Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals
• Prepaid card provider Green Dot Corp. appointed William I. Jacobs, who joined its board of directors in April, as board chairman. The chairman spot had been held by CEO Steve Streit, but the company, which recently had a proxy fight, is separating the roles. Jacobs currently is chairman of …
June, 2016
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24 June
The Stop-and-Start State of Virtual-Currency Regulation
Regulation of virtual currency at the state level is proving to be a stop-and-start affair. No other state has yet followed New York with its now famous “BitLicense” to regulate virtual currencies under existing law. But in North Carolina, a bill to update the state’s money-transmitter act could become …
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24 June
As Signature EMV Draws Merchants’ Ire, Industry Opinion May Be on Their Side
Merchants, in their argument for PIN rather than signature authentication for EMV chip card transactions, may have industry opinion on their side. According to an informal poll conducted this week by Digital Transactions News, two-thirds of readers agree that the merchants suing the card networks over the issue have a …
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24 June
Brexit Vote Bashes U.S. Payments Companies; Long-Term Effects Unclear
Shares of U.S. payments companies fell even farther than the general market Friday as the world absorbed the news from Thursday’s stunning “Brexit” vote in the United Kingdom in which British voters signaled they want to leave the European Union. Whether today’s market carnage is a sign of future long-term …
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24 June
Durbin Amendment Repeal Proposal Flare Up and other Digital Transactions News briefs
• The Merchants Payments Coalition, a Washington, D.C., lobbying group, released a new statement decrying what it calls a “poison pill” provision embedded in a bill proposed earlier this month by U.S. Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, to reform the 2010 Dodd Frank Act. The provision would repeal the debit-interchange curbs …
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23 June
Circle Lands a $60 Million Investment As It Eyes Expansion Into China And Europe
Digital-currency specialist Circle Internet Financial Ltd. is expanding into China following a $60 million investment from a syndicate of investors. This follows a $50 million funding round raised last year by the Boston-based company. Circle enables users to send and receive funds instantly at no charge using blockchain technology. A …
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23 June
Eye on EMV: Chip Card Counts Grows by 1.4 Billion; Discover Streamlines EMV Processes
With the U.S. EMV transition just getting into high gear, the number of EMV chip cards worldwide increased last year by 1.4 billion, or 41%, the EMVCo standards body reported Thursday. Meanwhile, Discover Financial Services joined the other three U.S. general-purpose payment card networks in taking steps to speed up …
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23 June
Banks Cash in on Visa Europe Deal and other Digital Transactions News briefs
• Wal-Mart Stores Inc. launched Walmart Pay in 11 states: Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa, Tennessee, Kentucky, Michigan, and Indiana. • Citing volatile exchange rates for the British pound, some money-transfer companies are temporarily suspending pound transfers until after results of today’s “Brexit” vote on …
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22 June
COMMENTARY: Helping Banks Deliver a U.S. Real-Time Payments Scheme
Real-time payments have existed in various models for a long time. In fact, they’re probably most familiar to consumers as card payments, something that has been embedded in consumer culture for decades. However, in the United States, the development of real-time payments has lagged behind some areas of the world, a …
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22 June
Microsoft Introduces a Windows 10-Based Mobile Wallet With NFC Capability
Microsoft Corp. on Tuesday joined the mobile-payments race in earnest by announcing it is making near-field communication capability available on Microsoft Wallet for in-store transactions. The wallet works with Microsoft’s Windows 10 operating system. The new payments feature is limited for now to members of Microsoft’s Windows Insiders program “in …