MagicCube Inc. has partnered with processor Shift4 Payments Inc. to make its iAccept softPOS application available to Shift4 merchants. MagicCube’s i-Accept app turns Android smart phones and tablets into PCI-compliant payment devices that can accept contactless payments using tap-to-pay with or without a PIN. The deal is considered a boost …

Despite its formidable reach, the social-media platform X faces a steep climb to achieve its goal of launching a peer-to-peer payments service, according to payments experts. X, formerly known as Twitter, announced in a blog post earlier this week its plans to add P2P payments to its platform this year …

The battle between merchants, on one hand, and financial institutions and payment networks, on the other, over the Credit Card Competition Act continues to heat up. The Merchants Payments Coalition on Thursday sent a letter to Congress signed by nearly 2,000 merchants, including hundreds of small businesses, calling on legislators …

Affirm Holdings Inc. has extended its reach into the vacation-property rental market through a partnership with Evolve Vacation Rental. Consumers renting vacation properties through Evolve can use Affirm as a payment option for bookings exceeding $500. Consumers pay in monthly installments and as little as 0% interest. Evolve says it …

The Electronic Payments Coalition has come out swinging in the new year as it intensifies its fight against the Credit Card Competition Act. The EPC, which lobbies on behalf of financial institutions and payments networks, late Monday announced it is launching an ad campaign aimed at federal lawmakers. The campaign …

Cantaloupe Inc., which specializes in payments technology for vending machines and self-service marketplaces, holds a commanding 15.5% share of the world’s 5.8 million vending machines connected to payments technology, according to a report from research firm Research and Markets. In total, Malvern, Pa.-based Cantaloupe links to more than 900,000 vending …

NetCents Technology Inc., a payment-processing gateway specializing in cryptocurrency, has partnered with the massive acquiring processor Worldpay. The deal is expected to boost adoption of cryptocurrency and stablecoins as mainstream payment options, according to NetCents.   NetCents’ gateway provides corporations, small and medium-sized businesses, startups, and blockchain companies, a crypto …

Online shoppers in the United States spent a record $222.1 billion during the holiday shopping season that ran between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31, a 4.9%increase from the same period a year earlier, according to Adobe Analytics. November was a strong month for online holiday purchases, with consumers spending $123.5 billion …

Digital-payments provider Wirex says it is working with ZeroFox Holdings Inc., a provider of cybersecurity technology, to incorporate ZeroFox’s Dark Web Monitoring app into its platform. Wirex’s blockchain-based service enables consumers to buy, sell, send, spend, and store fiat and crypto currency through the Wirex digital wallet. ZeroFox’s Dark Web …

Having taken aim at credit card late fees and interest rates, and having targeted non-bank digital wallet providers, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra has now indicated his regulatory agency is turning its attention to credit card acceptance costs. Chopra’s comments Thursday came as the Credit Card Competition Act, …