Robert A. Jenisch, publisher of Digital Transactions, Digital Transactions News, and digitaltransactions.net, received the Industry Achievement Award from the MidWest Acquirers Association on Wednesday. The award, which recognizes substantial career accomplishments and contributions in the U.S. merchant-acquiring industry, was given to Jenisch during the MWAA’s annual conference in Lombard, Ill. …
Read More »Federal Officials Tell Their Side of the Operation Choke Point Story
They came in for more bashing at a House subcommittee hearing Tuesday, but several federal government officials at least got a chance to give their opinions about the controversial Operation Choke Point, an effort by the U.S. Department of Justice supported by bank regulators that aims to cut off access …
Read More »ISOs And Acquirers Face Myriad Issues Over the Next 12 Months: Survey
Increasing competition, slow growth, and staying abreast of changing technology top the list of issues facing independent sales organizations and merchant acquirers during the next 12 months, finds a new report from Adil Consulting. Fifty-two percent of respondents cited competition as the top trend, followed by growth, 48%, and …
Read More »Countering Operation Choke Point, Acquirers Canceled 10,000 Fraudulent Merchants
Seeking to contrast the merchant-acquiring industry’s actual practices with the impression created by the government’s Operation Choke Point that acquirers turn a blind eye to shady merchants, the industry’s leading trade group on Monday said its members last year discharged more than 10,000 merchants for fraud. That statistic comes from …
Read More »It May Be Late to Faster-Funding Game, But PayPal Boasts Size And Experience Edge
Catching up with rivals, PayPal Inc. on Monday joined a growing list of e-payments providers that are speeding up settlement time for U.S. merchants. But instead of making faster payments generally available, the San Jose, Calif.-based eBay Inc. subsidiary is offering to cut funding time from up to four business …
Read More »First Data Goes All in on U.S. Gambling Growth with the Full-Deck PayLucky Product Suite
With an eye to capturing a share of the potential $2.6 billion in U.S. online gambling revenue expected by 2017, payment processor First Data Corp. launched PayLucky, a suite of existing products for gambling and gaming providers, the company announced today. The suite, which includes the Clover point-of-sale system, prepaid …
Read More »Cash Will Be the King of Washington State Pot Payments, at Least for a While
Like their brethren in Colorado, the new marijuana stores in the state of Washington will be operating mostly on a cash basis, but operators hope that the federal government eventually will remove obstacles preventing them from getting payment card merchant accounts and business checking accounts. On Monday, the Washington State …
Read More »Canada’s Optimal Payments Buys Two ISOs To Gain U.S Foothold in E-Commerce Payments
With an eye on expanding its international payments capabilities, Optimal Payments Plc bought two U.S. independent sales organizations that cater to e-commerce merchants, the Montreal-based company announced Tuesday. n Meritus posted 2013 revenues of $74.4 million, and Global Merchant Advisors $8.3 million. Both company names remain in place, Lewin says. …
Read More »Bill Would Put a Chokehold on the Justice Department’s Operation Choke Point
The U.S. Department of Justice’s controversial Operation Choke Point, an effort to cut off high-risk merchants’ access to electronic payments by challenging the banks and processors that serve them, continues to draw fire. The latest missile comes in the form of a bill from U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Mo., who …
Read More »New MasterCard Rules on Fee Disclosures May Catch Many Payment Processors Unaware
Two MasterCard Inc. rules governing fee changes and disclosures may catch many in the payment industry unaware even though the rules first became known in December. That is the assessment of attorneys Howard Herndon and Josh Rosenblatt at Frost Brown Todd LLC, a Nashville, Tenn.-based firm. “Typically, acquiring banks and …
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