Facebook Inc.’s Libra cryptocurrency may be struggling with regulators globally, but that doesn’t mean blockchain processors aren’t moving forward with other stablecoins. Atlanta-based BitPay Inc. on Tuesday introduced payment acceptance and settlement services in a trio of stablecoins whose value is tied to the U.S. dollar: Circle Internet Financial Ltd.’s …
Read More »Payoneer’s Merchant-Services Buy and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 12/10/19
Payoneer Inc., a provider of cross-border payments for small businesses, announced it is moving into merchant services with its acquisition of optile GmbH, a Munich-based company whose technology eases payment acceptance. Terms were not announced.The Western Union Co. has added a feature to its mobile app that allows users to donate …
Read More »Subscription-Payment Specialist GoCardless Boosts U.S. Business With Routing-Number Access
GoCardless Ltd., a London-based company specializing in handling international recurring payments, such as subscriptions, is eyeing a bigger presence in the U.S. market and has struck a deal that it expects will help process debits through the automated clearing house. The arrangement, announced Monday, will let GoCardless access ABA routing …
Read More »Canadians Embrace Contactless Payments, but They’re Still Wary of Using Mobile Devices
Like their American cousins, Canadians are rapidly adopting newer payment methods. In fact, they’re doing so even faster than U.S. consumers in some respects. The report, “Canadian Payment Methods and Trends: 2019,” released last week by Payments Canada, says contactless payments grew 30% year-over-year in 2018. Card- and mobile-based contactless …
Read More »Super Processor Picks TAS USA and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 12/9/19
Payments provider Super Processor selected a payments platform from TAS USA Inc. to manage merchant onboarding, merchant accounts, and transaction processing for both in-store and e-commerce transactions.Hudson Executive Capital LP, an investment firm that has been embroiled in a fight for control of vending-machine payments technology provider USA Technologies Inc., filed a proxy …
Read More »Pineapple Payments Acquires a Paystri Merchant Portfolio and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 12/6/19
Payments provider Pineapple Payments said it has acquired a merchant portfolio from Paystri, an integrated-payments technology provider, and entered into a partnership with the firm. The size of the acquisition was not disclosed.Global e-commerce sales volume on Cyber Monday grew 21.5% in terms of value over Cyber Monday in 2018, outpacing sales …
Read More »Debit Cards Overtake Cash as the Most Popular Payment Type, According to Fed Diarists
The growing popularity of debit cards and the displacement of cash by card and electronic payment alternatives is nothing new, but a Federal Reserve banks’ report released Thursday shows debit cards for the first time have surpassed cash as the most-used payment type. The findings come from the 2018 Diary …
Read More »Black Friday Through Cyber Monday, Suspicious Transactions Rose 29% from Last Year
While last weekend’s holiday-shopping extravaganza unleashed a geyser of payment transactions, it also uncorked a flood of potential fraud, data released Thursday show. Online shoppers spent $7.4 billion on Friday alone, with Cyber Monday sales, which by definition are e-commerce transactions, alone estimated to total a record $9.4 billion, up …
Read More »Divergent Online Security Needs Warrant a New Version of PKI
A new set of security protocols to better safeguard online connections within the financial-services industry is in the offing. Securing and trusting these connections is a critical piece of the payments infrastructure. Experts say the underlying standards they are built on—called public key infrastructure—need updating. That’s why the Accredited Standards …
Read More »Visa Debuts Dispute-Certification Program and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 12/5/19
Visa Inc. announced plans to launch a new certification program and fund up to 500 scholarships to train individuals as dispute-resolution professionals, a role Visa says is in high demand across the payments industry. The program will include multiple days of training and several professional-level certification exams.Field-service management and communications provider …
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