Digital Currency

When cryptocurrency prices rise, spending may dip, but only for a short time before users accelerate their purchases with Bitcoin and other digital coins, according to a report released Thursday by BitPay Inc., an Atlanta-based payments-service provider for crypto users and crypto-accepting merchants. The ”2024 BitPay Spending Report,” which covers …

Block Inc. chief executive Jack Dorsey fired back at news reports that the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating the company for alleged compliance lapses at Block’s Square and Cash App units. The reports “lack full context,” Dorsey said during Block’s quarterly earnings call late Thursday. News of the investigation …

Worldpay has made tap-to-pay on iPhone technology available to payment facilitators to offer to their merchants. Two payfacs, Fullsteam and Autobooks, have launched the service. Tap to pay lets merchants accept contactless card payments on an ordinary mobile phone with no additional hardware. Cantaloupe Inc., a supplier of payments technology for …

American Express Co. reported first-quarter 2024 revenue of $15.8 billion, up 11% from the same period last year, and billed business of $367 billion, up 6%. Net income grew 34% to $2.44 billion. Affinipay, a payments platform specializing in the legal and accounting professions, said it has expanded its LawPay and …

The Cato Institute’s Nicholas Anthony warned recently that the Biden Administration is waging “a war on (payments-industry) prices.” The payments industry provides services funded by a range of fees paid by consumers and businesses. Demagogic regulators and politicians pillory industry fees as exploitative, as “junk fees,” and “a tax.” These …

Point-of-sale technology provider PAX Technology Inc. introduced Airlink, networking technology that provides payment connectivity in outdoor settings and other venues where wireless Internet or other network service may be unavailable or insufficient. Mastercard Inc. introduced what it calls a mobile virtual card app, which is aimed at financial institutions and supports the loading …

Fiserv Inc. introduced Clover Kiosk for the hotly competitive restaurant payments market, along with what it calls an enhanced Clover Kitchen Display System. Ferry, a tip-payout specialist, has launched a payroll card and tipping platform nationally for casual-dining chain BJ’s Restaurants, which operates more than 200 locations in 30 states. U.S.-based …

Bitcoin was designed to be a medium of exchange, like dollars, but it has become over time more like an investment, such as gold. Now, Bitcoin investors and consumers alike face an event that will significantly affect the value of their holdings, drive up Bitcoin’s price, and affect the digital …

Mastercard Inc. said it is working with payments-technology platform VoPay to offer what the partners say will be near-real-time money-movement service in Canada. The service relies on Mastercard Move, a set of funds-transfer options. The Merchants Payment Coalition, which advocates for passage of the Credit Card Competition Act, cited the recent profits …

Corserv, a payments provider for banks and fintechs, said it will work with Busey Bank to launch a credit card for the bank’s commercial clients. Synchrony Financial said BRP US Inc., a powersports and marine products maker, said it will Synchrony’s installment finance service to its dealers. The big France-based processor Worldline said …