Monday , January 13, 2025

Debit Cards

Checkbook Acquires sureti and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 1/10/25

Payments platform Checkbook has acquired sureti, a provider of technology for the distribution of insurance payouts. Terms were not announced. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said it is asking for comment on implementing existing financial privacy law and how to address what it labeled intrusive data collection and personalized pricing. It also wants comment …

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Affinity FCU Partners With a Payments Fintech to Boost Financial Literacy

Affinity Federal Credit Union is working with fintech Greenlight Financial Technology Inc. to launch a financial-literacy program. The program will provide Affinity members and their families free access to Greenlight’s mobile app and debit card for kids and teens. The app allows parents to manage their child’s spending, send money, …

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PayPal Faces Discrimination Lawsuit and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 1/6/25

An Asian-American businesswoman named Nisha Desai has sued PayPal Holdings Inc. on grounds of racial discrimination, alleging the company restricted some of a $535-million investment commitment to Black and Hispanic candidates. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, asks for unspecified damages and an order …

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WhatsAppPay Rolls Out in India and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 12/31/24

Meta Platform’s WhatsApp payments service has been permitted by the National Payments Corp. of India, a regulatory body, to roll out WhatsApp Pay to its entire user base of 500 million in that country. Meta formerly was known as Facebook. GasBuddy, which offers a payments card featuring discounts on gasoline, forecasts the …

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Merchants Hit Back at a Banking Group’s Request That the Fed Hold off on Reducing a Debit Interchange Cap

The Merchants Payments Coalition fired back late Monday at a request last week from the American Bankers Association that the Federal Reserve not act on a proposal to lower a longstanding limit on the interchange banks can earn on debit card transactions.  In a letter to the Fed, the MPC …

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AI, Interchange, And Open Finance Are the Top Prospective 2025 Payments Trends

The outlook for payments in 2025 will be rife with open finance, instant payments, multi-rail payments, interchange questions, and the increasing use of artificial intelligence, observers suggest. The top three payments trends next year will be open finance, instant payments adoption, and point-of-sale innovations, says Capgemini Research Institute in its …

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Transit System Adopts Mobile Payment Service

Bus riders in Indiana, Pa., can now use smart cards to pay their fares with the debut of the transit system’s IndiGO Mobile Pay. Boston-based Modeshift Inc. designed the fare-collection system in conjunction with the Indiana County Transit Authority. Riders can use a mobile app to find routes, buy tickets …

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Paystone To Acquire Ackroo; MEFA Launches Gift Card program for College Tuition

Ackroo Inc., a Canadian gift card and loyalty platform, announced early Friday it has reached a “definitive” agreement to be acquired by Paystone, a Canadian-based gift card and loyalty processor, in an all-cash deal for $21 million. Paystone will acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of Ackroo at …

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The ABA’s Letter to the Fed Is the Latest Salvo in the Battle Over Debit Card Interchange

The American Bankers Association on Thursday issued a long and detailed letter it has sent to the Federal Reserve Board to argue its case against a Fed proposal that would reduce a longstanding cap on the interchange banks can earn on debit card transactions. The ABA’s action follows an analysis …

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Extra Bill Pay Costs up 18%, doxo Says and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 12/13/24

So-called hidden costs—such as overdraft charges, late fees, and identity fraud—linked to bill payments amount to $196 billion on an annual basis, up 18% from last year, according to a study from bill-payment platform doxo. Mastercard Inc. released its 2025 payment trends forecast that discusses AI, small business, and contactless payments, which …

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Digital Transactions