Mastercard Inc. joined the BNPL fray Tuesday with the introduction of Mastercard Installments. Consumers can access BNPL offers, either pre-approved through their lender’s mobile banking app or through instant approval at checkout, that can be used online or in-store wherever Mastercard is accepted. Consumers can choose from a variety of …

It’s more than 100 days until Christmas, but forecasts for the 2021 holiday shopping season are already rolling in. Mastercard Inc., in its SpendingPulse report released Monday, forecasts that U.S. holiday retail spending from Nov. 1 to Dec. 24 will increase 7.4% over 2020 and 11.1% over the same period …

A new card product that taps the user’s checking account for in-full purchases or installments is in beta testing with “several hundred people,” at buy now, pay later specialist Affirm Holdings Inc., the company’s chief executive, Max Levchin, told equity analysts late Thursday during a session to discuss the company’s …

The two big card networks are making preparations for big moves into cryptocurrency payments. But crypto is no stranger to fraud, so Mastercard Inc. on Thursday announced it is acquiring CipherTrace Inc., a 6-year-old company specializing in technology to combat money laundering and other crimes involving digital-currency transactions. The deal, …

Mastercard Inc. strengthened its hand in open banking on Monday, reaching an agreement to acquire European open-banking platform provider Aiia. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition is expected to strengthen Mastercard’s position as a provider of open-banking services in Europe. Mastercard established a presence in the business …

Out of the gloom surrounding the U.S. economy since the onset of Covid-19 comes a report that consumer spending on credit and debit cards is not only robust, but also stronger than it was even two years ago. Dollar volume on payment cards in July was 21% higher than in …

As part of its strategy to enable merchants to access direct debit payments through software they use already, GoCardless, a London-based provider of account-to-account payment solutions, is partnering with analytics and activation-platform provider Piano to deliver debit capabilities on the automated clearing house network to publishers and brands. The ability …

With credit card acceptance rates expected to rise next spring, payments-technology firms are starting to launch services for merchants that they say will soften the blow. The latest comes in the automobile-repair industry with an announcement Tuesday by Facepay Inc. of general availability of a service aimed at replacing credit …

As they have for rival Visa Inc., transaction volumes are continuing to improve for Mastercard Inc. as world commerce stages its recovery from the impact of the pandemic. “The strong momentum we started the year with accelerated this quarter,” chief executive Michael Miebach said Thursday morning during a session with …

Nearly 18 months into the Covid-19 pandemic, consumer usage of contactless payments continues to grow, according to the most recent CardFlight Small Business Report. During the week ending July 18, contactless transactions increased 597.7% from the March 2020 baseline period. Contactless usage has been steadily increasing on a weekly basis …