Law and Regulation

Despite a spike in ransomware attacks, fewer companies are paying ransom demands to free their data. A report from ransomware-remediation firm, Coveware Inc. reveals that just 28% of companies hit by a ransomware attack during the first quarter of 2024 paid, a record low. The trend comes as ransomware attacks …

The European Commission’s antitrust regulators are likely to approve, perhaps as early as next month, proposals from Apple Inc. that would open the iPhone’s NFC capability to wallets that rival Apple Pay, Reuters has reported. If accepted by the regulator, the proposals would end a four-year inquiry that otherwise could have led …

(Editor’s note: This is Part II of a two-part article. Part I appeared Thursday.) Interchange fees paid by merchants are the credit card industry’s second-largest revenue source. For debit cards and neobanks, these fees are a primary revenue source. The 2010 Dodd-Frank Act imposed price controls on debit interchange fees …

As restaurants turn to surcharging and dynamic pricing to offset rising operating costs, consumer backlash is raising concerns the practice could negatively affect customer loyalty and ultimately, restaurant profits. The backlash comes hard on the heels of the Electronic Payments Coalition’s attacks on restaurant surcharges and other price increases. The …

A trade group representing card networks and issuers is taking aim at restaurant surcharges and price increases by large grocers as part of its efforts to defeat the Credit Card Competition Act. The Electronic Payments Coalition’s first salvo in its new campaign against the CCCA was fired last week. In …

PayIt, a government-services platform and embedded-payments provider, has expanded its relationship with the Ohio Division of Wildlife to provide a digital-licensing system for hunters and fishermen. The deal is expected to offer a better process for online purchases and provide the agency’s staff with insights and tools to improve user …

Airwallex launched in Canada what it calls its Borderless Visa Card, a virtual card Canadian business travelers can use for payments where Visa is accepted globally. Peoples Trust Co. is the issuer. Payments provider Talus Pay announced it is rebranding as simply Talus, while its recently acquired Jobox.ai unit will take on the …

Merchants and credit and debit card issuers have controlled the bulk of the narrative, pro and con, about the proposed Credit Card Competition Act since the legislation was reintroduced last year. But now a recent poll from Independent Community Bankers of America says that most consumers feel they would not …

The wild—and somewhat unpredictable—swings in value that beset digital currencies have begun to lead major payments players to consider a promising alternative: stablecoins, so named precisely because their values are pegged to a national currency, such as the U.S. dollar. Early on Thursday, PayPal Holdings Inc. and Ripple Labs Inc. …

Nuvei Corp. announced early Tuesday it has entered into a definitive agreement with private-equity firm Advent International to be taken private in an all-cash deal valued at $6.3 billion. The deal comes less than a month after the Montreal-based processor announced it was fielding offers to take the company private. …