U.S. Rep. Chuy Garcia (D-Ill.) planned this week to introduce bills that would bar tech firms from developing their own cryptocurrencies and make it more difficult for non-financial firms to obtain charters for industrial-loan corporations, a form of a bank, according to Politico. Garcia’s office did not immediately respond to a request …

The Federal Trade Commission has started a preliminary inquiry into whether Visa Inc., Mastercard Inc., and large debit card issuers are blocking merchants from routing transactions over PIN-debit networks, the Bloomberg Law news service reported, citing anonymous sources. FTC investigators reportedly have contacted merchants and their trade groups, Bloomberg Law said. Spokespersons for …

Compliance with the Payment Card Industry data-security standard remains an elusive goal for many merchants and other organizations that handle general-purpose payment card data. In fact, compliance fell in 2018 for the second year in a row, according to Verizon Communications Inc. Verizon’s newly released Payment Security Report says only …

Research firm eMarketer Inc. forecasted that 2019 U.S. holiday sales will surpass $1 trillion in value for the first time. Cyber Monday, the Monday following Thanksgiving, is expected to be the biggest online shopping day and could approach $10 billion in sales. With Thanksgiving falling on the last Thursday of …

U.S. District Judge Margo K. Brodie heard final arguments from lawyers Thursday on the fairness of a proposed settlement in the 14-year-old MDL 1720 credit card interchange case but, as attorneys involved in the case said was probable, did not make an immediate determination from the bench. Brodie in January gave preliminary …

Fueled by such scams as business email compromise, phishing frauds are staging a dramatic comeback. The total number of attacks reached 266,387 in the third quarter, according to the latest report from the Anti-Phishing Working Group, a security-industry organization that tracks the crime. That’s the highest level of phishing activity …

Consumers that want to pay cash for their Amazon.com Inc. purchases now have another option in the St. Louis area. Save A Lot launched the ability for consumers to use Amazon PayCode, the e-retailer’s cash-payment service, at several Save A Lot locations in the grocer’s hometown. It expects to expand …

USA Technologies Inc. issued a statement opposing a move by Hudson Executive Capital LP, the vending-machine payments provider’s largest shareholder, to gain control of the company in the wake of long-running accounting problems that were recently resolved. Hudson’s plan includes the nomination of eight director candidates for election at the company’s next annual meeting. …

Discover Financial Services said it will begin issuing contactless cards over the next several months, starting first this month with holders of Discover it and Discover More cards who need cards reissued or replaced. New cardholders will get contactless cards beginning in December.ACI Worldwide expanded its long-term relationship with ATM network operator …

After years of looking to make fare payment easier, mass-transit agencies have found the answer in contactless cards. That’s giving consumers a compelling reason to use contactless on a broader scale. Mass adoption of a new technology requires giving consumers a compelling reason to use it on a daily basis. …