Transaction Processing

The Western Union Co. said it will enable Visa Inc.’s Visa Direct real-time push-payment service. The move follows the remittance-processing company’s announcement in late 2017 that it would adopt Mastercard Inc.’s rival service, Mastercard Send. Merchant processor VizyPay launched a program called Cash Discount 2.0, which calls for merchants to …

Most economic activity with Bitcoin remains on trading exchanges, but lately there is some evidence volume at merchants may be picking up. Bitcoin’s total merchant volume, in dollar terms, was $42.8 million in the week ended May 19, according to the latest figures from Chainalysis Inc., a New York City-based …

PayFi, which provides a banking platform, said it will offer real-time payments services from The Clearing House Payments Co. LLC to community banks. Most U.S. consumers—38%—are likely to use a credit card for online subscription payments, finds a report from GoCardless, a recurring-payments company. Thirty-four percent choose a debit card, …

May became the first negative month of 2019 for payments stocks as worries about tariffs and an economic slowdown as a result gripped the wider market. Chicago-based Barrington Research Associates Inc. reported Monday that a 29-company group of transaction-processor stocks posted a mean return of negative 2.57% last month. Only …

For decades, PIN entry has been restricted to specialized hardware devices, such as PIN pads on ATMs and at the point of sale. On Monday, a Santa Clara, Calif.-based software company headed by a former Visa Inc. executive said it will start offering to retailers in Japan its technology for …

i3 Verticals Inc. completed its $52.7 million acquisition of Pace Payment Systems Inc. Pace specializes in selling payments services in the public and education sectors. Avis Car Rental, a unit of Avis Budget Group Inc., launched a split-payment feature in its mobile app. Called Split My Bill, the feature enables …

Note to payments-company owners: now just might be the right time to sell. Buyers in 2019 have paid more for firms in the payment-tech space since at least 2010, according to a new analysis by 451 Research of more than 1,100 deals over nearly a decade. The median price to …

As New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority inaugurates contactless payment for fares Friday, major card brands are intensely marketing the tap-and-pay service. Mastercard Inc. announced its Fareback Friday program to reward cardholders for paying for their New York subway rides with a contactless Mastercard product. Consumers may be able to get …

Cardtronics plc said its Allpoint ATM network and Visa Inc. reached an agreement to waive ATM fees for travelers visiting the United States from Southeast Asia who have a Visa travel prepaid card or debit card from certain financial institutions. Allpoint counts more than 40,000 U.S. ATMs. Lightspeed POS Inc., …

Visa Inc.’s chief executive this week questioned the drive for real-time payments by U.S. banks and merchants, but also argued Visa’s recent acquisition of business-to-business payments processor Earthport plc will help the company expand real-time payment capability beyond cardholders. Visa closed on London-based Earthport last month after winning a bidding …