Consumer spending in the United States, in terms of February retail sales excluding auto, was up 8.7% over February 2021 and 17.3% over February 2019, according to Mastercard Inc.’s SpendingPulse report, which monitors in-store and online retail sales.President Joe Biden signed an executive order requiring federal agencies to work out a common …

This new payment technology is spreading fast, but a common set of specifications is urgently needed to ensure global compatibility. Walk down a street in China or India, and it becomes immediately apparent that quick-response (QR) codes are woven into the fabric of everyday life. Nothing demonstrates this more than …

The past two years have seen merchants become frequent targets of ransomware attacks, largely due to their weaker cybersecurity practices. The threat only promises to get worse. For cybercriminals, ransomware attacks are easy money. To cash in, hackers need only plant malware on a target’s network to gain entry. Once …

Even crypto businesses that keep saying crypto crime is tolerable recently had to acknowledge a whopping $14 billion in reported criminal crypto activity occurred in 2021. The true figure is at least an order of magnitude higher, since many ransomware victims don’t even report the crime. The sad reality is …

MoneyGram International Inc., which is being acquired by private-equity player Madison Dearborn for $1.8 billion, said it had fourth quarter revenue of $324.6 million, a 0.4% increase from $323.3 million in the 2020 fourth quarter. Net income for last quarter of 2021 was $4.2 million, a 37% decrease from $7.3 million …

Money-transfer powerhouse MoneyGram International Inc. will go private later this year in a deal announced Tuesday with private-equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners LLC. Valued at $11 per common-stock share, the deal also includes assumption of $799 million in debt.  Expected to close in the fourth quarter, the deal will see …

With ransomware attacks showing no signs of slowing down, the National Cybersecurity Alliance and the PCI Security Standards Council issued a joint warning bulletin Thursday. The bulletin was prompted by feedback from payment industry stakeholders and heightened news coverage of the attacks throughout 2021, says the PCI SSC.  In 2021, …

Cantaloupe Inc. has come a long way since its turbulent times in 2020. The specialist in technology and processing for vending machines and other unattended locations on Thursday announced its dollar volume processed in the December quarter totaled $553.3 million, up 31% year-over-year, while active customers grew 16% to 21,315. …

It’s become more common and harder to detect. Here are some measures that can help cut it down to size. Forced to work from home during Covid-19, accounts-payable departments have accelerated plans to move away from paper checks and pay more of their suppliers through the automated clearing house. That, …

The market for direct transfers between bank accounts is attracting fintechs—as well as the two global card networks—as real-time payments loom. While account-to-account transactions—think the automated clearing house—have been around for years, the shift to real-time payments is giving them a new boost. Little happens overnight in the payments industry. …