Denizen Financial Inc., a San Francisco-based startup backed by one of Spain’s biggest banks, has created what it calls “the first true global, borderless account” that allows customers to receive money in one country and pay it out in another while avoiding international transfer fees and foreign-exchange fees. Denizen says …
Read More »For TCF, It’s Full Speed Ahead With Contactless Payments
With about 18 months of experience with contactless debit cards under its belt, TCF Financial Corp. says it’s all-in for so-called dual-interface cards and mobile payments as the number of U.S. merchant locations accepting contactless payments continues to grow. The Wayzata, Minn.-based company’s TCF Bank began supporting the major mobile …
Read More »Surcharging Is the Wave of the Future, ISO Executives Say
Not many merchants are doing it yet, but surcharging credit card transactions will soon gain more acceptance as businesses do whatever they can to reduce their card-acceptance costs. That’s the expectation of merchant-processing executives who participated in a panel Tuesday at the Southeast Acquirers Association annual conference in Orlando, Fla. …
Read More »A Cooling EMV Market And Slipping Chip Card Prices Show up in a Card Maker’s Results
If the payments industry needed further evidence that the EMV frenzy unleashed in the United States in 2015 is cooling off, it can find it in the fourth-quarter 2017 and full-year results posted Monday by CPI Card Group, one of the country’s chief manufacturers of chip cards. U.S. sales of …
Read More »American Express Will Shave Its Discount Rates To Grow Merchant Acceptance
In an effort to make its cards more financially attractive to merchants, American Express Co. plans to cut its worldwide discount rate by potentially up to three times the level it had previously predicted for 2018. AmEx, generally the costliest of the major card brands for merchants to accept, typically …
Read More »A Trio of States Are Now Looking at Cryptocurrency for Tax Payments
Bitcoin as a payment method may have its critics, but apparently some state governments looking for new ways to collect taxes aren’t too concerned. Illinois is now the third state to introduce legislation that would clear the way for citizens to pay their obligations with cryptocurrency, joining Arizona and Georgia. …
Read More »Chase To Offer Canadian Small Businesses Lower Discount Rates for AmEx Payments
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business announced Monday an agreement with JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Chase Merchant Services that the trade group of small and medium-sized merchants says could bring cuts of nearly 50% for accepting American Express Co. cards to its 110,000 members. The Toronto-based CFIB said Chase, its …
Read More »Remember Carrier Billing? It’s Poised to Triple by 2022, Research Indicates
It doesn’t get a lot of attention in these days of EMV, mobile payments, and digital currency, but carrier billing, one of the oldest forms of digital payments, is poised for growth. Total payment volume globally will triple by 2022, rising from $2.9 billion last year to $9 billion, according …
Read More »COMMENTARY: Five Key Trends in Payments to Watch for As 2018 Unfolds
As the new year eases well into its second month, here are five important technology developments that will shake up key payments markets in 2018. B2B payments will finally go digital Perhaps further behind in the fintech curve than they should be are business-to-business payments. This is often attributed to …
Read More »March of the Cryptos: All of the Top 10 Digital Currencies Rise This Week
The stock market may have tumbled this week, but cryptocurrencies are enjoying a generalized comeback. All of the 10 largest currencies by market capitalization are up since early in the week, with third-ranked Ripple’s XRP token surging 20% just since late Thursday to lead the pack, according to Coinmarketcap.com. It …
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