Global investment in blockchain technology will double this year compared to 2017, reaching $1.5 billion, according to a new report from International Data Corp. Investment will increase over the next five years at an annual rate of 73.2%, Framingham, Mass.-based IDC forecasts, reaching $11.7 billion in 2022. “Enthusiasm for blockchain …

Walmart Inc. shoppers apparently aren’t as loyal to the giant retailer’s own mobile-payment service as they are to Apple Inc.’s Apple Pay. That’s one takeaway from the latest Mobile Pay Tracker from Auriemma Consulting Group. New York City-based ACG found that Walmart shoppers who use Apple Pay and have a …

Walmart shoppers who have access to Apple Pay and have a payment preference are twice as likely to use Apple Pay rather than Walmart Pay, but discounts and other deals could tip the scales back in Walmart’s favor, according to a study by Auriemma Consulting Group. Payments provider Century Business …

Payment processor Worldpay Inc. said it will bring Mastercard Inc.’s Pay by Bank mobile and online payment application to its United Kingdom merchants in early 2019, and also will use other Mastercard digital services. Launched in 2016 by London-based payment-technology developer Vocalink, which Mastercard acquired in May 2017, Pay by …

The New York Department of Financial Services has granted a virtual-currency license to cryptocurrency processor BitPay, allowing it to do business with companies and consumers in the state of New York. In an apparent cost-cutting effort, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. is no longer including the Samsung Pay mobile-payments service in its …

What do diners want most when they go out to eat? Apparently, easy ordering and payment. That’s the big takeaway in the “Restaurant Digital Crossroads: The Race to Meet Guest Expectations” report released Thursday. Hassle-free ordering and payment are especially important to younger consumers, defined as those between 18 and 37 …

The top four uses for peer-to-peer payments on the Zelle network are splits for rent, meals, utility bills, and gifting, according to a survey of 9,000 mobile-banking users. The results were released by Early Warning Services LLC, which operates the bank-owned Zelle service. Payments processor Computer Services Inc. reported a …

Processor Net Element Inc. said its first-half payment volume rose 37% year over year to $1.62 billion. Most of the volume came from the company’s North American subsidiary, Unified Payments, which handled $1.4 billion in payments, up 40%. Handpoint, a mobile point-of-sale payments provider, announced an integration with RxTrax, a …

The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a federal civil lawsuit Tuesday accusing former Heartland Payment Systems Inc. CEO Robert O. Carr and his girlfriend, Katherine M. Hanratty, with insider trading. Carr allegedly tipped Hanratty ahead of the December 2015 public announcement that Global Payments Inc. planned to acquire Heartland, and …

Macy’s Inc. disclosed that criminals were able to breach sensitive data on Macys.com, the Detroit Free Press reported. Citing a letter sent to customers, the newspaper said Macy’s detected suspicious activity on June 11. The retailer then blocked customer profiles that appeared to be breached. Hackers were able to get …