Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals
Though merchants have been permitted since 2013 to add surcharge fees to credit card transactions, it’s only in 2016 and 2017 that the practice will become the norm, ushering in a new phase of a sometimes contentious relationship between merchants, the payment card industry, and consumers. That’s the assertion of …
Read More »Durbin’s Debit Law Is Eyed As Part of a Sweeping Financial Regulatory Review
Not yet five years after its implementation, a controversial federal regulation governing interchange and transaction routing for debit cards has come under review as part of a process set out by a 20-year-old law called the Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act. The debit card regulation, the Federal …
Read More »Discount Grocer Aldi Reverses Course and Now Accepts Credit Cards
The prominent, slightly self-effacing graphic on discount grocery-store chain Aldi Inc.’s home page says it all: “OMG! We FINALLY Accept Credit Cards!” Indeed, Batavia, Ill.-based Aldi is believed to be the last major grocery holdout in accepting general purpose credit cards, which typically cost merchants more to accept than the …
Read More »Tennessee Fee-Disclosure Law Forces Non-Bank Processors To Pull Out the Calculators
A new Tennessee law governing merchants’ payment card contracts could create headaches for non-bank entities such as independent sales organizations and payment facilitators, merchant-acquiring industry sources say. The law will require processors on a monthly basis to list all fees assessed since the last statement. That’s certainly not unusual in …
Read More »Bitcoin Value Rallies As the Digital Currency Closes out a Promising Year
By John Stewart The Bitcoin digital currency is surging again. Factors ranging from the collapse of the Chinese yuan to the supposed unmasking of Bitcoin’s inventor have helped push the controversial currency’s price up 15% in the past week, to a close at $415.25 on Thursday, according to data compiled …
Read More »COMMENTARY: Time for the ISO Business To Stop Talking And Start Acting
By Steve Norell I started in the acquiring industry approximately 20 years ago, and during those 20 years have seen and heard just about everything one can imagine about the way our products and services are marketed. That’s especially true when it comes to deceptive and fraudulent practices. During those …
Read More »Visa, Wal-Mart Settle Wal-Mart’s Interchange Opt-Out Lawsuit
Visa Inc. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. have settled a 2014 antitrust lawsuit the huge retailer filed against Visa that sought $5 billion in damages, Visa reported. Disclosure of the settlement comes in a brief passage in Visa’s annual report for fiscal 2015 ended Sept. 30, which Visa filed with the …
Read More »San Francisco Sues AmEx Alleging Unfair Competitive Practices
By Kevin Woodward The City Attorney for San Francisco has filed suit in California Superior Court against American Express Co., alleging the card brand continues to restrain merchants from steering consumers to other payment options. Filed Nov. 6, the suit seeks $2,500 per violation, which City Attorney Dennis J. Herrera …
Read More »After a Year in the Dumps, Bitcoin’s Price Stages a Rally As Usage Steadily Climbs
After languishing in the $200s most of the year, the price of the Bitcoin digital currency rallied this week, briefly flirting with the $500 level on some exchanges before settling in the high $300s by Friday morning. At the same time, Bitcoin usage, though still relatively rare, is steadily rising. …
Read More »Visa Inc. Will Buy Visa Europe, But Can It Get From Europe What It Earns in the U.S.?
Ending months of speculation, Visa Inc. on Monday announced it will buy its European counterpart, London-based Visa Europe Ltd., in a cash, stock, and earn-out deal valued at $23.4 billion. “We’re delighted to be reuniting the Visa family,” said Visa Inc. chief executive Charles W. Scharf in discussing the acquisition …
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