Consumers using SNAP and electronic benefits transfer payments at a U.S. Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. store now have broader access to the services through DoorDash Inc., a third-party delivery service. Announced Wednesday, the deal means Walgreens shoppers can use their SNAP/EBT payments card at any Walgreens, regardless of where they …
Read More »Amid Many Changes, Acquirers Retain Their Importance Among Card Brands
Though the big news about Discover Financial Services is its pending acquisition by Capital One Financial Corp., the acquiring segment remains vital to the card brand. “Our business model, being a network rail, is the right space for us,” Judith McGuire, Discover senior vice president of global products, told Digital …
Read More »Time Will Tell on How Soon Pay by Bank Goes Mainstream
Open banking, the ability for third-party developers to access financial data in traditional banking systems, as defined by Stripe Inc., may provide one component for a new payment type, at least one that has limited use today. Pay by bank, a payment method that enables an online payment without the …
Read More »Aurora Releases the Arise Platform; FastSpring Adds Apple Pay and Pix
Evolving merchant expectations are a primary factor in Aurora Payments’ newly released Arise Payment Platform, which is intended to match sellers’ needs, says Brian Goudie, Aurora chief executive. Announced Tuesday, the Arise platform includes same-day onboarding capability, surcharging, cash discounting, and dual- pricing options, Aurora says. It also offers acceptance …
Read More »Henry Helgeson’s Return as a Payments Chief Executive Signals Bigger BlueSnap Ambitions
As a payments executive, he started an independent sales organization in 1998 that 19 years later would be acquired by Total System Services Inc. for $1.05 billion in cash. Now, more than four years since Henry Helgeson held a position at a payments company—other than as a board director or …
Read More »Consumer Fraud Recovery Costs Rocket 70% in One Year
Rising costs aren’t just happening in grocery stores. They have caught up to fraud-recovery costs when consumers work to untangle the mess caused by identity theft and scams. The average out-of-pocket expense for a consumer in that situation ballooned 70% from $119 in 2022 to $202 in 2023, according to …
Read More »Eye on Check Fraud: 61% Still Write Checks, But Face Fraud; DataVisor Picks Mitek Check Fraud Tool
Despite a severe drop-off in check use, 61% of consumers continue to write paper checks and continue to face the threat of check fraud, says Abrigo, a financial-crime prevention and risk-management services provider. Released Tuesday, Abrigo’s survey of 1,059 U.S. consumers also found that 45% of respondents reported being a …
Read More »Eye on AI: PayBlox Enlists AI for Statement Reviews; Colleen AI Tackles Rentals with Voice AI
The promise of lower credit and debit card processing fees is a big attraction for merchants to switch merchant providers. Statement reviews are a key part of that process and now PayBlox, a merchant services referral site, has enlisted artificial intelligence to help. With the debut of its Statement Spy …
Read More »PayPal And Venmo’s Visa+ Entry Could Aid Interoperable P2P Payments
Enrolling PayPal and Venmo into the Visa+ interoperable peer-to-peer payments system may help foster even more P2P transactions, an analyst says. Visa Inc. earlier this week announced the two P2P wallets from PayPal Holdings Inc. had been enabled in the United States for Visa+. Users can sign up for a …
Read More »With a Lower Cost and a No-Chargebacks Promise for Merchants, Pay by Bank Emerges as a Fiserv Priority
Pay by bank is not a new electronic-payments concept—consumers have been paying utility bills with their bank accounts for years—but the promise of lower fees and reduced merchant headaches is energizing the service, and work is at hand developing new use cases. Witness Radial Inc., an e-commerce platform adopting Link …
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