dollar. That link allows users to deploy digital dollars, …
Read More »Verifone Launches a Big Salvo in Point of Sale Technology
Verione on Thursday unveiled a new line of payments devices that observers say represent a a sweeping effort by the 44-year-old company to establish a leading position in fast-moving markets like point of sale, mobile POS, and biometric authentication. The product launch includes a new set of point-of-sale devices available …
Read More »Seven Years in, the Big Banks’ Real Time Network Nears a Million Transactions a Day
Consumers and businesses are embracing instant payments at a fast clip, even as volume growth makes double-digit increases harder to maintain. And while businesses account for a large portion of dollar volume, most of those blink-of-an-eye transactions involve consumers, says The Clearing House Payments Co., which early Wednesday released the …
Read More »The Payments Industry Works to Solve for X
The payments industry is heading into the new year with a significant question mark hanging over its head: What does it mean that the massive social network X is apparently planning to launch a payments network? Little is known so far about the initiative. A New Year’s Eve post on …
Read More »Fiserv Snaps up Payfare for Embedded Payments; Mastercard Closes on Recorded Future
Fiserv Inc. is looking to beef up its capabilities in embedded payments with an agreement to acquire Payfare Inc., a Toronto-based company, for $201.5 million Canadian, or approximately $139 million in U.S. currency. The deal, which was announced early Monday and is subject to shareholder approval, comes as processors look …
Read More »The CFPB Sues Early Warning, BofA, Chase, And Wells Over Zelle Fraud
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau early Friday said it has sued Early Warning Services LLC as well as Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo, alleging the Zelle person-to-person payments network failed to protect consumers against fraud. The banks are three of the seven financial institutions that own Early …
Read More »The ABA’s Letter to the Fed Is the Latest Salvo in the Battle Over Debit Card Interchange
The American Bankers Association on Thursday issued a long and detailed letter it has sent to the Federal Reserve Board to argue its case against a Fed proposal that would reduce a longstanding cap on the interchange banks can earn on debit card transactions. The ABA’s action follows an analysis …
Read More »Visa Direct Will Define Real Time As One Minute—Or Less
Visa Inc.’s move to speed up its Visa Direct service to no more than one minute, starting in April, is likely to cement the global card network’s place in the payments industry’s steady movement toward real-time transfers, some observers say. The network, which announced the move early Thursday, says it …
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