Issuing/Originating

The payments industry is heading into the new year with a significant question mark hanging over its head: What does it mean that the massive social network X is apparently planning to launch a payments network? Little is known so far about the initiative. A New Year’s Eve post on …

Meta Platform’s WhatsApp payments service has been permitted by the National Payments Corp. of India, a regulatory body, to roll out WhatsApp Pay to its entire user base of 500 million in that country. Meta formerly was known as Facebook. GasBuddy, which offers a payments card featuring discounts on gasoline, forecasts the …

A startup called iWallet announced technology it says supports voice-based ordering using artificial intelligence, while also being compliant with the Payment Card Industry data-security standard. Bitget Wallet, a cryptocurrency platform, said it has surpassed 60 million users globally, achieving a 300% growth rate in user count for 2024. Janover Inc., a commercial …

The Merchants Payments Coalition fired back late Monday at a request last week from the American Bankers Association that the Federal Reserve not act on a proposal to lower a longstanding limit on the interchange banks can earn on debit card transactions.  In a letter to the Fed, the MPC …

United States District Court Judge Virginia Kendell granted a preliminary injunction late Friday that provides banks some relief from the pending Illinois Interchange Fee Prohibition Act, but also gives merchants reason to cheer. Kendell, who is overseeing a lawsuit filed against the IIFPA, ruled the injunction applies only to financial …

WooCommerce is making Affirm Holdings Inc. its default buy now, pay later payment option, the e-commerce platform provider announced early Thursday. WooCommerce has offered Affirm as a payment option since 2015. In 2022, WooCommerce began offering Affirm to its merchants in Canada.  As part of the deal, eligible merchants will …

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau early Friday said it has sued Early Warning Services LLC as well as Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo, alleging the Zelle person-to-person payments network failed to protect consumers against fraud. The banks are three of the seven financial institutions that own Early …

Capital One Financial Corp.’s proposal to acquire Discover Financial Services for $35.3-billion, announced in February, has been approved by the Office of the Delaware State Bank Commissioner. The proposal includes Discover Bank. Shareholders in both companies are set to vote on the transaction Feb. 18, 2025. Visa Inc. has closed on its offer to acquire …

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau early Wednesday released a circular to law-enforcement agencies warning that operators of credit card rewards may be violating a prohibition against unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices by devaluing earned credit card points and airline miles. The CFPB issued the circular in part due …

Department-store chain Bealls Inc. is adding buy now, pay later as a payment option at its more than 650 stores nationwide. The provider is Minneapolis-based Sezzle Inc. The Bradenton, Fla.-based chain, which operates stores in 23 states, says it is adding the payment option to provide holiday shoppers more flexibility …