Prepaid Cards

As were all payments networks, Mastercard Inc. was hammered by the novel coronavirus pandemic, but its leaders Wednesday morning pointed to a tentative recovery. “Overall, we see signs of improvement, but we’re not out of the woods yet,” noted Ajay Banga, Mastercard’s outgoing chief executive, during a conference call with …

Visa Inc. has agreed to acquire YellowPepper USA Inc., whose technology supports financial institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean in launching cards and other financial services. Terms of the transaction, which is expected to close in the next few weeks, were not announced.Celero Commerce said it will acquire TransNational Payments. Celero …

Ria Money Transfer, a unit of Euronet Worldwide Inc., said its services will be available in more than 2,000 Kroger stores. Ria also announced that Fiesta Mart, a grocery chain based in Texas with 59 stores, will offer its money-transfer services.A survey from daVinci Payments found that 52% of women intend to spend …

Alphabet Inc.’s Google unit announced it is enabling shopping and purchasing within its Gmail email service via an agreement with Skipify Inc., a payments provider that relies on artificial intelligence technology.North Lane Technologies, formerly Wirecard North America Inc., and daVinci Payments have banded together to create Syncapay Inc., a holding company for payment-technology …

MoneyGram International Inc. reached an agreement with Lulu Money in which consumers in Hong Kong can send or receive money at any Lulu Money location and also link to the MoneyGram network.In related news, MoneyGram and PayMaya, a payments provider in the Philippines, have agreed to launch a service that will allow …

With a looming holiday shopping season inflected by uncertainties surrounding the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, payments firms are trying to work out how consumers may change spending habits this year. A study released Thursday indicates processors expect a healthy jump in e-commerce volume, including a surge for gift cards. …

With cash on the outs with many pandemic-wary consumers and merchants these days, payments firms are looking for alternatives. One such option is a so-called reverse ATM, a machine that takes in cash instead of dispensing it to allow users to convert paper money into an electronic payment instrument. An …

As small businesses prepare for the holiday shopping season in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, Visa Inc. announced it is launching programs and resources to support their efforts, including so-called Visa Street Teams that visit stores to provide point-of-sale materials to support contactless payments.In related news, Visa said 60% of U.S. …

PureWrist, a contactless-transaction technology provider, on Thursday debuted PureWrist Go, a reloadable flexible bracelet with an embedded EMV chip that allows consumers to make prepaid contactless transactions. PureWrist GO, which retails for $25, plus the amount preloaded on to device, is the flagship product on the PureWrist platform. New York …

The pandemic has sparked a huge lift in online gift card sales as consumers make shopping for the plastic part of their e-commerce routine. The number of cards purchased online soared 57% in the first six months of this year compared to the first half of 2019. Some 52% of …