Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals
Merchant processor Optimal Payments Plc announced it has changed its name to Paysafe Group Plc. The move reflects the company’s direction following the closing of its Skrill acquisition in August. The deal bolstered the company’s stake in digital wallets. “This was a major milestone for the company, and although we …
November, 2015
-
9 November
With Holidays Nearing, EGift Cards Are Likely To Be More Popular Than Ever
By John Stewart As the holidays approach, retailers and banks can expect to sell more electronic gift cards than ever, if research released Monday by Bankrate.com is any indication. The survey, which covers 60 general-purpose and proprietary gift cards, shows two-thirds are available as e-cards, up from 59% last year. …
-
8 November
Square Will Soon Exit the Ranks of Unicorns, But Those Ranks Are Fast Expanding
Square Inc.’s official filing to go public means it will soon exit an exclusive club that’s becoming less exclusive by the month: the so-called unicorns, or privately held companies that are worth $1 billion or more. There are 143 such companies now, up from 123 in early August. Indeed, more …
-
6 November
After a Year in the Dumps, Bitcoin’s Price Stages a Rally As Usage Steadily Climbs
After languishing in the $200s most of the year, the price of the Bitcoin digital currency rallied this week, briefly flirting with the $500 level on some exchanges before settling in the high $300s by Friday morning. At the same time, Bitcoin usage, though still relatively rare, is steadily rising. …
-
6 November
Square Looks To Raise Up to $333 Million as IPO Gets Closer
Square Inc. on Friday set a price range for its planned initial public offering of stock in which the high end could generate about $333 million for the merchant processor. Square filed an amended registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission stating that it plans to sell 25.65 million …
-
5 November
Despite Rise of Online And Mobile Methods, Cash And Checks Rule in P2P Payments
When it comes to payments between individuals, cash and checks are still wildly popular, even among Millennials, despite years of penetration by online and mobile methods. Indeed, 71% of consumers made at least one person-to-person payment with cash last year, and 56% did so with a check, according to a …
-
5 November
Green Dot Continues Clawing Back From Its MoneyPak Closure
Prepaid card issuer and services provider Green Dot Corp. on Thursday said it is over the hump of business lost when it closed its popular MoneyPak reload product early this year. MoneyPak was a long-established product that Pasadena, Calif.-based Green Dot sold in stores to enable the reloading of prepaid …
-
4 November
Many Financial Institutions Still Testing the Waters With Mobile Remote Deposit Capture
Technology enabling consumers to deposit checks by snapping pictures of them on their smart phones and uploading the images through their mobile-banking apps has been around for more than five years, but mobile remote deposit capture very much remains a new product for many banks. An April-May survey by Alpharetta, …
-
4 November
Visa And MasterCard Remain Top Dogs in Global Acceptance, But China Is Rising Fast
Just as Visa Inc. prepares to swallow up the 38-country Visa Europe system, at least one market researcher has released a report expressing some doubt about how long Visa and its bank card rival, MasterCard Inc., will be able to maintain their share of card-accepting merchants around the world. On …
-
3 November
As Real Time Hits Prime Time, Early Warning And Fiserv Target Bill Payments, Deposits
The Federal Reserve may be shepherding a nationwide effort to bring real-time payments to the United States, but that doesn’t mean payments companies are marking time while that process unfolds. The latest development is Tuesday’s announcement that bank processor Fiserv Inc. will work with risk manager Early Warning Services LLC …