E-commerce, online bill payments, and other forms of card-not-present payments continued their strong growth last year to capture a bigger share of total card payments, according to newly released Federal Reserve data. The number of what the Fed calls remote payments using general-purpose payment cards grew 22.8% in 2017 from …
Read More »Active Role for Fed in Real-Time Payments Gets Support from Big Companies and Small Banks
Big banks generally aren’t too thrilled about the Federal Reserve taking a direct operational role in a U.S. real-time payment system, but smaller banks and credit unions as well as some big companies support the idea. The Fed’s two-month comment period on its proposed Real Time Gross Settlement service closed …
Read More »NACHA Wants the Fed To Take a Broader View of Faster Payments
NACHA is not taking a position on whether the Federal Reserve should build a proposed real-time settlement system, but in comments this week the automated clearing house governing body said it is concerned the Fed’s current proposal is “too narrowly focused” and favors instant payments at the expense of other …
Read More »SpotOn Transact Initiates Crypto Acceptance and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 12/3/18
FreedomPay announced Nando’s, an international fast-casual restaurant chain, will use FreedomPay’s point-to-point encryption payments platform in its Oracle Micros Simphony POS system installations. Payments provider SpotOn Transact LLC agreed to offer acceptance of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to merchants via a partnership with Vaultbank, a blockchain-technology firm. Kevin Jones, founder …
Read More »The Fed Unveils an Industry Group Charged With Developing Faster Payments
Following through on plans disclosed earlier this year, the Federal Reserve on Tuesday formally unveiled the U.S. Faster Payments Council, an industry group charged with collaborating to spur the adoption of faster payments and identify market opportunities. The 22 inaugural members range from retailing giant Walmart Inc. to Visa Inc. …
Read More »The ACH Network Extends Its Hot Streak And Looks to Even Bigger Gains for Same-Day Volume
Transactions on the nation’s automated clearing house network exceeded 5.6 billion in the quarter ended Sept. 30, rising by 354 million transactions, or 6.7%, compared to the same quarter in 2017, according to numbers released Thursday by NACHA, the regulatory body for the ACH. The third-quarter growth means volume has …
Read More »As the Fed Mulls an Entry Into Real-Time Payments, a TCH Executive Flashes a Caution Flag
If the Federal Reserve decides to compete in the developing market for real-time payments, it will face considerable obstacles, one of which has to do with whether such competition is really needed, according to an official with The Clearing House Payments Co. LLC. The Clearing House, which is recruiting financial …
Read More »A Real-Time Bill-Payment Service From Mastercard Could Lure Biller-Direct Fans
After years of planning and deliberation, the payments industry is starting to announce services based on real-time processing. One of the first is Mastercard Inc., which on Wednesday unveiled a system that will allow consumers to view bills and then transfer funds to the billers within seconds. Experts see an …
Read More »TCH Looks to Connect Thousands of Banks for Real-Time Payments Within the Next Few Months
While the Federal Reserve Board mulls an entry into the business of real-time payments, a major competitor is already racking up impressive gains among U.S. financial institutions. The Clearing House Payments Co. L.L.C., the New York City-based company that, among other services, operates one of only two switches for the …
Read More »The Fed Proposes an Always-On Settlement System for Faster Payments
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday unveiled a proposal to facilitate real-time settlement of faster payments. The Fed said it is not committed to any specific action on its plan, but banks and private-sector payment processors are watching for any infringement on their turf. “Over the past year, we have undertaken …
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