Fiserv Inc. and First Data Corp. argue their proposed $22 billion combination will usher in a processing behemoth that should create substantial operating efficiencies and economies of scale. And so far, investors are buying that story. Shares of both companies are up by double-digit percentages since the Jan. 16 announcement …
February, 2019
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1 February
Elavon Plans To Hire 500 More Employees and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 2/1/19
Elavon, the Atlanta-based merchant-acquiring subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp, says it plans to hire approximately 500 employees globally over the next three years. Elavon currently employs more than 730 people in Atlanta and more than 4,500 worldwide. BlockChyp Inc., a payment software and gateway provider, said it completed Level 3 certification …
January, 2019
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30 January
Visa Eyes More Contactless Cards And More Volume From Visa Direct
Visa Inc. saw payment volume growth of nearly 11% in the quarter ended Dec. 31, and sees ever-more contactless cards and volume on its Visa Direct real-time payments service in its future. Visa on Wednesday reported a respectable first quarter of fiscal 2019, according to its chief executive, despite the …
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30 January
PayPal Chalks up a Big Quarter As It Decouples From eBay And Ratchets up Venmo
In reporting its performance for the fourth quarter of 2018 as well as the full year, PayPal Holdings Inc. indicated its dependence on former owner eBay Inc. is down, Venmo monetization is up, and active accounts are surging. Meanwhile, the San Jose, Calif.-based company said it is entering a potentially …
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30 January
Apple Pay Volume Exceeds 1.8 Billion and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 1/30/19
Apple Pay processed more than 1.8 billion transactions in fiscal 2019’s first quarter ended Dec. 31, “well over twice the volume” of the year-earlier quarter, Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook told analysts late Tuesday, according to a SeekingAlpha.com call transcript. Apple Pay is now live in 27 countries, most recently …
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29 January
TSYS Sets ‘Aggressive Goals’ for Vital But Predicts ‘Headwinds’ From the CFPB’s Prepaid Rule
Top executives at Total System Services Inc. on Tuesday predicted big results from the Columbus, Ga.-based processor’s new Vital line of point-of-sale payment devices but also warned the onset of a massive federal regulation this spring will crimp prepaid card revenues in 2019. They also assured analysts on a conference …
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29 January
Square Faces Slower Growth Prospects, Analyst Says
Square Inc.’s share price slid 10% Tuesday in the wake of an analyst’s report saying growth for the high-flying merchant processor is becoming tougher. Square’s organic growth probably peaked in 2018’s third quarter and growth in subscriptions and services will slow in 2019’s second quarter as recent acquisitions are absorbed, …
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25 January
Mastercard Aces Out Visa in Sudden Bidding War for B2B Processor Earthport
In a rare public bidding war pitting the two leading payment card networks against each other, British business-to-business payment processor Earthport Plc’s board of directors on Friday recommended that its shareholders accept Mastercard Inc.’s all-cash buyout offer, which is 10% higher than Visa Inc.’s offer the board endorsed less than …
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25 January
Discover Reports 4Q Results and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 1/25/19
Discover Financial Services said its payments services operation, which includes network partners, Diners Club International, and the Pulse electronic-funds transfer network, processed $60.5 billion in total volume in the fourth quarter, a 12% increase year-over-year. Volume on Pulse jumped 11% to $47.1 billion owing to new issuers as well as …
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24 January
TNS Buys R2G Services and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 1/24/19
Data-communications provider Transaction Network Services acquired R2G Services, a Chicago-based provider of a market-data and managed-hosting platform; terms were not disclosed. Payment processor Repay Holdings LLC, which private-equity firm Corsair Capital acquired in 2016, said it has a definitive merger agreement with Thunder Bridge Acquisition Ltd., a special-purpose acquisition firm …
