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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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. …

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 …

Klarna Bank AB, a leading exemplar of the trend toward offering installment-plan payments online and at the point of sale, has received backing from Ant Financial Services Group in a deal that cements an existing alliance between the two companies and could add considerable propulsive force to Klarna’s relatively new …

Kimberly Ford will step down as executive director of the U.S. Faster Payments Council effective May 6 after just 11 months on the job, according to sources. Ford’s resignation was confirmed by an email to members sent Friday and obtained by Digital Transactions News. Applications for the position are being …

Cash App may be turning into the product that ate Square Inc. The company on Wednesday reported a big fourth quarter for the 4-year-old product as officials pointed to a strong performance overall for the full year. “2019 was a very good year for us,” Square chief executive Jack Dorsey …

Online marketplace giant eBay Inc. said last month it has an aggressive expansion blueprint for its fledgling managed-payments program, and late on Wednesday the company announced its latest gambit by laying out a plan to move into the United Kingdom this summer. The service has been available in the United …