If Square Inc. has made one thing clear in recent months, it’s that the company is determined to tie together two worlds most payments companies see as distinct: consumers on the one hand, and merchants on the other. That strategy took another step forward last month with Square’s announcement that …
November, 2019
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6 November
Having Absorbed First Data, Fiserv Looks To Cut Costs While Staying Competitive
Top executives of the newly combined Fiserv Inc.-First Data Corp. say they can save more than $1.1 billion in annual costs while still developing competitive new products and markets for their bank and merchant clients. “The power of this new company has far greater reach than I imagined when we …
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6 November
Phishing Attacks Are Booming Even as They Are Getting Harder to Detect
Fueled by such scams as business email compromise, phishing frauds are staging a dramatic comeback. The total number of attacks reached 266,387 in the third quarter, according to the latest report from the Anti-Phishing Working Group, a security-industry organization that tracks the crime. That’s the highest level of phishing activity …
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6 November
20 European Banks Challenging Card Networks and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 11/6/19
Twenty European banks are working on setting up a pan-European payment system to challenge Visa, Mastercard and technology companies such as Google and PayPal, according to press reports. The project is code-named PEPSI, for Pan European Payment System Initiative.In a development that signals an opening in China’s long-protected payments environment, Chinese mobile-payment giants …
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5 November
Grocer Save A Lot Adds In-Store Cash Acceptance for Amazon PayCode Purchases
Consumers that want to pay cash for their Amazon.com Inc. purchases now have another option in the St. Louis area. Save A Lot launched the ability for consumers to use Amazon PayCode, the e-retailer’s cash-payment service, at several Save A Lot locations in the grocer’s hometown. It expects to expand …
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5 November
With A Big Worldpay Integration on Its Plate, FIS Is Likely to Look to ‘Tuck-in’ Deals, CEO Says
Having just swallowed the massive processor Worldpay Inc., Fidelity National Information Services Inc. will stay on the sidelines for a while when it comes to any more major acquisitions, its chief executive said Tuesday. Meanwhile, the combined company’s update indicated it is now on track to deliver more than $1 …
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5 November
Fairness Hearing Coming Up in the Massive Credit Card Interchange Court Case
A federal judge is scheduled to hear arguments Thursday on whether a proposed settlement worth up to $6.24 billion in damages to card-accepting merchants is fair. The hearing in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, N.Y., is expected to draw a roomful of lawyers for defendants Visa Inc., Mastercard Inc. and …
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5 November
Investor Targets USAT and other Digital Transactions New briefs from 11/5/19
USA Technologies Inc. issued a statement opposing a move by Hudson Executive Capital LP, the vending-machine payments provider’s largest shareholder, to gain control of the company in the wake of long-running accounting problems that were recently resolved. Hudson’s plan includes the nomination of eight director candidates for election at the company’s next annual meeting. …
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4 November
Consumer Loyalty to Using Credit Cards May Be Swayed by Digital Alternatives
Digital wallets and other forms of digitized payments may be poised to take over the most-favored position for some consumers. Sixty-six percent of consumers, if offered rewards, discounts, and cash-back incentives similar to those offered by credit cards, would switch to alternative ways to pay, finds the 2019 edition of …
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4 November
In Its Latest Gambit, Samsung Pay Enlists Curve’s All-in-One Card App
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. has been seeking lately to differentiate its 4-year-old Samsung Pay mobile payments service, and on Monday came its latest gambit: an integration with Curve 1 LTD, a London-based startup that allows cardholders to consolidate all of their Mastercard and Visa cards into a single card or …