In a stunning announcement that surprised many observers, Fiserv Inc. said Wednesday morning it has struck a deal to acquire First Data Corp. with what the parties say will be the biggest ever such transaction in the payments and financial-technology businesses. The all-stock deal, expected to close in the third …
Read More »The PCI Council Unveils Its New Software Security Standards
The PCI Security Standards Council on Wednesday published its new software security standards and said the existing standard will be retired in 2022. The new set of requirements actually has two major components—The PCI Secure Software Standard and the PCI Secure Lifecycle Standard—and is under the umbrella of what the …
Read More »Contactless Cards Round 2 Gets Another Boost with PenFed Announcement
PenFed Credit Union announced Tuesday it will begin issuing contactless Visa-branded credit and debit cards this month. The move comes after a decision by Chase, a unit of JPMorgan Chase & Co., to issue dual-interface cards that will be in force this year. The cards are called dual interface because …
Read More »JPMorgan Chase’s Merchant-Processing Volume Jumps 17%
With the economy still humming along in 2018’s fourth quarter, a nearly 17% increase in merchant-processing volume by JPMorgan Chase & Co. augurs strong volume growth by Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. when the bank card networks report financial results later this month. New York City-based JPMorgan Chase operates the …
Read More »Worldpay Links Arms With Revel in the Latest Example of a Processor Trend To Smart POS Systems
Processing giant Worldpay Inc. announced early Tuesday it forged a new agreement with Revel Systems to support Revel’s iPad-based smart terminals for restaurants and other merchant locations. The agreement comes days after Total System Services Inc. (TSYS) said it is launching a line of smart POS devices and follows other …
Read More »TD Ameritrade Enables Apple Pay Deposits and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 1/15/19
TD Ameritrade announced individual investors can instantly fund a brokerage account using Apple Pay through Apple Business Chat. The capability means investors can use a debit card to deposit up to $10,000 per day via Apple Pay, though the limit may vary by bank. The service is much quicker than …
Read More »With Help From Citcon, North American Merchants Begin Accepting UnionPay QR Codes
With the rise of Chinese tourism, North American merchants have proved eager to accept Chinese mobile wallets like Alipay and WeChat Pay, and now they can add UnionPay cards to that mix. Citcon USA LLC said Monday it will enable merchants in the United States and Canada to accept quick-response …
Read More »Kabbage in Alibaba Deal and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 1/14/19
Kabbage Inc., an online small-business financier, said it provides the Pay Later program for U.S. small-business buyers on Alibaba.com, an online marketplace. Payment-terminal maker Equinox Payments and payments-software provider Acceo Tender Retail announced the Equinox Luxe 8500i and Luxe 6200m terminals have achieved EMV end-to-end certification on First Data Corp.’s …
Read More »Discover Looks to Europe And the Middle East for Merchant-Acceptance Expansion
Discover Financial Services is on the verge of a major expansion of Discover, Diners Club, and Pulse acceptance across Europe and the Middle East following Friday’s announcement of a deal with a third-party provider. Riverwoods, Ill.-based Discover says it will work with 3C Payment, a Luxembourg-based payment service provider that …
Read More »Ingenico’s Latest Acquisition and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 1/11/19
Point-of-sale terminal maker and payment-services provider Ingenico Group said it completed its acquisition of New Zealand’s Paymark payment network. Processor Bottomline Technologies Inc. said it has added The Access Bank UK Ltd. to the United Kingdom’s Faster Payments Scheme (FPS) via Bottomline’s Real Time Payments Service. Brex, a provider of corporate cards for startups, …
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