Digital solutions for very small payments were a hot topic a decade ago, but now the subject is making a comeback in the publishing business, where a slide in print advertising and other revenue sources is pushing publishers to seek new business in digital access. This week, Piano Software Inc., …

The criminals behind ransomware attacks are becoming dramatically bolder. The average payment demanded in fourth-quarter attacks reached $84,116, more than double the average sum in the third quarter, according to the latest data from Coveware Inc., a Westport, Conn.-based cybersecurity firm that tracks data from cases it has handled. Worse …

Two bellwether payments stocks headed in opposite directions Friday morning as they reported financial results for the fourth quarter. Discover Financial Services saw its share price swoon 7.41% in pre-market trading. By mid-morning, it stood at $77.94, down 9% from its Thursday close. AmEx shares on the other hand had …

Faster payments on the nation’s automated clearing house network reached a milestone in the fourth quarter, with each business day recording at least 1 million same-day transactions for the first time since same-day service was introduced, according to data released Wednesday by Nacha, the governing body for the ACH. “We’re …

Amazon.com Inc.’s ambitions now include devices that could authenticate payments by scanning the palm of the customer’s hand. But while this latest twist in the e-commerce giant’s payments strategy could result in faster and more convenient transactions for users, it also could run into roadblocks that have scuttled similar ventures …

When Facebook Inc. last year floated the idea of a digital currency called Libra, the notion of a currency backed by a powerful corporation with global reach stimulated some experts to begin thinking about digital money that could be issued not by private companies but by central banks. On Thursday, …

Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. have made it plain in recent years they’re interested in something much bigger than card payments. On Monday afternoon, Visa underscored its own determination to be the network for the world’s payments economy by announcing it will lay out fully $5.3 billion to buy Plaid …

ATM operators on Monday are literally on the eve of a critical upgrade deadline that many have not met, but some industry sources at least say the situation is far from disastrous. Microsoft Corp. on Tuesday will stop supporting its Windows 7 operating system, which runs most bank-owned ATMs in …

A major enterprise software company and a mobile-technology provider late on Thursday announced an agreement to develop a service they say will provide a universal connection to mobile wallets and “simplify mobile payments for anyone with a phone.” The proposed service will combine application programming interface technology from software vendor …

For years, payments providers like Square Inc. have mined the small- and micro-merchant market by providing inexpensive and simple attachments, or so-called dongles, that hook up to smart phones and can be used to swipe or read the chips on cards. Now comes the next step: card acceptance using no …