Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals
In the race to attract and retain today’s always-on, mobile-savvy consumer, most companies are developing their own e-commerce apps at a fast and furious pace. But small glitches, and even major mishaps, can occur when app testing is rushed or overlooked altogether, leading to unhappy consumers, lost sales, and a …
April, 2019
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26 April
Factors Align for Widespread U.S. Contactless Payments Adoption, A Fed Study Suggests
The conditions for the widespread adoption of contactless payments using chip cards are in place, asserts a new report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. But when that will happen and what will trigger it are unknown in the Fed report, “Tap to Pay: Will Contactless Cards Pave the …
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26 April
As Discover Found Out, Some Cash Rewards Will Bite Harder Than Others
Merchants and card issuers long ago discovered the value of cash in driving transaction volume, but on Thursday Discover Financial Services demonstrated how expensive some rewards categories can be. Discover reported $677 million in discount and interchange revenue for the first quarter, up 5% from the same quarter last year. …
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26 April
Carr Settles SEC Insider-Trading Lawsuit for $251,000
Former Heartland Payment Systems Inc. chief executive Robert O. Carr has agreed to pay a $250,628 civil penalty to settle an insider-trading complaint filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to court documents filed this week. Carr did not admit or deny the SEC’s allegations, according to filings in …
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26 April
Zuckerberg Eyes More Commerce on Social Media Sites and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 4/26/19
Facebook Inc. chief executive Mark Zuckerberg told stock analysts this week that although advertising will continue to be the primary contributor to revenue, the company plans to add more commerce functions on Instagram, Facebook, and Facebook Marketplace, including features that let users buy products directly through the platforms. Instagram has …
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25 April
Nexgo is New ExaDigm Name and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 4/25/19
Point-of-sale equipment maker ExaDigm Inc. changed its name to Nexgo Inc., which is a subsidiary of XGD Group. Bluefin Payment Systems LLC said Convenient Payments LLC, developer of the GovTeller point-of-sale software, will use Bluefin’s encryption services. Shift4 Payments released its RESTful application programming interface for its integration partners. A …
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25 April
Acquirers Becoming Issuers: The Evolution of Merchant Services
Until recently, Merchant Acquiring and Card Issuing processes were at different ends of the spectrum. However, ingenuity, competitive pricing for merchant services, and an opportunity to better serve the growing number of new businesses are resulting in a confluence of acquiring and issuing in the payments industry. Acquirers are now …
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24 April
Venmo Has More Than 40 Million Users, But It Remains a Tough Margin Puzzle for PayPal
There’s much more to PayPal Holdings Inc. than Venmo, but that’s where the payments industry’s spotlight has shone in recent months. So on Wednesday, PayPal for the first time revealed how many active users its peer-to-peer transfer service has: 40 million plus. Venmo users rang up $21 billion in volume …
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24 April
Visa’s OK With Pending Mega-Mergers in the U.S. Payments Industry
The pending acquisitions of two leading merchant processors by two leading core financial-institution processors are a “good thing,” Visa Inc. chief executive Alfred F. Kelly Jr. said Wednesday. “We’ve got very good relationships and a lot of history with all four of these players,” according to Kelly. His comments came …
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24 April
Zelle Posts $39 billion in P2P Payments on a 72% Transaction Increase
The bank-sponsored Zelle person-to-person payment service continued on its growth trajectory in the first quarter, with transaction volume up more than 70% and payment volume rising more than 50%. Zelle provider Early Warning Services LLC reported Wednesday that first-quarter payment volume hit $39 billion, a 54% increase from just over …
