News

March, 2019

• 27 March

  While It Merges With FIS, Worldpay Looks to Expansion in Australia And New Zealand

  

  Worldpay Inc. may be embroiled in combining its business with that of Fidelity National Information Services Inc., but that isn’t stopping the huge processor from seeking international expansion. Cincinnati-based Worldpay said on Wednesday it will open two new offices in Australia and has obtained a license to acquire card payments …
• 27 March

  Square Lands Nationals Deal and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 3/27/19

  

  Square Inc. said concession sellers at the Washington Nationals’ ballpark will be equipped with the Square Terminal device to process fans’ food-and-drink orders in their seats. Fans will also be able to use Square’s Caviar app to order food from concession stands. The Major League Baseball season starts Thursday. The …
• 27 March

  Cash Discounts And Surcharging Remain the Hot Topic for ISOs

  

  They’ve been the subject of intense debate for several years now, but evidence from the Southeast Acquirers Association annual conference Tuesday shows interest among independent sales organizations in discounts for cash and credit card surcharges is as high as ever. About 800 people attended the Atlanta confab that concluded Wednesday, …
• 26 March

  T-Mobile Enters the Merchant Services Fray With a Branded Reader And TSYS Processing

  

  Merchants will be able to choose merchant services from T-Mobile US Inc. now that the wireless carrier has launched GoPoint, a new product that includes one-price processing and mobile card readers. With processing provided by Total System Services Inc. (TSYS), GoPoint is aimed at small and medium-size businesses. The service …
• 26 March

  Citigroup Building a Payments Unit and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 3/26/19

  

  Citigroup Inc. says its treasury and trade solutions unit is building a capability to allow consumers to make payments to institutions. Payment methods will include cards, e-wallets, and new bank-transfer services such as request to pay and open banking. Chosen Payments said Hudson Software Inc., developer of software for the …
• 25 March

  A Long Apple-Goldman Sachs Effort Yields a Potent New Card, But Questions Linger

  

  Apple Inc. has been working on a payment card product with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. for at least a year, and on Monday the computer company that did much to put mobile payments on the map announced the results of that collaboration. Cobranded with Goldman and running on the Mastercard …
• 25 March

  With Merchant Fees in Sight, a Blockchain-Based Credit Card Promises Lower Acceptance Costs

  

  Thirty-five merchants in the Silicon Valley area are accepting the new Yosemite Card, which caps acceptance fees at 0.3%. The private credit card can do that because it uses blockchain technology to manage transactions. Typical discount rates for network-branded credit cards range from 2% to 3% or more. Palo Alto, …
• 25 March

  COMMENTARY: As Banks Adopt Real-Time Payments, Disconnects Can Trip Them up

  

  By Debra Campbell and Steve Fortson As the banking industry moves toward real-time payments, there are some practical technology considerations that are too often being overlooked, most notably, a growth of fragmented and unstructured connections between the legacy mainframe and the service-oriented architecture (SOA) platforms. Unfortunately, what we are seeing …
• 25 March

  Details on Apple/Goldman Card? And other Digital Transactions News briefs from 3/25/19

  

  Apple Inc. on Monday is expected to make several major announcements, possibly including one regarding a credit card it is reportedly developing with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. that would work with the iPhone and Apple Pay, according to news services. Apple’s iOS 12.2 update will integrate a new wallet app …
• 22 March

  Debit Card Issuers’ Authorization Costs Fell 54% in Eight Years, the Fed Reports

  

  Debit card issuers subject to the Durbin Amendment’s interchange price controls saw their average authorization, clearing, and settlement expense, excluding fraud, fall to 3.6 cents per transaction in 2017, down 54% since 2009, the Fed reported Thursday. The Durbin Amendment to 2010’s Dodd-Frank Act requires the Fed to issue a …