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 …
Read More »Sezzle Launches a BNPL Loyalty Program to Encourage Timely Payments
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 …
Read More »Potential Merchant Savings on Swipe Fees Is the Latest Payments Battleground
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 …
Read More »Data Breaches Continue to Explode, Increasing 90% in the First Quarter
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 …
Read More »Digital Bill-Payment Specialist Doxo Responds To an FTC Lawsuit Alleging Deceptive Practices
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 …
Read More »As EV Charging Stations Spread, New Payment Terminal Controllers Rise in Priority
Microchip Technology Inc. has launched a new line of touchscreen controllers aimed at making unattended payment terminals at electric-vehicle charging stations more secure. The new line of controllers, which are part of Microchip Technology’s maxTouch family of touchscreen controllers, encrypt data that flow into the terminal via the touch screen, …
Read More »Eye on BNPL: Splitit Rolls Out Installment Loans At Checkout; Klarna Partners With Uber
Buy now, pay later provider Splitit Payments Ltd. has launched an installment-payment option for financial institutions that consumers can access at the point-of-sale. Financial institutions can offer the option by connecting directly to Splitit’s merchant networks, through a direct link or through a card network. The payment option, called FI-PayLater, …
Read More »Steady Consumer Spending Helps Buoy Visa As It Strikes Deals for Open Banking
Citing “relative stability” across key business metrics, such as cross-border volume, Visa Inc. late Tuesday reported March-quarter increases of 10% year-over-year in both net revenue ($8.8 billion) and net income ($4.7 billion). Driven by stable consumer spending, dollar volume grew 8%, while total cross-border dollar volume grew 16% and processed …
Read More »Same-Day ACH Volume Maintains Growth Pace
Same-day ACH transactions helped fuel a strong first quarter for the automated clearinghouse network. Nacha, the governing body for the automated clearing house network, reported early Tuesday that same-day ACH transactions totaled 273.7 million during the quarter, a 47% increase from the same period a year ago. The dollar value …
Read More »Despite Increasing Ransomware Attacks, Fewer Victims Are Paying
Despite a spike in ransomware attacks, fewer companies are paying ransom demands to free their data. A report from ransomware-remediation firm, Coveware Inc. reveals that just 28% of companies hit by a ransomware attack during the first quarter of 2024 paid, a record low. The trend comes as ransomware attacks …
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