News

February, 2020

• 10 February

  Four Indicted in Equifax Breach and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 2/10/20

  

  The U.S. Department of Justice announced indictments against four members of a unit of China’s People’s Liberation Army with computer fraud, economic espionage, and wire fraud in connection with the 2017 data breach at credit-reporting agency Equifax Inc. that compromised personal data on approximately 145 million Americans. According to the indictment, the defendants exploited …
• 7 February

  Washington’s ‘Vitriolic’ Mood Isn’t Slowing the March of Major Regulation Affecting Payments

  

  There’s plenty of proposed legislation affecting the payments business just now, and casting a long shadow over all of it is the present atmosphere of partisanship. “The mood in Washington is vitriolic, childish. It’s all-out war,” said Scott Talbott, senior vice president of government relations for the Electronic Transactions Association, …
• 7 February

  Nacha Is Building Phixius, a Trusted Conduit for Payment-Related Information

  

  A platform to help ensure payments are made to the proper entity is preparing for a May debut. Dubbed Phixius, the Nacha-developed platform will provide a way to enable the secure sharing of payment-related information. That’s important because the platform, announced this week, could save businesses time in vetting new …
• 7 February

  Brink’s Makes a Significant Investment in MoneyGram

  

  MoneyGram International Inc. is proving adept at attracting diverse investors. Cash-management provider The Brink’s Co. announced Thursday that it has invested $9 million in MoneyGram stock for a 4.95% stake in the company. The Brink’s investment comes in the wake of the $50 million Ripple Labs Inc., developer of the …
• 7 February

  Delay in Clover Park Opening and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 2/7/20

  

  A $57 million renovation at Clover Park in Port St. Lucie, Fla., the spring-training home of the New York Mets recently renamed from First Data Field, won’t be completed by Monday when pitchers and catchers report for preseason workouts, a local newspaper reported. St. Lucie County, which owns the stadium, now hopes …
• 6 February

  Surcharging Is Poised to Gain Momentum As State Bans Fall And Acquirers Spot Opportunities

  

  Surcharges on credit card transactions could pick up momentum now that only four states effectively ban the practice, a panel of experts indicated Wednesday at a merchant-acquiring trade show. That momentum may benefit not only merchants wary of card-acceptance costs but also merchant-service providers that focus on surcharging as a …
• 6 February

  A Hospitality POS Software Developer Becomes an ISO

  

  The hotly competitive arena of integrated payments has prompted PointOS, a hospitality software developer, to register as an independent sales organization to gain better control over payment services it offers. The company, which serves customers, announced its ISO registration this week and calls its service PointOS Payments. “We became an …
• 6 February

  Bitcoin Depot Expands ATM Fleet and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 2/6/20

  

  Bitcoin ATM deployer Bitcoin Depot said its network now includes more than 500 machines worldwide, with more than 100 in the Atlanta area. The company projects it will have more than 1,000 Bitcoin ATMS by the end of 2020.Lael Brainard, a Federal Reserve Board governor, said in a Wednesday speech that the Fed, …
• 5 February

  Eye on Cross-Border Payments: WorldRemit’s Alipay Deal, and Visa Sells an Earthport Unit

  

  Cross-border payments specialist WorldRemit Corp. says a partnership with Alipay, a major Chinese mobile-payment service, will enable consumers to make international remittances to the Alipay mobile app. Announced Wednesday, the service harbors significant potential. Approximately 35 million Chinese citizens live abroad, and they sent home an estimated $67 billion in 2018, …
• 5 February

  Debit Routing Uncertainty Down Under and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 2/5/20

  

  Australian financial regulators might intervene to stop banks from automatically routing contactless debit card payments to the Visa and Mastercard networks and instead give merchants the option of using the country’s EFTPOS network, Reuters reported.RevSpring Financial Services, a provider of collections-support services for health-care firms and other companies, debuted eVokePay, a payment …