News

March, 2021

• 15 March

  Debit Use And Contactless Payments Are up After a Year of Covid, PSCU Notes

  

  Debit is the most preferred payment option among consumers and contactless payments have doubled in the year since the declaration of the Covid-19 pandemic. That’s the assessment from the “Tracking Transaction Trends” report for the week ending March 7 from PSCU, a credit union service organization. Debit card spend for …
• 15 March

  COMMENTARY: To the New Congress: Beware of the Durbin Amendment’s Failures

  

  With the Covid-19 pandemic still imposing a huge financial weight on the nation’s small businesses and families, many legislators are understandably eager to pursue policies they feel will ease that burden. But lawmakers must be careful that they are looking at policies that really will help. Unfortunately, some sectors—in this …
• 15 March

  ParkMobile Expands in Memphis and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 3/15/21

  

  Parking-app provider ParkMobile LLC announced an agreement with the city government in Memphis, Tenn., and with parking-lot manager Premium Parking to offer mobile payments for parking on several city blocks in commercial districts, expanding ParkMobile’s presence in the city. Earlier this month, European parking-technology firm EasyPark Group announced its plan to acquire …
• 12 March

  A Deal for Vend Helps an Acquisitive Lightspeed Bulk up As Covid Restrictions Ease

  

  Canadian processor Lightspeed POS Inc. announced Friday it has entered into an agreement to acquire Vend Ltd., a New Zealand-based provider of cloud-based retail management software. The cash and stock deal is valued at $350 million. Lightspeed will pay $192.5 million in cash and issue subordinate voting shares in the …
• 12 March

  Flywire Tenders SEC Filing for Possible IPO and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 3/12/21

  

  Payments provider Flywire Corp. has submitted a draft registration statement on Form S-1 to the Securities and Exchange Commission in support of a proposed initial public offering.The Children of Restaurant Employees nonprofit is meeting pandemic claims from displaced restaurant workers via grant disbursements on gift cards from Blackhawk Network. Prepaid and gift card …
• 11 March

  The Architect of Debit Price Caps Attacks Visa And Mastercard for Planned Credit Card Hikes

  

  The U.S. Senator who gave his name nearly a decade ago to a law that caps debit card interchange made it plain Thursday he now has the rates merchants pay for credit card acceptance squarely in his sights. Commenting during a meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which he heads, …
• 11 March

  A Rollout in Brazil Is Part of MagicCube’s Push for Card Acceptance on Ordinary Phones

  

  As part of its drive to turn off-the-shelf mobile devices into secure point-of-sale terminals using software as opposed to a dongle, MagicCube Inc. announced Thursday that its i-Accept application has expanded to Brazil. Acquiring banks and financial-technology service providers in Brazil can now enable merchants and retailers to accept contactless …
• 11 March

  Exploding Online Business Helps Fuel ‘Strongest Growth’ in Nuvei’s History

  

  With the first anniversary of the coronavirus crisis having been reached in the United States, payments processors are reporting strong results as consumers shift to e-commerce, many for the first time. The latest is Nuvei Corp., which on Wednesday reported fourth-quarter results that reflected what the 18-year-old processor called “the …
• 11 March

  Galileo Opens LatAm Office and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 3/11/21

  

  Payment-technology provider Galileo Financial Technologies opened its Latin American headquarters in Mexico City, the company’s first office outside the United States. Galileo is a unit of Social Finance.NTT Data Corp. launched Platea Banking, a digital-banking platform aimed at helping financial institutions modernize back offices to support open banking.Payment gateway Exact Payments LLC appointed Ravi Rajamiyer …
• 10 March

  MerchantE Teams With UnionPay to Boost UnionPay Approval Rates in the U.S.

  

  By linking directly to UnionPay’s SecurePlus two-factor authentication application, digital-commerce platform provider Merchant e-Solutions Inc. expects to significantly reduce decline rates for UnionPay debit card transactions in the United States.  Decline rates are an especially nettlesome issue for UnionPay debit card holders, who account for about 60% of UnionPay’s 9 …