Law and Regulation

The Department of Finance Canada on Thursday issued its latest merchant-friendly announcement regarding payment cards, this one disclosing agreements with Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. for an average 10-basis-point reduction in credit card interchange for small and mid-size businesses to take effect in 2020. The department also said American Express …

Financial technology firms, many of which command significant positions in the payments business, can now apply to become national banks. Moving on a proposal it’s had under consideration for months, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced on Tuesday it will begin accepting bank-charter applications from fintech firms. …

The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil lawsuit Tuesday accusing former Heartland Payment Systems Inc. chief executive Robert O. Carr and his girlfriend, Katherine M. Hanratty, with insider trading in connection with Heartland’s sale to Global Payments Inc. in April 2016.  The lawsuit pending in U.S. District Court in Bridgeport, …

The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a federal civil lawsuit Tuesday accusing former Heartland Payment Systems Inc. CEO Robert O. Carr and his girlfriend, Katherine M. Hanratty, with insider trading. Carr allegedly tipped Hanratty ahead of the December 2015 public announcement that Global Payments Inc. planned to acquire Heartland, and …

Square Inc. may be planning to re-file its application for deposit insurance with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., but that isn’t stopping its main opponent from celebrating the fact that the company has withdrawn its original application—at least for now. “We can call it a victory,” Chris Cole, executive vice …

In a finding that resolves differing decisions by lower courts, the United Kingdom Court of Appeal ruled in favor of retailers challenging interchange fees set by Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. as anti-competitive, Bloomberg reported. The case, however, now goes to a tribunal that reviews business-competition disputes. Payments provider Century Business …

Mobile-commerce technology provider Shopgate Inc. said it has joined the Shopfiy Plus Technology Partner Program, which will allow Shopify Plus merchants to access Shopgate’s mobile-app platform. The installed base of mobile point-of-sale devices in the United States will grow to 27.7 million by 2021, compared to 3.2 million in 2014, …

A massive, 13-year-old legal case pitting merchants against the bank card networks and big issuers over credit card interchange could be nearing a settlement, according to regulatory filings and press reports. Mastercard disclosed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Thursday that negotiations among the parties are moving along and …

Equifax Inc. disclosed Wednesday that it has entered into a consent order with eight states that requires it to improve its data-protection practices in the wake of the huge data breach last year at the national credit-reporting agency. The breach compromised personal data on approximately 148 million consumers, including Social …

With its Monday decision upholding American Express Co.’s anti-steering rules, the U.S. Supreme Court unleashed a tide of press speculation about just how payment card pricing, rewards, and network rules will be affected. At this point, however, only a few things are clear. The first is that AmEx chief executive …