BMO Harris Bank has made Zelle person-to-person payments available to its commercial clients, which can use Zelle to pay individuals without requiring banking information needed for ACH transactions. BMO Harris Bank says it is one of only eight banks to offer Zelle as a business-to-consumer service.Commerce Bank said insurer Progressive will use CommercePayments PreferPay for …
Read More »Two Standards Bodies Consolidate Separate PIN-Acceptance Security Specs Into One
Payment firms that are used to choosing which PIN standard to audit against now have a much simpler choice. The Accredited Standards Committee X9 Inc. and the PCI Security Standards Council have created a unified PIN Security Standard, replacing separate ones each organization previously maintained. The consolidation, announced Tuesday, should …
Read More »Another Libra Departure and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 1/22/20
British telecommunications giant Vodafone Group Plc has become the latest Libra participant to withdraw from the controversial digital-currency project initiated by Facebook Inc., Reuters reported. Other early participants that have withdrawn include Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, Stripe, and eBay.With an eye on expanding its Bitcoin services, merchant processor Square Inc. said it is developing what it calls …
Read More »Why the Business-to-Consumer Payout Market Is a Hot Payments Niche
Business-to-consumer payouts are attracting a small but growing cadre of payment processors and fintechs eager to exploit a multi-trillion-dollar market where checks and automated clearing house direct deposits have a heavy presence, according to a new report. The report from Aite Group LLC analysts Talie Baker and Erika Baumann identifies …
Read More »International Operation Takes Down Domain That Reportedly Had 12 Billion Stolen Records
Federal and European law-enforcement agencies last week seized the domain of WeLeakInfo.com, an online site that allegedly held 12 billion stolen records from 10,000 data breaches. The now-shuttered site’s data included names, email addresses, usernames, phone numbers, and passwords for online accounts, according to a news release from the FBI …
Read More »Ria Makes bpost Deal and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 1/20/20
Ria Money Transfer, a subsidiary of Euronet Worldwide Inc., said it has an agreement with Belgian Postal Service group (bpost) to offer international money-transfer services through bpost’s network of 600 post offices.Restaurant The Crack Shack Enterprises LLC issued a data-breach notification for its Encinitas, Calif., location. Payment card information, including names, card …
Read More »Shell In-Car Payments Come to Fiat Chrysler Dashboards
Consumers motoring in their Dodge Challengers and Ram pickup trucks are now able to pay for fuel at participating Shell Oil Co. gas stations from inside their vehicles using the vehicles’ infotainment systems. Shell announced Fiat Chrysler automobiles with Uconnect Market enabled will have access to the Shell Pay & Save …
Read More »2019 Holiday Sales Increased 4.1% and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 1/17/20
The National Retail Federation reported 2019’s holiday retail sales grew 4.1% over the same period in 2018 to $730.2 billion. Online and other non-store sales rose 14.6% to $167.8 billion and are included in the totalE-commerce services and payments provider Shopify Inc. is offering new businesses what it calls “starter loans” of $200 through …
Read More »New U.S.-China Trade Deal Provides for U.S. Payments Expansion in China
The newly-signed trade agreement between the United States and China, the number-one and number-two global economies, respectively, finally provides an avenue for U.S. payments firms to operate independently in China. Joint payments ventures with a local Chinese partner have long been the norm, but the new U.S.-China trade agreement—signed Jan. …
Read More »‘Digital Dollar’ In the Works and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 1/16/20
J. Christopher Giancarlo, former chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, is working with other individuals and with the consulting firm Accenture to develop a United States Central Bank Digital Currency, known as the “digital dollar.” The development will take place under the auspices of a new organization called the Digital …
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