The holiday shopping season may be over, but the holiday returns are coming in at full force. Data from PSCU, a credit union service organization, showcases the impact the rise in e-commerce spending is having on returns. Return purchases using debit cards were up 76.2% for the week ending Jan. …
Read More »COMMENTARY: PCI And EMVCo Have No Business Setting Standards
Standards are the prerogative of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for most industries around the world. According to ISO, “ISO standards are internationally agreed by experts” and “should be thought of as a formula that describes the best way of doing something.” Unfortunately, the roles of ISO and its …
Read More »Walmart’s Fintech Startup Is Expected to Pack A Potent, Low-Cost Punch
Unlike many fintech startups, Walmart’s Inc.’s new financial company is expected to be a formidable player right out of the gate. The retail giant unveiled plans late Monday to partner with Ribbit Capital to create a fintech that will provide what Walmart describes as “modern, innovative, and affordable financial solutions.” …
Read More »Another Bank Joins TCH Real Time Payments and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 1/12/21
Wells River Bank has agreed to join the Real Time Payments network operated by The Clearing House Payments Co. LLC. The bank will connect to the network through the Shazam EFT network’s Shazam Pay faster-payments gateway.Payments provider Lightspeed POS Inc. launched its Lightspeed Supplier Network, a platform aimed at North American merchants to …
Read More »How Its Deal for Kount Lets Equifax Reinforce Its Capabilities Against Online Fraud
With consumers and businesses flocking to online commerce, companies of all sizes are reinforcing their technology for accepting transactions and rating them for risk. The latest example is the giant credit-reporting company Equifax Inc., which on Friday said it is paying $640 million to buy Kount Inc., a 14-year-old Boise, …
Read More »GO2bank, a Mobile-Banking App, Is Green Dot’s Latest Bid for the Underbanked Market
As part a strategy to widen its market for banking solutions, Green Dot Corp. Wednesday launched GO2bank, a mobile-banking application intended to help the 7.1 million unbanked households in the United States manage their finances. Green Dot says it is launching the program as a way to eliminate the costly …
Read More »COMMENTARY: Prepare for the Coming Impact of Digital Fiat Currencies
Amara’s Law, coined by Stanford computer scientist Roy Amara, says we tend to overestimate the impact of a new technology in the short run, but underestimate it in the long run. So it was with the Internet and mobile phones. So it’s likely to be with digital fiat currencies. Since …
Read More »Mobile Wallet Use up and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 1/5/21
In the week before and the week of Christmas, consumers markedly increased their use of mobile wallets, with mobile wallets loaded with a debit card increasing 79.2% from the same weeks a year ago, according to the Tracking Transaction Trends report from PSCU, a credit union service organization. Use of mobile …
Read More »Afterpay Average Ticket Increases 30% and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 1/4/21
Buy now, pay later provider Afterpay Ltd. said users’ average ticket increased 30% in the fourth quarter compared to the same period in 2019.Affirm Inc. completed its acquisition of PayBright, a buy now, pay later provider in Canada.PayPal Holdings Inc. announced a check cashing feature for select Venmo app users. This enables them to have funds …
Read More »E-Commerce Sales up 49% This Fall from 2019 and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 12/28/20
Retail sales, excluding the automotive and gasoline categories, grew 3% in the Oct. 11 to Dec. 24 period year-over-year, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse. E-commerce sales volume grew 49% in the same period compared to the year-ago period.Some Walmart stores in north Alabama stopped accepting credit cards when the stores’ Internet service failed owing …
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