Data breaches declined sharply during the first half of 2021, says a report from Risked Based Security Inc. The number of publicly reported data breaches during the first six months of 2021 totaled 1,767, down 24% from the same period in 2020. At the same time, the number of sensitive …

Alphabet Inc.’s Google unit is betting its partnership with Marqeta Inc.to issue a tokenized virtual Google Pay card will entice consumers to use Google Pay more often for day-to-day purchases online and in-store.  The new card, announced this week, allows users to make purchases with their Google Pay balance using a …

Wireless connectivity at faster speeds and with more reliable service could be more widely available to the payments industry in as few as two years or less. Mastercard Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc.’s Verizon Business unit announced Tuesday morning they intend to work together to make 5G connectivity available in …

As part of its goal to provide unbanked and underbanked consumers affordable digital access to financial services through a single application, BlocPal International Inc. has partnered with OneFeather, a Victoria, British Columbia-based provider of digital services to indigenous people in Canada, to introduce the OneFeather app in that country. The …

ParkMobile LLC Thursday expanded its partnership with parking-lot operator The Car Park to Raleigh, Asheville, and Boone, North Carolina. Previously, The Car Park worked with another payment provider in those cities. The deal also builds on an existing relationship The Car Park has with ParkMobile in Tampa, Boise, Estes Park, …

Repay Holdings Inc. announced its acquisition of Kontrol Payables, an accounts payable automation provider, for up to $11 million.Cryptocurrency-based payments processor GreenBox POS announced the launch of a pilot for its Coyni stablecoin token. Among other features, Coyni offers instant settlement as well as transaction deletions and reversals.Cryptocurrency processor Flexa Inc. said it will be …

Payments provider E-Complish announced it acquired an outstanding interest in Regal Technologies LLC, which provide automated clearing house and other payment services.Payments provider Shift4 Payments Inc. said it will process transactions for BetMGM, an online gaming and sports-betting platform.Payments provider ACI Worldwide Inc. said it is working with the Foundation for California Community Colleges to …

Visa Inc. is bringing a point-of-sale payment-acceptance application that uses commercially available consumer smart phones on tour to U.S. small businesses, it announced Wednesday. Using a smart phone from ZmBizi LLC loaded with the POS app, 50 small businesses in Washington, D.C., will be able to accept payments without having …

American Express Co. said its Kabbage unit now offers Kabbage Checking to U.S. small businesses. AmEx also said it now offers Kabbage Funding to small businesses with lines of credit ranging from $1,000 to $150,000.Global Payments Inc. has launched a point-of-sale application that operates on commercially-available, off-the-shelf mobile phones, reported The Paypers …

The trend toward providing merchants technology that unites their digital and physical payments acceptance and allows them to manage their operations from a single platform got another boost Tuesday with Israel-based Wix.com Inc.’s introduction of Wix POS. The solution allows merchants to accept in-store and online payments, including contactless and chip …