Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals
The Electronic Transactions Association, the national merchant-acquiring trade group, is ramping up its presence on Capitol Hill to stem the increasing regulation of the payments industry. The Washington, D.C.-based ETA recently spawned the creation of so-called payments caucuses in both the Senate and House of Representatives, chief executive Jason Oxman …
July, 2015
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17 July
MWAA Wrapup: Where ISOs Should Butter Their Bread; The Fed on Faster Payments
The annual MidWest Acquirers Conference concluded Thursday in Chicago with a series of sessions addressing several hot-button payments issues. Here’s a rundown of the more salient remarks: —Whither the independent sales organization? With the fundamentals of the acquiring business rapidly turning towards mobile and cloud-based technology, ISOs are finding themselves …
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16 July
A China Gambit And Boom in Studying Abroad Open Big Opportunities for peerTransfer
Students from outside the United States are flooding the country to attend colleges, universities, even secondary schools, and that presents a payments problem for them and their families. Wire transfers, the typical way for foreigners to pay tuition and other fees, are cumbersome and expensive. Enter peerTransfer Corp., a 4-year-old …
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16 July
Schulman Sets Goal to Boost Usage As PayPal Swallows Xoom, Expands One Touch Checkout
On the eve of his company’s separation from long-time parent eBay Inc., PayPal Inc.’s new chief executive on Thursday let it be known he intends to dramatically boost usage among PayPal’s 169 million active accounts by stressing single-touch checkouts and new capabilities like Xoom, the online-remittance service it is buying …
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16 July
Chastened ISO Execs Caution Colleagues on How To Avoid Regulators’ Ire
Two independent sales organization executives who ran afoul of government regulators cautioned their industry colleagues Thursday on how to stay out of trouble. The warnings came during a session at the MidWest Acquirers Association (MWAA) annual conference in Chicago titled “You, Me and the FTC: Personal Stories From Being in …
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15 July
Eye on Prepaid: Users Want Universal Wallets, Plastic Gift Cards; InComm Adds Brands
While doubts persist about how appealing mobile wallets really are for consumers, a majority—54%—would use a mobile wallet if it were accepted at all merchants. That’s one finding from a Blackhawk Engagement Solutions Inc. survey, released Tuesday, on shopper behavior. Blackhawk Engagement Solutions is a unit of Pleasanton, Calif.-based Blackhawk …
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15 July
EMV and Updated PCI Rules Present Opportunities for ISOs ‘To Gain or Lose Business’
With the impending EMV chip card liability shift on Oct. 1 and the recent establishment of the newest version of the Payment Card Industry data-security standard (PCI), independent sales organizations are at a critical juncture, according to a veteran industry executive. “This is an opportunity for ISOs to gain or …
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14 July
Looking Ahead to Mobile, USAA Targets EMV Chips in 80% of Credit Cards by Fall
By October, 80% of the approximately 8 million credit cards issued by USAA Bank will bear an EMV chip, furthering the payment card industry’s efforts to migrate from magnetic-stripe cards. Meanwhile, the bank, a unit of USAA, a diversified insurance and banking company based in San Antonio, Texas, is still …
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14 July
Eye on Earnings: Chase, Wells Report Latest Merchant-Acquiring Numbers
JPMorgan Chase & Co. reported Tuesday that charge volume in its massive merchant-processing business grew 12% in the second quarter, and Wells Fargo & Co. said its merchant-related fee income rose 10%. New York City-based JPMorgan Chase said payment volume in its Chase Commerce Solutions unit totaled $234.1 billion versus $209 …
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14 July
First Data Bulks up in Digital Gift Cards with Its Transaction Wireless Deal
First Data Corp. has added another digital gift card company to its portfolio with the purchase announced Tuesday of Transaction Wireless Inc., a digital gift card distribution company. The purchase of San Diego-based Transaction Wireless complements First Data’s 2014 deal to buy Gyft, a digital platform that enables consumers buy, …