News

October, 2018

• 16 October

  Eye on Crypto: Jeweler Adds Crypto Acceptance; Many Consumers Want Investment Option

  

  Marks Jewelers is the latest merchant to begin accepting digital currencies, including Bitcoin and Litecoin. Announced Tuesday by e-commerce platform Shopping Cart Elite, which is supplying the enabling acceptance technology, the move means the Montgomeryville, Pa.-based jeweler also accepts Bitcoin Diamond, Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin Gold, Dash, Ethereum, and Zcoin for …
• 16 October

  Tru Shop-by-Payment Launches and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 10/16/18

  

  Payments-networking provider Transaction Network Services has agreed to acquire Advam, an Australian provider of unattended and e-commerce payments processing. Terms were not disclosed. E-commerce technology provider tru Payments LLC launched tru Shop-by-Payment, a cloud-based service that lets consumers shop for a new car and auto financing at the same time. Bill-payment specialist …
• 15 October

  Eye on P2P: Venmo Jacks up Its Fee for Instant Transfers; BofA Touts Zelle Results

  

  In the hotly contested market for person-to-person transactions, PayPal Holdings Inc.’s Venmo unit has rarely made a misstep. But over the weekend the popular service said it will raise its fee from 25 cents to 1% for so-called instant transfers users make to move money from their Venmo account to …
• 15 October

  BitPay Adds Cryptocurrency Settlement Options and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 10/15/18

  

  American Express Co. said it is using the Ethoca Eliminator service from chargeback-mitigation specialist Ethoca, which can help prevent disputes for U.S. merchants by providing more detailed transaction information in real time to AmEx card users when they spot an unrecognized charge. Blockchain-payments provider BitPay said merchants now can receive their …
• 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 …