With mobile-device use firmly ingrained in consumer behavior, it’s little wonder that fraudsters are following these consumers. That’s very apparent in the latest LexisNexis Risk Solutions report, which found 98% of financial-services firms it surveyed reported that fraud targeting mobile has increased. These increases also meant the cost of the …

Get ready for even more sophisticated in-car virtual assistance. Cerence Inc., which develops in-car virtual technology, has launched Co-Pilot, its advanced assistant that uses artificial intelligence and vehicle integration to help with such tasks as ordering and paying for a coffee while a mile away. Cerence says its technology—it has …

Consumers have flocked to buy now, pay later services, but providers still have to find ways to stand out. Afterpay Ltd. hopes to do that by enabling consumers who have a Rakuten account to earn cash back in the Rakuten program. Announced Monday, the Afterpay program enables Afterpay users who also …

Merchant services company Stax has acquired CardX LLC, a Chicago-based surcharging provider, in an effort to better meet demand for surcharging, especially among enterprise clients. Terms were not disclosed. The deal is the third of 2021 for Orlando, Fla.-based Stax, whose parent company is Fattmerchant . Founded in 2013, CardX has …

As real-time payments cements itself as a payments fixture, bank processors are enthusiastically signing new clients to provide the speedy payment service. Financial-institution processor Jack Henry & Associates Inc., in particular, has been enrolling merchants at a rapid pace in The Clearing House Payment Co. LLC’s Real Time Payments network. …

As integrated-payments competition intensifies, payment gateways are responding by making it easier for developers to access and use vital technical information. Indeed, more gateways—65% of them—analyzed in The Strawhecker Group’s annual Payment Gateway Directory, sponsored by MCAG, have open developer-center pages. This compares with 48% that did so in 2020. …

The Western Union Co. is boosting its tie-ins with Mastercard Inc. by integrating the card brand’s direct-to-card and cross-border payments products. Announced Friday, the integration sees Mastercard Send added to broaden Western Union’s payout capabilities in the United States. U.S. recipients of any Western Union transfer will be able to …

Zip Co. Ltd. launched the Zip Card, a physical card to complement its virtual card in the highly competitive buy now, pay later arena. The new card, to be issued by WebBank, a Salt Lake City-based industrial bank that works with brands like Dell Financial Services, CAN Capital, Klarna, Fingerhut, …

Shop Bonsai Inc., which provides in-app checkout technology under the Bonsai moniker, said it and buy now, pay later specialist Afterpay are making it easier for consumers to shop on an online publisher’s site without leaving the site. Announced Wednesday, the arrangement enables Bonsai shoppers to potentially reduce the checkout …

Bakkt, a digital-asset marketplace, said its users can now load their Bakkt Visa debit cards into Google Pay and use the crypto-backed cards to make online and in-store payments where Google Pay is accepted. The consumer’s digital asset, such as Bitcoin, will be converted to fiat currency for these payments. …