Fraudsters are hitting fuel pumps hard as they hunt for the dwindling number of places where they can take advantage of magnetic-stripe payments while EMV chip card acceptance takes hold in U.S. stores and restaurants. Last week, fleet-fueling payment card specialist WEX Inc. revealed that it increased its second-quarter provision …

Some 57% of large companies are either seriously studying or in the process of deploying blockchain technology, according to a Juniper Research survey of nearly 400 company executives. Most-often-cited uses include settlement, land registry, and digital fiat currency. The study cautions, though, that some companies may be underestimating both the challenges of …

Mastercard Inc. reported Thursday that its switched transaction volume grew 17% in the second quarter. Meanwhile, Discover Financial Services’ Pulse debit network saw volume jump 15% after growing slightly in the first quarter following a long period of decline. Purchase, N.Y.-based Mastercard said its transaction count hit 16 billion versus …

PayPal Holdings Inc. and Bank of America Corp. announced an agreement whereby PayPal will tokenize BofA cards for in-store transactions based on the PayPal wallet. The in-store payments will work with a PayPal service using near-field communication that PayPal says is coming, without adding details. Discover Financial Services said in its second quarter earnings …

Atos, parent company of France-based processor Worldline S.A., said Worldline has a deal with payment processor First Data Corp. to buy First Data’s subsidiaries in Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, collectively known as First Data Baltics, for €73 million ($85.1 million) in cash. The acquisition comes little more than a week …

Speculation of a possible buyout apparently is boosting the stock of payment processor Total System Services Inc. (TSYS), according to press reports; one equity analyst recently issued a report saying a buyout of TSYS by processor Fidelity National Information Services Inc. (FIS) would be “a home run.” TSYS is scheduled to …

Retailer J.C. Penney Co. Inc. announced it now accepts Apple Pay in its stores. The Penney store card will be available for use with Apple Pay, enabling cardholders to earn shopping points through JCPenney Rewards, the store’s loyalty program. Merchant processor Vantiv Inc. announced it has been selected by Columbia Bank, Tacoma, Wash., to provide …

Prepaid card provider Blackhawk Network Holdings Inc. said its revenue for the second quarter ended June 17 totaled $463.1 million, an 18.4% increase from $391.2 million in the same period in 2016. The company’s loss of $6.4 million improved from the $11.3 million loss last year. Blackhawk said Target Corp. will be …

Merchant processor Vantiv Inc. said it is developing e-commerce payments and security extensions for the Magento 1 and Magento 2 platforms operated by Magento Commerce. Vantiv last week agreed to acquire U.K.-based processor Worldpay Group plc for $9.9 billion, in part to beef up its e-commerce business. Florida-based merchant-service provider Fattmerchant said its flat-rate pricing model …

Flywire Corp., a processor specializing in education payments and other cross-border transactions, said it notched “record results” over the past year in payments processed and students and institutions served. Among other results, the company said it added 300 schools, bringing its total to more than 1,300. REcoin, an emerging cryptocurrency intended …