Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals
In 17 months, a crucial step in the migration of the U.S. payment card industry from the venerable magnetic stripe to smart cards with embedded chips will be under way. But there is little hope that a majority of merchants will be ready to accept the new cards, finds a …
May, 2014
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15 May
Venture-Capital Firms Place Their Bets on Bitcoin Merchant-Services Provider BitPay
Law-enforcement agencies and government regulators may be skeptical of, if not outright hostile to, the Bitcoin virtual currency, but at least a few investors have a different attitude. Witness this week’s announcement by BitPay Inc., a processor that provides Bitcoin services to merchants. Atlanta-based BitPay said it had raised $30 …
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14 May
COMMENTARY: The Real Significance of Vantiv’s $1.65 Billion Deal for Mercury
Vantiv Inc.’s deal to acquire Mercury Payment Systems LLC was noteworthy for its size—the deal carried a $1.65 billion price tag—but it was also exemplary of a key industry transformation from distribution-centric to product-centric acquiring. For decades, the merchant-acquiring industry has revolved around selling the services of barely differentiated payment …
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14 May
Isis Hits 20,000 Activations Per Day, Doubling Daily Rate from Previous Month
The Isis mobile-wallet consortium said Wednesday it is activating new wallets at the rate of 20,000 per day. That rate, achieved over the last 30 days, represents a doubling of the rate Isis saw in the previous 30-day period, the company said. The upbeat news from Isis comes as some …
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14 May
Fiserv Prepares Suite of EMV Services to Help Issuers With Looming Migration
As the U.S. payments system continues its migration to the Europay-MasterCard-Visa chip-card standard, companies like processor Fiserv Inc. are preparing services to help issuers with the effort. Brookfield, Wis.-based Fiserv announced this week it is offering a suite of services to help with issuer strategies, personalization, transaction processing, risk management, …
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12 May
Vantiv Announces Plans To Buy Mercury Payment Systems for $1.65 Billion
Payment processor Vantiv Inc. announced late Monday that it has struck a definitive agreement with the majority owner of tech-oriented independent sales organization Mercury Payment Systems LLC to buy Mercury for $1.65 billion in a debt-funded transaction. Durango, Colo.-based Mercury is suspending plans it disclosed in late March for an …
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12 May
Eye on Mobile: Apple Pairs iPhone with VeriFone Case in Its Stores; Square Drops its Wallet
Apple Inc. is making a change in the mobile point-of-sale hardware it uses at its 254 U.S. retail stores. In an exclusive deal, the consumer-brand manufacturer has begun using mobile POS devices produced by VeriFone Systems Inc., the San Jose, Calif.-based payment-terminal maker says. Apple outfits its employees with mobile …
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8 May
Chase To Discontinue Its Blink Contactless Card, But It’s Unlikely To Slow EMV Migration
Citing little enthusiasm by either consumers or merchants for contactless card payments, JPMorgan Chase & Co. has quietly begun informing cardholders that it is discontinuing its blink contactless program. While at first glance blink’s demise seems like a setback for chip-based card payments in the United States, it is unlikely …
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8 May
Stockpile Emerges To Offer Digital Gift Cards Backed by Stock to ‘Everyday’ Consumers
A new type of gift card is set to debut this summer that will be backed not by cash but by shares of stock. The virtual card will come from a startup called Stockpile Inc., which has created a waiting list for interested potential accountholders and is planning to market …
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8 May
Government Probe of POS Rules Gets New Life as DoJ Case Against AmEx Proceeds
A U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit alleging anti-competitive behavior by American Express Co. can proceed, a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York ruled Wednesday. Seventeen states also are plaintiffs in the case. n The case is important because of the government’s continuing inquiry …