Digital Currency

Observers who wondered not long ago whether Bitcoin was too valuable to be a payment method may now be wondering whether it’s too volatile. The cryptocurrency has soared all year, reaching a peak near $7,800 only six days ago, but then it crashed hard, shedding about $2,000 in value by …

The U.S. payments community woke up Thursday morning to find Bitcoin setting yet another record, this time breaching the $7,000 level less than two weeks after soaring past $6,000. By mid-morning Central Time, the price stood at $7,132, according to Coindesk. The cryptocurrency is testing new highs in the wake …

Mastercard Inc. enjoyed a strong third quarter, and Tuesday morning its top executive was not shy about celebrating some of the trends that he expects will further lift results for the world’s second-largest payment card network. These include recent acquisitions, a global partnership with PayPal Holdings Inc., and budding developments …

Payments company PayTrace Inc. launched a browser-based EMV-acceptance service that uses an Ingenico Group EMV card reader and processing from Total System Services Inc. (TSYS). WaveCrest, an issuer of prepaid cards used to pay fleet drivers and reimburse workers, said it has introduced EMV chips on its cards issued in …

Money transfers took a step toward app-based processing on Monday with news that BBVA is launching a service that will let persons in the United States use their smart phones to send money to recipients in Mexico. Later, the service will expand to the Caribbean and the rest of Latin …

International Business Machines Corp. on Monday announced a new service for financial institutions that uses blockchain technology to reduce settlement times and lower transaction costs. IBM is offering the service with Stellar.org., a Silicon Valley-based non-profit that runs the open-source Stellar blockchain network to bring low-cost financial services to low-income …

The Supreme Court agreed to hear a controversial antitrust case in which American Express Co. is defending its anti-steering rules for merchants against challenges from 11 states led by Ohio, Reuters reported. Payments provider TransCard Payments LLC announced a partnership with ExpenseAnywhere, an accounts-payable software developer. Travel Centers of America …

The Federal Reserve released the names of 27 payments-industry executives who will serve on a work group focused on developing a governance framework for faster payments in the United States. Fifty-five percent of U.S. credit and debit card spend is now on chip cards and 96% of the top 200 …

Bitcoin’s remarkable ride continued early Thursday as the world’s most valuable digital currency broke through the $5,000 level and reached an all-time high price just over $5,200, according to Coinmarketcap.com. Bitcoin had been flirting with the $5,000 barrier for weeks, and indeed briefly broke through it early in September on some …

With Bitcoin trading at $4,300 and Ethereum at $300, most of the attention in the payments world has been on the cryptocurrencies’ value as an investment rather than as a payment method. Now, a year-old Toronto-based startup hopes to change that by enabling contactless point-of-sale transactions using Ether, the Ethereum …