Credit Cards

More evidence emerged Monday that, for all of its horrors, the coronavirus has been a boon for mobile wallets and for contactless payments generally. Wallets, which struggled to win consumer adoption in the United States even with backing from popular tech firms like Apple Inc. and Google, are increasingly turning …

American Express Co. announced it has agreed to acquire digital lender Kabbage Inc. in a deal expected to close later this year. Kabbage’s existing loan portfolio is not included in the transaction, for which terms were not announced. Eleven-year-old Kabbage entered the payment processing business in 2018.Restaurants and other businesses in Pasadena, Calif., …

Movie theater chain Cinemark Holdings Inc. announced it is encouraging consumers to use contactless payments when it reopens its locations beginning Friday.Curb, a mobile platform for taxi-ride hailing and payments, said the city of Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection is the first client for a new service aimed at …

There’s been a lot of buzz around recent reports—notably one in The New York Times—that Square has been withholding money from merchants. Apparently, with little to no warning, the company has been holding back up to 30% of merchant sales in some cases. The merchants affected, obviously, aren’t pleased. With …

Kallpod LLC announced its Kontactless Quick Response code-based payment service is now available at select Hyatt, Courtyard Marriott, and Hilton locations. Consumers can place orders for food, beverages, and merchandise to be delivered where the user is sitting. They scan a QR code at a table or seat, which opens a …

Card-brand giant Visa Inc. is joining a payment-information exchange test operated by Nacha, the network operator for the automated clearing house system. Dubbed Phixius, the exchange could expedite the sharing of payment information between payees and payers and can allow for multiple payment types, including ACH, wire, card, and others. …

Payments-industry veterans Con Coughlin and Mackenzie Walsh have formed CardSmart.io, aimed at providing services including portfolio acquisition and merchant funding while working with independent software vendors, independent sales organizations, agents, and resellers.Houston-based P97 Networks Inc. announced it has been chosen by ExxonMobil Asia Pacific Pte Ltd. to enable mobile payments at Mobil-branded stations …

More contactless payment options are coming for Las Vegas visitors and shoppers who want to make installment purchases in stores. FreedomPay says it has installed contactless and touchless payment systems at more than 100 venues at the Wynn Las Vegas and Encore Boston Harbor resorts. Meanwhile, installment-payment provider Klarna AB …

Payments providers Fortis Payment Systems LLC and Blue Dog Business Services LLC announced they have merged. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.ATM portfolio manager Payment Alliance International Inc. said it has acquired the Cash-N-Go ATM portfolio of Cash N Go ATM Network Inc. The deal adds almost 400 machines to Payment Alliance’s portfolio, …

North American shoppers are notorious for their devotion to plastic. Credit cards remain the leading consumer payment method across the Continent today. However, mobile-payment methods are slowly revolutionizing the way they pay.  In a recent consumer-behavior survey by Worldpay from FIS, 56% of respondents admitted they believed smart phones will …