Mastercard Inc. reported Tuesday that it switched nearly 17% more transactions in the first quarter than it did a year earlier. Most of the growth came from overseas, but some of it resulted from more U.S. PIN-debit volume, company executives said. Purchase, N.Y.-based Mastercard said it switched 14.7 billion transactions …

• Opponents and proponents of repealing debit card interchange controls known as the Durbin Amendment prepared for a hearing on the Financial CHOICE Act Thursday with dueling press releases. The National Retail Federation, as reported earlier this week by Digital Transactions News, led a meeting of retailers interested in keeping the …

A survey of 500 small merchants that accept debit cards finds that 66% of them are satisfied with the fees they pay, says the Electronic Payments Coalition, a bank and network advocacy organization. Javelin Strategy & Research completed the survey, which the EPC sponsored. The findings are part of the …

• PayPal Holdings Inc. reported in a filing that it has received subpoenas from the U.S. Department of Justice “seeking the production of certain information related to our historical anti-money laundering program.” PayPal said it is cooperating with the DoJ and cannot predict the outcome of the government’s investigation. • A point-of-sale software …

• President Donald Trump is poised Friday to order a review of the Dodd-Frank Act, which in addition to creating new bank regulations established the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Durbin Amendment on debit interchange, The Washington Post reported. • Some observers believe fear of President Donald Trump’s plan to finance his proposed Mexican border …

Canada’s credit card interchange rates have already come down and, under government pressure, could be coming down again. Snow and cold haven’t stopped Canadian bankers and retailers from trekking to the national capital of Ottawa, Ontario, this winter. The reason: to give their opinions to minister of finance William F. …

The payments business has had more than a year of chip card struggles. Now, a long-time observer of the payments industry argues there is a better solution for the threat of rising fraud. As 2016 wound to a close, nothing short of a massive business hangover loomed over the U.S. …

Total dollar volume on Discover Financial Services’ networks increased 2% in the fourth quarter to hit $80.2 billion versus $78.8 billion a year earlier, but results varied among the company’s payment operations. Riverwoods, Ill.-based Discover reported Tuesday that the Discover credit card unit posted proprietary volume of $34 billion, up …

• More than 100 new merchants have signed a letter to U.S. House of Representatives leaders, bringing the total to 768 since the letter began circulating in November, urging them not to repeal the Dodd-Frank Act’s Durbin Amendment, which put a cap on debit card interchange and set debit transaction-routing requirements. Dodd-Frank is …

Generally, the prospects for overweening regulation and lawless intervention are dimmer, and that’s a good thing. A healthy and innovative financial-services and payments industry is vital for economic growth. Yet, for the last eight years, Washington’s boot has been on its throat. It’s been battered by the Card Act, Dodd-Frank …