Bitcoin had a rough first quarter, leaving open questions about its ability to break into the mainstream of global payments. But that didn’t stop investment cash, which poured into startups supporting the digital currency at a record rate. That’s according to a quarterly report released Friday by Coindesk Research, which …

Up against determined competition from big technology companies, financial institutions have always reassured themselves that they still have an edge in payments when it comes to consumer trust. Now, that edge appears to be eroding fast. On the question of consumer trust, banks and financial institutions are losing ground to …

Right now, all eyes are on the next six months.  But what about after the liability shift?  What happens then? Whether or not any particular merchant is ready for EMV by Oct. 1, payments executives are figuring on two things as pretty much sure bets after that date. One is …

  It’s a familiar refrain in payments: For consumers to use a payment method there has to be places to use it. Apple Pay, it seems even with all of the hoopla surrounding it, is no different. That’s what a recent report from Phoenix Marketing International, a Rhineback, N.Y.-based firm, …

Online-payments provider Skrill Group has a new owner. United Kingdom-based Optimal Payments Plc is buying London-based Skrill for 1.1 billion euros (U.S. $1.2 billion), Optimal announced Monday. Both companies provide digital-wallet services, with Skrill specializing in wallets for online-gambling users, e-commerce and money transfers. Skrill also offers a payment gateway and …

Person-to-person payment company clearXchange has a fifth owner. U.S. Bank, a unit of U.S. Bancorp, said on Tuesday it had invested in the network and plans to offer clearXchange services. Terms were not disclosed. ClearXchange was founded by Wells Fargo & Co., Bank of America Corp., and JPMorgan Chase & …

Payments observers have known for some time that not all companies introducing mobile wallets have met with success, but now Square Inc. has had to shutter a product that succeeded a failed wallet. The San Francisco-based company on Friday began notifying users of its Square Order app that the product …

Retailers like nothing more than for a new customer to become a familiar customer, and that seems to be happening with a portion of Apple Pay users, finds a report from Auriemma Consulting Group. New York-based Auriemma says data from its Apple Pay tracker survey, which canvasses Apple Pay use …

Familiar is easier than unfamiliar. This basic truth explains much misspent effort in the payments world. Wallets are familiar. We all have them. So as it became clear that the physical part of payments—cash, checks, plastic cards—would at some point disappear, it was natural to carry the idea of a …

When Apple Inc. launched its Apple Pay mobile-payments service in October, the computing giant hoped the new wallet would help sell smart phones and banks hoped it would help drive transactions on their cards. Now new research indicates both hopes are being realized, but the risk for financial institutions may …