News

October, 2018

• 15 October

  Dear Diary: Why Did Payment Transactions Decline in October 2017?

  

  Unless you’re talking about check-writing or cash usage, just about every measure of transactions and volumes in payments is up, up, up these days. But a new study from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta says consumers actually made fewer payments in October 2017 than they did a year earlier. …
• 12 October

  Eye on Transactions: Strong Consumer Spending Lifts Payment Cards at Chase, Citi, and Wells

  

  With the economy still humming along, three of the nation’s biggest banks on Friday reported healthy increases in third-quarter payment card purchase volumes. JPMorgan Chase & Co., owner of the nation’s biggest bank-run merchant acquirer, posted $343.8 billion in merchant-processing volume, a 14% increase from $301.6 billion in 2017’s third …
• 12 October

  Shopify Tries a Store Strategy and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 10/12/18

  

  E-commerce processor Shopify Inc. opened its first brick-and-mortar “entrepreneur space” in downtown Los Angeles. The site will provide in-person support, training, and education to Shopify merchants, and the company’s suite of retail hardware products will be available. Shopify says it has 10,000 merchants in L.A. and 80,000 in California. Cybersecurity …
• 11 October

  PayPal, in a Tie-Up With Walmart, Adds In-Store Cash Access

  

  Consumers with PayPal accounts will be able to withdraw cash from, and deposit cash into, these accounts at participating U.S. Walmart Inc. locations, Walmart announced Thursday. The deal means PayPal accountholders will pay $3 per cash-in and cash-out transaction. San Jose, Calif.-based PayPal says this is the first time its …
• 11 October

  Mitek Rejects Takeover Offer and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 10/11/18

  

  Sarah Friar, chief financial officer of merchant processor Square Inc., will leave the company in December after six years to become chief executive of Nextdoor, developer of a private social-network app for neighborhoods. David Viniar, Square’s lead independent director, will lead the search for a new CFO. Square’s stock fell …
• 10 October

  A Real-Time Bill-Payment Service From Mastercard Could Lure Biller-Direct Fans

  

  After years of planning and deliberation, the payments industry is starting to announce services based on real-time processing. One of the first is Mastercard Inc., which on Wednesday unveiled a system that will allow consumers to view bills and then transfer funds to the billers within seconds. Experts see an …
• 10 October

  ATM Surcharges Rise Again, but Foreign Fees Ease

  

  The average ATM surcharge increased this year for the 14th year in a row, but ATM foreign fees eased a bit, according to Bankrate Inc.’s latest annual study of ATM and checking account fees. New York City-based Bankrate says the average surcharge is now $3.02, up 5 cents, or 1.7%, …
• 10 October

  ATM Surcharges Increase and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 10/10/18

  

  Fiserv Inc. said it connected more than 100 banks and credit unions so far to the Zelle peer-to-peer payments network. The institutions are now live or will be going live soon, the company said. The average surcharge assessed by the ATM owner for an out-of-network transaction rose for the 14th …
• 9 October

  COMMENTARY: Millennials, Check-Fraud Scams, and Three Practical Solutions: Part II

  

  Check scams come in many forms. It could start with someone offering to buy something you advertised in the newspaper, on Craigslist, or eBay. Or someone could offer to pay you to do work at home, give you an “advance” on a sweepstake you’ve supposedly won, or pay the first …
• 9 October

  Forecast Has a Sunny Outlook for Merchant Acquirers’ Holiday E-Commerce Volumes

  

  Online-commerce analytics firm eMarketer Inc. is out with its 2018 holiday spending forecast, and it has some encouraging news for merchant acquirers, especially those in the e-commerce and mobile-commerce space. New York City-based eMarketer’s “Holiday Shopping 2018: A Strong Economy Sets the Stage for a Spending Surge” report predicts total …