For years, banking and payments veterans have dismissed cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin but at the same time have shown interest in the digital currencies’ underlying technology, the blockchain. Now one of the world’s biggest banking titans is testing its own blockchain-based token, but its restriction of the system to its own …

Speed is a key selling point for person-to-person payments, but many P2P users aren’t taking advantage of real-time payment capabilities offered by their providers, according to research firm Aite Group LLC. Answers from 693 consumers who had used a digital P2P account to receive money in the 12 months ending …

New Jersey legislators last week passed a bill with overwhelming support to prevent businesses from banning consumers from using cash for purchases. The bill, which now goes to Gov. Phil Murphy for his signature, would make New Jersey only the second state to protect cash-using customers in stores. The proposed …

The surge in popularity for peer-to-peer payments is making itself felt in the realm of holiday gifting, helping to erode a longstanding cultural taboo against giving cash during the annual gift-giving season. Gift transactions rose 47.2% in December 2017 over the monthly average for the previous August through October, according …

After slipping the previous two years, spending at independent shops and restaurants jumped 38% to an estimated $17.8 billion on Small Business Saturday, American Express Co. and the National Federation of Independent Business trade group reported Monday. AmEx founded the Saturday-after-Thanksgiving promotion in 2010 to highlight locally owned businesses in …

As merchant acquirers prepare for an expected tide of holiday purchase transactions, they might notice that more big-ticket spending will be originating this year from mobile devices, according to Internet metrics firm Comscore Inc. Purchases of big-ticket items, which Reston, Va.-based Comscore defines as those costing more than $500, “hit …

Rewards platform provider Cardlytics Inc. on Tuesday reported its user base and revenue per active user grew in the third quarter, but the company nonetheless trimmed its full-year revenue forecast. The company’s primary product, Cardlytics Direct, provides merchant-funded rewards programs distributed through financial institutions’ online and mobile-banking sites. Cardlytics Direct …