Fiserv Inc. has been an acquisitive payments processor in recent years, but it’s a deal the company concluded nearly five years ago that is energizing growth at the company. Fiserv’s $22-billion acquisition of First Data Corp. in the summer of 2019 brought Clover, a set of point-of-sale technologies that today …
Read More »MPC’s New CCCA Ad and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 4/23/24
The Merchants Payments Coalition released a 30-second TV ad that says the Credit Card Competition Act, a measure that would stipulate merchants have credit card routing choices, would prohibit China’s credit card network UnionPay from processing U.S. credit card transactions. Currently, no regulation prohibits that the MPC says. The CCCA, if passed, would …
Read More »Despite Increasing Ransomware Attacks, Fewer Victims Are Paying
Despite a spike in ransomware attacks, fewer companies are paying ransom demands to free their data. A report from ransomware-remediation firm, Coveware Inc. reveals that just 28% of companies hit by a ransomware attack during the first quarter of 2024 paid, a record low. The trend comes as ransomware attacks …
Read More »Amid Many Changes, Acquirers Retain Their Importance Among Card Brands
Though the big news about Discover Financial Services is its pending acquisition by Capital One Financial Corp., the acquiring segment remains vital to the card brand. “Our business model, being a network rail, is the right space for us,” Judith McGuire, Discover senior vice president of global products, told Digital …
Read More »Apple Wallet Open in Europe? and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 4/22/24
The European Commission’s antitrust regulators are likely to approve, perhaps as early as next month, proposals from Apple Inc. that would open the iPhone’s NFC capability to wallets that rival Apple Pay, Reuters has reported. If accepted by the regulator, the proposals would end a four-year inquiry that otherwise could have led …
Read More »Time Will Tell on How Soon Pay by Bank Goes Mainstream
Open banking, the ability for third-party developers to access financial data in traditional banking systems, as defined by Stripe Inc., may provide one component for a new payment type, at least one that has limited use today. Pay by bank, a payment method that enables an online payment without the …
Read More »COMMENTARY: Don’t Take It Any More! It’s Time for the Payments Industry to Fight Back (Part II)
(Editor’s note: This is Part II of a two-part article. Part I appeared Thursday.) Interchange fees paid by merchants are the credit card industry’s second-largest revenue source. For debit cards and neobanks, these fees are a primary revenue source. The 2010 Dodd-Frank Act imposed price controls on debit interchange fees …
Read More »AmEx’s Encouraging Results and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 4/19/24
American Express Co. reported first-quarter 2024 revenue of $15.8 billion, up 11% from the same period last year, and billed business of $367 billion, up 6%. Net income grew 34% to $2.44 billion. Affinipay, a payments platform specializing in the legal and accounting professions, said it has expanded its LawPay and …
Read More »In an Abbreviated Call, Discover Sticks to the Numbers And Stays Mum About Cap One
Executives at Discover Financial Services Inc. early Thursday cut short their first-quarter 2024 earnings call, saying in advance they would not take questions after the presentation. Instead, equity analysts listening to the presentation were told to direct questions to Discover’s investor-relations team. On the call, executives duly reported a significant …
Read More »COMMENTARY: Don’t Take It Any More! It’s Time for the Payments Industry to Fight Back (Part I)
The Cato Institute’s Nicholas Anthony warned recently that the Biden Administration is waging “a war on (payments-industry) prices.” The payments industry provides services funded by a range of fees paid by consumers and businesses. Demagogic regulators and politicians pillory industry fees as exploitative, as “junk fees,” and “a tax.” These …
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