Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals
• The Merchants Payments Coalition, a Washington, D.C., lobbying group, released a new statement decrying what it calls a “poison pill” provision embedded in a bill proposed earlier this month by U.S. Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, to reform the 2010 Dodd Frank Act. The provision would repeal the debit-interchange curbs in the Durbin Amendment to that act.
• On the other side of the debate, the Electronic Payments Coalition, a Washington, D.C., lobbying group representing payments networks and financial institutions, issued a statement repeating its support for Hensarling’s effort, contending debit price controls “created one winner—big-box retailers–and many losers…”
• Stocks of payments companies with sizable European operations took a hit during Friday morning’s widespread selloff in the wake of the United Kingdom’s “Brexit” vote to leave the European Union. At about 10:40 a.m. Eastern, Euronet Worldwide Inc.’s shares were down 6.8% from Thursday’s close. Other decliners: First Data Corp., 5.6%; Cardtronics Inc., 5%; NCR Corp., 4.7%, and Global Payments Inc., 4.4%.
• QPAGOS Corp., a U.S.-based company that provides digital-payment services for unbanked consumers in Mexico, began trading on the OTCQB exchange under the ticker symbol QPAG.
• Last-minute online-booking service HotelTonight extended Apple Pay acceptance to users who have not yet created a HotelTonight account, allowing them to book and pay for a room within five seconds of opening the app.
• Payspan Inc., a provider of health-care payments software, announced it is offering financial institutions the ability to help medical providers more accurately calculate patient responsibility.
• Some 19% of U.S. consumers use online-payments services such as PayPal or Venmo (a peer-to-peer transfer service owned by PayPal Holdings Inc.), and another 24% intend to within a year, according to survey results released by Fair Isaac Corp. (FICO). However, the survey shows usage of alternative-lending services at 1%, “with no signs of growth,” FICO says.
