Prepaid Cards

A software company called Quantum International Corp. said it will launch LootUpApp, technology that it says will use artificial intelligence to help simplify cryptocurrency transactions. A specific date for the launch was not announced. The global prepaid card market is forecasted to have an 18.2% compound annual growth rate through 2031, a Verified Markets …

Blackhawk Network will offer physical gift cards to users of Snapchat’s subscription service, Snapchat+. Snapchat is a messaging platform. The digital-payments platform Wirex has added two stablecoins, VNX Euro and VNX Swiss Franc, allowing users to spend the currency directly through their WIrex cards. Payments via QR codes will “shift from one niche …

The outlook for payments in 2025 will be rife with open finance, instant payments, multi-rail payments, interchange questions, and the increasing use of artificial intelligence, observers suggest. The top three payments trends next year will be open finance, instant payments adoption, and point-of-sale innovations, says Capgemini Research Institute in its …

The city of El Monte, Calif., has extended its agreement with GiveCard, a prepaid debit card platform, to manage the city’s Guaranteed Income pilot program, which embraces 125 low-income participants. Togetherwork, a payments provider specializing in pet-care businesses, has acquired Petexec, a software provider for the same market. Terms were not …

Ackroo Inc., a Canadian gift card and loyalty platform, announced early Friday it has reached a “definitive” agreement to be acquired by Paystone, a Canadian-based gift card and loyalty processor, in an all-cash deal for $21 million. Paystone will acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of Ackroo at …

The American Bankers Association on Thursday issued a long and detailed letter it has sent to the Federal Reserve Board to argue its case against a Fed proposal that would reduce a longstanding cap on the interchange banks can earn on debit card transactions. The ABA’s action follows an analysis …

Canada-based processor Nuvei Corp. announced an expansion of its Google Pay offering to merchants throughout Latin America. The company already offers the wallet in the U.S., European, Asia-Pacific, and Australian markets. Grocery e-commerce platform eGrowcery said it and Forage, a payments provider that can process online EBT SNAP payments, are working on a service …

The Worldwide Stablecoin Payment Network, known as WSPN, said it will work with Bitcoin platform Fractal to help widen stablecoin access. The global market value for parking-management systems, including payments processing, will grow from $5.59 billion this year to $11.29 billion in 2034, a compound annual growth rate of 7.3%, according …

Online checkout service Paze said retailer GNC now accepts the digital wallet. Paze is a checkout service from Early Warning Services LLC. Digital gifting platform On Me signed a five-year agreement with Mastercard Inc. and received $1.7 million in pre-seed funding from venture capital firm Lerer Hippeau and Focal.VC to help it expand its retailer …

Digital-payments platform Flexa is working with Electric Coin Co., to integrate Flexa technology into Electric Coin’s Zcash wallet in an effort to ease the use of digital currencies at U.S. retail locations that use Flexa technology. Licel Corp. said its Virtual Trusted Execution Environment (vTEE) has been approved by the standards body EMVCo …