Credit Cards

With the coronavirus pandemic freezing economic activity in the U.S. and many other countries, Visa Inc. reported in a regulatory filing that U.S. credit card payment volume was down 7% year-over-year for the March 1-28 period while debit payments were down 1%. Cross-border volume on a constant-dollar basis was off 19%. …

The payment card networks plan to postpone until July changes in their interchange schedules that they had planned to take effect in April, Digital Transactions News has learned. The delays come as many merchants, especially restaurants, hotels, and local retailers have closed or greatly reduced their operations as part of governmental attempts …

Sobering data from Shift4 Payments LLC shows that U.S. hospitality-industry transaction volume plummeted in mid-March as consumers sheltered in place and travel, both business and personal, waned. Restaurant volume fell from 42 million transactions to 11 million, a 74% decrease for the period from the week of February 2 to …

A national survey of 850 small businesses found 69% have seen a “large drop” in demand because of the coronavirus pandemic, while 60% say they believe demand will drop further. The survey was conducted by America’s Small Business Development Centers and Thryv Inc., a software vendor specializing in small businesses.The U.S. Faster Payments …

Merchant processor and business-software provider Square Inc. says some of its sellers have seen declines of 45% in payment volume in recent days, and private-label and cobranded card issuer Alliance Data Systems Corp. says business at its client merchants is softening.  Both companies held conference calls with analysts after the …

With much of the world locked down in combatting the novel coronavirus pandemic, a financial trade group in the United Kingdom said Tuesday the country would increase the spending limit on contactless transactions by 50% effective April 1. The move will allow consumers to pay without touching a keypad or …

E-commerce payments provider BlueSnap Inc. said it is enhancing its Payments for Marketplaces product, which allows online merchants to launch and operate global e-commerce marketplaces. New services include auto-onboarding, split payments, and cross-border payment capabilities.Square Inc. will have an investor conference call at 5:00 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday to discuss how it is …

Cash is fighting an uphill battle to remain a payment option during the novel coronavirus pandemic. Over the past week, a number of toll-highway and bridge authorities have ceased accepting cash to limit the spread of the highly infectious disease. According to local press reports, the Pennsylvania Turnpike, the Illinois …

PayPal Holdings Inc. and Square Inc. are moving to increase hiring as consumers reportedly shift to mobile payments as a result of calls for social distancing.Arguing that “the [coronavirus] pandemic will pass, but the economic impact will last,” a collation of payroll processors and trade associations issued an open letter to President Donald …

With students not in school, the closure of restaurants and bars, and work-from-home edicts in place, consumer spending is shifting. Witness that in the week of March 9-15, the payment volume made with dipped EMV cards fell 5.17% from the week prior and mag-stripe volume fell 13.07%, according to the …