Person-to-Person Payments

PayPal Holdings Inc. is betting big on its strategy of boosting its e-commerce presence with its approximately $4 billion acquisition of Honey Science Corp., a technology platform that helps consumers find offers and deals on popular e-commerce sites. Announced Wednesday afternoon, the deal envisions Honey tapping into the more than …

The Federal Trade Commission has started a preliminary inquiry into whether Visa Inc., Mastercard Inc., and large debit card issuers are blocking merchants from routing transactions over PIN-debit networks, the Bloomberg Law news service reported, citing anonymous sources. FTC investigators reportedly have contacted merchants and their trade groups, Bloomberg Law said. Spokespersons for …

As peer-to-peer payments services like Cash App, Venmo, and Zelle grow in popularity in the United States, some observers fret that underserved populations are being left behind. PayPal Holdings Inc.’s Xoom money-transfer service said Tuesday it’s attacking that issue in a collaboration with Walmart Inc. and Euronet Worldwide Inc.’s Ria remittance …

U.S. District Judge Margo K. Brodie heard final arguments from lawyers Thursday on the fairness of a proposed settlement in the 14-year-old MDL 1720 credit card interchange case but, as attorneys involved in the case said was probable, did not make an immediate determination from the bench. Brodie in January gave preliminary …

If Square Inc. has made one thing clear in recent months, it’s that the company is determined to tie together two worlds most payments companies see as distinct: consumers on the one hand, and merchants on the other. That strategy took another step forward last month with Square’s announcement that …

USA Technologies Inc. issued a statement opposing a move by Hudson Executive Capital LP, the vending-machine payments provider’s largest shareholder, to gain control of the company in the wake of long-running accounting problems that were recently resolved. Hudson’s plan includes the nomination of eight director candidates for election at the company’s next annual meeting. …

The big wire-transfer providers The Western Union Co. and MoneyGram International Inc. continue to develop their digital services as their agent-based business models struggle in a fast-changing market against rising online players. The two firms on Thursday both reported declining revenues in the third quarter, but Western Union made money …

Ride-share provider Uber Technologies Inc. announced Uber Money, an update to its roster of financial services, mostly for its drivers. Among the products is the relaunch of the Uber credit card in a deal with Barclays. Uber Money also can provide Uber drivers real-time access to their earnings in an Uber Debit …

PayPal Holdings Inc. and Synchrony Financial have been sparing about the details of a new credit card they plan to issue for PayPal’s Venmo peer-to-peer payment service, but on Monday a top Synchrony executive said the partners are counting on a key characteristic of Venmo to help market the new card. …

Top management at PayPal Holdings Inc. made it clear Wednesday the company will continue to hunt for acquisitions and intends to leverage its recently won clearance to acquire a 70% stake in China’s Guofubao Information Technology Co. Ltd., better known as GoPay. The Chinese venture, in which PayPal will become …