After what it calls a “comprehensive search process,” prepaid-payments and banking-services provider Green Dot Corp. has found a new chief executive to replace founder and long-time CEO Steven Streit. The Pasadena, Calif.-based company said Wednesday payments veteran Daniel Henry is taking over from interim CEO William Jacobs, who has served …
Read More »In Response to Infection Concerns, the U.K. Raises Its Contactless Payment Cap by 50%
With much of the world locked down in combatting the novel coronavirus pandemic, a financial trade group in the United Kingdom said Tuesday the country would increase the spending limit on contactless transactions by 50% effective April 1. The move will allow consumers to pay without touching a keypad or …
Read More »WorldRemit Partners With Paykii to Enable Users in One Country to Pay Bills Digitally in Another
Often overlooked in the market for digital bill payments is the need for immigrants, expats, and other persons living in one country to pay bills to service providers based in another country. To make that connection, international remittance service WorldRemit Ltd. said on Monday it is working with bill-payment platform Paykii …
Read More »Experts Expect Even Faster Growth for Same-Day ACH As a $100,000 Cap Goes Into Effect
Faster payments got a boost Friday as Nacha, the governing body for the nation’s automated clearing house network, raised the limit on same-day payments from $25,000 to $100,000. The move follows a similar action earlier this year by The Clearing House Payments Co. for real-time transactions and is expected to …
Read More »Square Wins FDIC And Utah Approvals for Its ILC, Sparking Heated Banking Opposition
The federal government and the state of Utah this week cleared the way for a controversial industrial loan corporation to be set up by Square Inc. that could help the payments company cement ties with its merchant base. But the approvals also drew fierce opposition from banking groups concerned about …
Read More »No Safe Haven: Bitcoin And Other Cryptos Plunge Along With Equities in the Face of the Coronavirus
As stock markets swoon in the face of the novel coronavirus outbreak and its effects, prices for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are sliding as well, disproving at least for now the idea that cryptos can serve as a so-called safe haven for investors. Bitcoin, the leading digital currency, was trading at …
Read More »The ETA Grows Its Role in Canada to Fill a Void Left by ACT Canada’s Decision to Dissolve
The Electronic Transactions Association said Thursday it will take on a bigger role in Canada. The Washington, D.C.-based trade group, which has represented the interests of payments-technology and merchant-acquiring firms before the Canadian government for the past two years, will now also take on liaisons with the card networks and …
Read More »Suddenly, Ransomware Is Taking a Heavy Toll on State And Local Governments
As the plague of ransomware continues to roil digital payments and other industries, it turns out state and local governments are proving to be particularly vulnerable. In fact, ransomware attacks on school systems, police departments, city administrative offices, and other governmental agencies are rising fast. Last year, state and local …
Read More »Eye on Fraud: ACI’s Self-Adjusting Machine-Learning Model; Consumers’ Fraud Fears
Machine learning is a popular fraud-fighting technology, but models have a tendency to become less effective over time as criminals adjust their tactics. On Tuesday, ACI Worldwide Inc. said it’s taking a crack at that problem with a service that the company says can adjust automatically to changing fraud patterns. …
Read More »How the Coronavirus Scare Is Leading Some Experts to Look for a Boost in Contactless Payments
The global coronavirus scare has prompted a number of warnings that could end up benefiting electronic payments, particularly contactless transactions. Authorities ranging from the World Health Organization to doctors in local practices have warned this week about the risks of handling paper currency, and some have also cautioned against touching …
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