The Retail Industry Leaders Association issued a statement calling on Congress to press Federal Reserve Board chairman Jerome Powell to “set a true rate” for debit card transactions that would reflect the intent of the Durbin Amendment to the Dodd-Frank Act. The amendment regulates debit card transaction pricing for large issuers. Powell is scheduled …
Read More »Nacha Is Building Phixius, a Trusted Conduit for Payment-Related Information
A platform to help ensure payments are made to the proper entity is preparing for a May debut. Dubbed Phixius, the Nacha-developed platform will provide a way to enable the secure sharing of payment-related information. That’s important because the platform, announced this week, could save businesses time in vetting new …
Read More »Brink’s Makes a Significant Investment in MoneyGram
MoneyGram International Inc. is proving adept at attracting diverse investors. Cash-management provider The Brink’s Co. announced Thursday that it has invested $9 million in MoneyGram stock for a 4.95% stake in the company. The Brink’s investment comes in the wake of the $50 million Ripple Labs Inc., developer of the …
Read More »Delay in Clover Park Opening and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 2/7/20
A $57 million renovation at Clover Park in Port St. Lucie, Fla., the spring-training home of the New York Mets recently renamed from First Data Field, won’t be completed by Monday when pitchers and catchers report for preseason workouts, a local newspaper reported. St. Lucie County, which owns the stadium, now hopes …
Read More »Bitcoin Depot Expands ATM Fleet and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 2/6/20
Bitcoin ATM deployer Bitcoin Depot said its network now includes more than 500 machines worldwide, with more than 100 in the Atlanta area. The company projects it will have more than 1,000 Bitcoin ATMS by the end of 2020.Lael Brainard, a Federal Reserve Board governor, said in a Wednesday speech that the Fed, …
Read More »Debit Routing Uncertainty Down Under and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 2/5/20
Australian financial regulators might intervene to stop banks from automatically routing contactless debit card payments to the Visa and Mastercard networks and instead give merchants the option of using the country’s EFTPOS network, Reuters reported.RevSpring Financial Services, a provider of collections-support services for health-care firms and other companies, debuted eVokePay, a payment …
Read More »A Hedge Fund’s Green Dot Stake and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 2/4/20
Activist hedge fund Starboard Value LP has taken an approximately 9% stake in prepaid card and banking services provider Green Dot Corp., according to a regulatory filing. Green Dot issued a statement saying it “welcomes transparent, constructive feedback regarding the common goal of enhancing long-term shareholder value.” In the wake of a big …
Read More »Cornerstone Purchases Move Your Mountain and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 2/3/20
Cornerstone Payment Systems announced the acquisition of Move Your Mountain, a crowd-funding platform. Terms were not disclosed.Digital cross-border payments provider Remitly Inc. launched Passbook by Remitly, a mobile app aimed at immigrants in the United States that features a no-fee account from Sunrise Banks N.A. and real-time transfers via Visa Inc.’s Visa Direct …
Read More »As Ransomware Spreads, Ransoms Balloon And Attacks Grow More Sophisticated
The criminals behind ransomware attacks are becoming dramatically bolder. The average payment demanded in fourth-quarter attacks reached $84,116, more than double the average sum in the third quarter, according to the latest data from Coveware Inc., a Westport, Conn.-based cybersecurity firm that tracks data from cases it has handled. Worse …
Read More »BMO Harris Bank Adds Zelle for B2C Payments and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 1/23/20
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 …
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