In a sign that at least some U.S. wireless carriers haven’t given up on their ambitions in mobile payments, T-Mobile US Inc. on Thursday launched its T-Mobile Money service nationwide. But the service, which began as a pilot in November, goes beyond payments offerings to include some traditional banking services …
Read More »To Get Ready for PSD2, Stripe Buys a Developer of Strong-Authentication Tools
In advance of a key European regulation taking effect late this summer, San Francisco-based payments provider Stripe Inc. has acquired Touchtech Payments, a developer of authentication software. Terms of the deal, announced Wednesday, were not disclosed. Founded in 2014, Dublin-based Touchtech specializes in code that establishes customer identities for financial …
Read More »Gift Transactions on Zelle Prompt Chase to Roll Out Gift Cards for Mobile And Digital Users
A surge in gift transactions on the Zelle person-to-person payment network has led JPMorgan Chase & Co. to roll out a feature allowing its mobile users to send digital gift cards. The new service, announced Monday, is available now for both mobile and online customers and enables more than 60 …
Read More »Chase Racks up Double-Digit Volume Gains, While Wells Sees Digital-Banking Progress
Two the nation’s biggest banks on Friday reported gains in card volume, with JPMorgan Chase & Co. showing double-digit increases in merchant-processing volume as well as card spending. Chase’s first-quarter merchant volume totaled $356.5 billion, a 13% increase over the same period in 2018. The massive Chase Merchant Services unit …
Read More »Blockchain Has a Long Way To Go in Winning Over Computer Professionals, Survey Says
It turns out that the people closest to computer technology are far from sold on blockchain and cryptocurrency. Some 80% of developers, data scientists, and engineers surveyed earlier this year indicated they are not using blockchain at all. Just 13% said they are using non-currency applications of the technology, while …
Read More »The Latest AFP Fraud Study Unveils a Surprising Jump in Fraud on the ACH
Which payment method holds the dubious distinction of racking up the fastest growth in fraud last year? According to the latest annual fraud report from the Association for Financial Professionals, it’s debits and credits on the automated clearing house network. In fact, the ACH was the only payment method examined …
Read More »A New Refund Policy From PayPal Will Stop Returning Fees to Sellers on Canceled Sales
PayPal Holdings Inc. has posted some important policy changes set to take effect soon, including one that will stop refunding sellers for the commission part of the fee they pay on sales when buyers cancel. Sellers on forums like Reddit have been reacting for at least the last five days …
Read More »Nxt-ID Closes in on a Spin-Off of Its Fit Pay Payments And Tokenization Unit
Nxt-ID Inc. is getting closer to spinning off its Fit Pay Inc. unit, which markets the contactless-payment technology behind Garmin Pay and Swatch Pay and also this week began shipping a contactless device to allow consumers to spend their Bitcoin holdings at stores. The spin-off, first announced in September, will …
Read More »Eye on Crypto: FitPay Starts Shipping Flip; InstaMed Prototypes a Blockchain Payment App
FitPay Inc. has started shipping its contactless, coin-shaped Flip device, which allows users to spend Bitcoin as U.S. dollars at stores. The company said on Wednesday it plans to “ramp up” production of Flip though the first half of the year. The news comes after Fit Pay announced in January …
Read More »The Prepaid Business Adopts a Sanguine Approach As the CFPB’s Big Rule Finally Takes Effect
A day long dreaded by the U.S. payments industry came and went on Monday with little fanfare and not much more gnashing of teeth. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s voluminous prepaid card rule finally took effect with sweeping provisions governing matters ranging from fee disclosures to error-resolution rights to consumers’ …
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