Text-to-pay technology received a boost late Thursday as San Francisco-based fintech EarnUp Inc. launched a text-to-pay app for mortgage lenders. The white-label app allows lenders to send text reminders of upcoming mortgage payments with an embedded link to make payments using a debit card. Consumers can initiate payment using Apple …

After months of speculation that Shift Payments Inc. was an acquisition target, company founder and chief executive and founder Jared Isaacman confirmed Thursday the company had indeed received multiple offers. The acknowledgment came at the outset of Shift4’s first quarter earnings call early Thursday. Despite the offers being “materially higher” …

Processors and service providers focused on restaurant point-of-sale systems are enjoying strong growth as restaurants remain one of the hottest markets in digital payments. Two companies reaping the fruits that growth are Toast Inc. and Olo Inc. Toast Inc. posted annual recurring revenue of $1.3 billion during the first quarter …

Consumers and businesses are embracing instant-payment options for such transactions as bill payment, mobile-wallet funding and defunding, account-to-account transfers, and immediate payroll for employees, the Federal Reserve says. A pair of studies surveying businesses and consumers about instant payments and the payments landscape, released late Monday by the Fed, reveals …

Real-time account-to-payment payments has received a big boost as J.P. Morgan Payments adds Visa Direct to its arsenal of payment options. The deal gives businesses using J.P. Morgan Payments’ platform an option to make payments, such as a rebate or refund, directly to a consumer’s debit card or bank account …

Block Inc. chief executive Jack Dorsey fired back at news reports that the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating the company for alleged compliance lapses at Block’s Square and Cash App units. The reports “lack full context,” Dorsey said during Block’s quarterly earnings call late Thursday. News of the investigation …

Buy now, pay later platform Sezzle Inc. has launched a loyalty program that rewards users for paying on time. The new offering, called Payment Streaks, is part of Sezzle’s free Loyalty Tiers program. The idea is that, with each on-time payment, Sezzle users begin a payment streak that moves them …

The war over the proposed Credit Card Competition Act shows no signs of abating as combatants on both sides of the fence continue their efforts to sway legislators and public opinion on the matter of card-acceptance costs. The latest battle centers on data from payments consultancy CMSPI that says merchants …

The number of publicly reported data breaches nearly doubled during the first quarter compared to the same period a year ago, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center’s quarterly report, issued Tuesday. The ITRC tracked 841 publicly reported data breaches during the first quarter, up from 442 during the same …

Firing back at a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit alleging deceptive practices in the bill-payment business, doxo Inc. has issued a statement claiming the charges are inaccurate and push a narrative that will prevent bill-payment providers from streamlining the digital bill-payment process. The FTC lawsuit, filed late last week, charges doxo …