There’s some good news for U.S. debit card issuers in the form of reduced fraud rates, according to the 2017 Debit Issuer Study released Monday by Pulse, the electronic funds transfer network owned by Discover Financial Services. The fraud-loss rate for signature-debit transactions fell 30% from 2015’s 2.6 cents per …

Unattended tire-inflation and vacuum services for cars long have accepted credit and debit cards as well as cash. Now, one provider, Irving, Texas-based AIR-serv, is taking that a step further by making contactless payments the sole option at more than 6,500 locations throughout Canada. Payments provider MONEXGroup says it is …

Bitcoin watchers held their breath over the weekend when the celebrated “halving” took place, abruptly chopping in half the incentive those who produce Bitcoin receive and raising questions about the impact the event would have on the 7-year-old cryptocurrency. The halving, which is part of Bitcoin’s basic code and so …

Long-time payments players who like to scoff at Bitcoin as an unproven payments instrument will have to reckon with the robust vote of confidence buyers and sellers of the 7-year-old digital currency have given it over the past few days. Bitcoin’s U.S. dollar value breached the $700 level late Sunday …

In the world of venture capital, unicorns  are so-called because of their lofty— and rarely seen—valuations. But such companies are growing more numerous in the tech field. Payments is no exception. In the world of venture capital and private equity, where quite a few payments startups operate, it’s astonishing how …

More states are mulling the sale of lottery tickets through fuel pumps. Is this niche market a good bet for new payment-card volume? A mere handful of the 43 states with state-sponsored lotteries permit game sales from non-traditional venues such as fuel pumps. Usually, a person looking for a little …

Bankrate Inc. is out with its latest survey of checking account fees, and once again the results show that increases in ATM surcharges are outpacing inflation, which is running at less than 2%. ATM surcharges rose 4% to an average of $2.88 this year from $2.77 in 2014, while foreign …

ATM surcharges rose 4% to an average of $2.88 this year from $2.77 in 2014, while foreign fees increased 3.8% to $1.64 from last year’s $1.58, Bankrate Inc. found in its latest annual study of checking account fees. Together, the two fees total $4.52, another new record and up 3.9% …

By Kevin Woodward Venture capitalist Timothy Draper wants to use the nearly 30,000 Bitcoins he won last week in an auction held by the U.S. Marshals Service to fund a Bitcoin trading platform targeting emerging markets, he said last week following the auction. He would not disclose the price of …

Though it has attracted fervent enthusiasts, Bitcoin in the end offers less than meets the eye, says Eric Grover. For an electronic-payment system, the lack of central accountability is a flaw, not a feature. Eric Grover is principal at Intrepid Ventures, Minden, Nev. Reach him at eric.grover@intrepidventures.com. Bitcoin mania is …