Little by little and step by step, merchants have been taking tighter control over their payments businesses. No longer merely the endpoint in a cardholder’s lifecycle, merchants are leveraging fintech in ways not possible just a few short years ago. This is why we’re seeing the big fintech-centric acquirers like …
Read More »COMMENTARY: Political—Not Business—Priorities Will Roil Payments in 2021
The payments industry operates on a continuum of varying degrees of politicization, imposed and self-imposed. For maximizing value, less is better. Increased politicization will challenge the payments industry in 2021. U.S. regulators have already exercised enormous discretionary power over payments, sometimes lawlessly. Hatched by the Department of Justice in 2013, …
Read More »An ISO Sees Opportunity in Digital Payments for an Often Neglected Niche—Churches
Just as businesses are fast-tracking their efforts to accept digital payments as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, so too are houses of worship. Pushpay Holdings Ltd., a Redmond, Wash.-based independent sales organization, says the number of churches using its donor-management system is growing rapidly. While churches were already adopting …
Read More »Cash Now an Online Bill Pay Option at Plastiq and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 12/22/20
Bill payment provider Plastiq launched cash payments, which allows users to make any payment through a linked bank account. Plastiq already enables bill payment via credit cards.InComm Payments has launched an App Store card in Taiwan in partnership with Apple Inc. The cards are being sold through 9,500 7-Eleven and FamilyMart stores on …
Read More »Eye on E-Commerce: PSCU Registers Big E-Commerce Gains; Digital River Aids Manufacturers in D2C Sales
Card-not-present transactions continue to grow at financial institutions that use PSCU, a credit union service organization. In its weekly report released Monday, PSCU said CNP accounted for 55.5% of credit card purchase volume and 47.9% of transactions for the week ending Dec. 13. For debit, CNP represented 43.9% of purchase …
Read More »Debit Use Gains As Consumers Tread Through Uncertainty
A new report finds that debit card use is gaining favor among consumers compared to credit cards immediately following the national election in November. That’s according to The Future of Money Report 2020 from Logica Research. “This unprecedented year has uncovered contrasts between challenges and opportunities in the world as …
Read More »Bill Payments Account for One-Fifth of U.S. Consumer Spending, Research Shows
Household bill payments now total $2.75 trillion per year in the United States, accounting for 21% of all spending by U.S. consumers, according to a report released Thursday by doxo Inc., a provider of digital billing and payment services. The Seattle-based company’s research looks at bill payments via bank accounts …
Read More »Hale & Hearty Picks Appetize and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 12/17/20
The Hale & Hearty Soups fast-casual chain of 20 locations in Boston and the New York City area has chosen Appetize Technologies Inc. to upgrade its point-of-sale operations. The deployment is expected to conclude next month.With consumers worldwide reluctant to travel by air because of fears of catching Covid-19, some 78% of …
Read More »As Digital Payments Heat Up, Fiserv Agrees to Acquire Card-Control Technology Provider Ondot
Fiserv Inc. announced Wednesday an agreement to acquire, for an undisclosed sum, Ondot Systems Inc., whose technology includes so-called card controls, or tools that allow cardholders to switch usage on or off according to considerations of security or preferred usage. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter …
Read More »Openpay Joins U.S. BNPL Market and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 12/16/20
Openpay Group Ltd., an Australian buy now, pay later processor, began operations in the U.S market. Simultaneously, the company announced former Deloitte executive Brian Shniderman has been appointed chief executive of the U.S. operation.Fidel Ltd., a provider of financial application programming interfaces, said its API is enabling cash-back offers for …
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