Issuing/Originating

Payments provider Priority Technology Holdings Inc. announced it has entered into a so-called stalking-horse agreement to bid on the assets of Plastiq Inc., an 11-year-old payments provider that has entered Chapter 11 restructuring. Terms of the bid were not disclosed. Freshmart, a Puerto Rico-based grocer with seven stores, said it has chosen eGrowcery to …

Citizens Bank has launched the Private Client World Elite Mastercard, which uses tactile notches on the side of the card to help visually impaired consumers determine the type of card they are using—credit, debit or prepaid—by touch alone. The card features different types of notches to distinguish the card type …

U.S. investment managers have grown bullish about Bitcoin’s prospects despite recent events that have roiled digital-currency markets, research released Wednesday indicates. Feeding the renewed optimism are prospects for “improved regulation” and expectations of a “recovery in valuations” for Bitcoin, according to the research, in which 30 major investment managers were …

Amazon.com Inc. is adding another feature to its Amazon One palm-based identity service, and Chinese site WeChat has brought palm recognition to cameras used for facial recognition. Amazon One has added an age-verification component, Amazon said in a blog post. Launched in 2020, the technology recently expanded beyond Amazon properties …

As part of a settlement with Citizens Bank, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is requiring the bank to pay a $9-million civil money penalty for its alleged failure to “properly manage and respond to customers’ credit card disputes and fraud claims.” The agreement is subject to approval by the court. UATP, a …

PayPal Holdings Inc. announced early Monday it is launching a version of its Venmo peer-to-peer payment service tailored for teenagers. With the new program, parents holding a Venmo account can open one for a child aged 13 to 17 that will include a Mastercard debit card. Parents can exercise control …

Small businesses in Canada will reap lower interchange rates in that country, the Department of Finance Canada announced Thursday. The deal suggests a similar reduction is possible in the United States, the Merchant Payments Coalition quickly responded. Both Mastercard Inc. and Visa Inc. agreed to lower the domestic consumer credit …

Marathon Digital Holdings Inc., a digital-asset company that supports the Bitcoin ecosystem, is teaming up with Brink Technology to raise $1 million to support Bitcoin Core developers that maintain the Bitcoin protocol. Brink Technology works to strengthen the Bitcoin protocol and network. The Bitcoin protocol enables Bitcoin to function as …

Blockchain company Ripple unveiled its Ripple CBDC Platform, technology supporting central banks, governments, and financial institutions in issuing central bank digital currencies. More than 90% of the world’s countries are at some stage of development toward a CBDC, according to the Atlantic Council. Matera, a U.S.-based instant payment and QR code technology …

Sezzle is fine-tuning the buy now, pay later experience with the debut of its Pay-in-2 product. Just as its name suggests, the new product splits transactions into two payments, which can help expand BNPL to new categories, such as grocery, monthly subscriptions, and other high-frequency categories, Sezzle says. Consumers choosing …