In reporting its performance for the fourth quarter of 2018 as well as the full year, PayPal Holdings Inc. indicated its dependence on former owner eBay Inc. is down, Venmo monetization is up, and active accounts are surging. Meanwhile, the San Jose, Calif.-based company said it is entering a potentially …
Read More »TSYS Sets ‘Aggressive Goals’ for Vital But Predicts ‘Headwinds’ From the CFPB’s Prepaid Rule
Top executives at Total System Services Inc. on Tuesday predicted big results from the Columbus, Ga.-based processor’s new Vital line of point-of-sale payment devices but also warned the onset of a massive federal regulation this spring will crimp prepaid card revenues in 2019. They also assured analysts on a conference …
Read More »A New Marriott Card Lineup Lets AmEx Launch a Contactless Expansion
When JPMorgan Chase & Co. announced in November it would soon start mass-issuing contactless Visa cards, industry experts expected the move to at last kickstart a trend in the U.S. payments industry toward tap-and-pay EMV plastic. But while most experts thought Chase’s decision might stir smaller banks to follow suit, …
Read More »Oxman Will Leave the ETA to Head up the Information Technology Industry Council
Jason Oxman, chief executive officer of the Electronic Transactions Association since 2012, is leaving to accept a position as president and chief executive of the Washington, D.C.-based Information Technology Industry Council. He is expected to take up his new duties late next month. In his years heading the 29-year-old ETA, …
Read More »Online Processor Stripe Recruits Funding Circle to Extend Fixed-Rate Loans to Merchants
Stripe Inc. has recruited peer-to-peer financing provider Funding Circle to extend loans to merchants using Stripe to process payments. The London-based lender has joined the Stripe Partner Program, allowing merchants to apply for loans up to $500,000 by uploading data that can support their application. San Francisco-based Stripe says it …
Read More »Target, Taco Bell, And Other Chains Are the Latest to Sign up for Apple Pay
Apple Inc. on Tuesday announced Target Corp., Taco Bell, and two regional chains are the latest merchants to agree to accept Apple Pay in-store, a development that could bolster the mobile-payments service and further smooth the road for contactless payments in the United States. Separately, Target announced it will also …
Read More »AmEx Logs a $2 Billion Fourth-Quarter Profit As Card Volume And Discount Revenue Rise
American Express Co. on Thursday reported a $2 billion profit for the fourth quarter of 2018, representing a significant turnaround from a $1.2 billion loss in the final quarter of 2017. Last year, the New York City-based card giant took a $2.6 billion charge in the fourth quarter that was …
Read More »BitPay Touts Two Straight Years of $1 Billion-Plus in Volume Despite Bitcoin’s Dramatic Collapse
The collapse of Bitcoin and many other cryptocurrencies in 2018 led to a general feeling of pessimism in the mainstream payments industry about the prospects for digital currencies, but at least one specialist processor apparently bucked the trend toward malaise. In a year-end review of its performance, Atlanta-based BitPay Inc. …
Read More »Fiserv Stuns the Industry With a Massive All-Stock Acquisition of First Data
In a stunning announcement that surprised many observers, Fiserv Inc. said Wednesday morning it has struck a deal to acquire First Data Corp. with what the parties say will be the biggest ever such transaction in the payments and financial-technology businesses. The all-stock deal, expected to close in the third …
Read More »Worldpay Links Arms With Revel in the Latest Example of a Processor Trend To Smart POS Systems
Processing giant Worldpay Inc. announced early Tuesday it forged a new agreement with Revel Systems to support Revel’s iPad-based smart terminals for restaurants and other merchant locations. The agreement comes days after Total System Services Inc. (TSYS) said it is launching a line of smart POS devices and follows other …
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