Mastercard Inc. on Wednesday reported double-digit growth in fourth-quarter purchase volume and transactions, but reduced economic activity from the Coronavirus that originated in China could put a crimp on growth early this year. “We’ll take this as it comes, one step at a time,” Mastercard chief executive Ajay Banga said …

Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. have made it plain in recent years they’re interested in something much bigger than card payments. On Monday afternoon, Visa underscored its own determination to be the network for the world’s payments economy by announcing it will lay out fully $5.3 billion to buy Plaid …

Despite the decades-old rise of electronic payments at the expense of cash, the rate of decrease in ATM cash withdrawals has slowed down, and more consumers are avoiding fees by using their own financial institution’s ATMs, according to the Federal Reserve. The Fed’s latest triennial payments study released last month …

Consumers spent 7% more on gift cards during the 2019 holiday shopping season than in the same period in 2018, doubling the 3.4% gain seen in 2018 over 2017, according to data from prepaid program manager Blackhawk Network Holdings Inc., which did not release absolute spending numbers.The U.S. Treasury Department’s Bureau …

It’s no secret that electronic payment methods have systematically eaten away at check volume in the United States, but now new data from the Federal Reserve shows just how far that trend has gone.  A total of 16 billion checks were written in 2018 for a total value of $26.2 …

At least six lawsuits seeking class-action status have been filed in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia against Wawa Inc., an 850-location convenience-store chain, in the wake of Wawa’s previously announced data breach. Most recently, the Goldman Scarlato & Penny P.C. law firm said its attorneys are investigating consumer claims concerning the breach. Data stolen …

East Coast convenience-store and gas-station chain Wawa Inc. reported Thursday that it discovered malware on its payment-processing servers that may have affected all of its 850-plus locations. And at least two more municipalities using the Click2Gov online-payment platform recently have reported possible data compromises. Wawa, Pa.-based Wawa said it discovered …

Chip-based transactions at the point of sale totaled more than non-chip payments for the first time in 2018, just three years after the United States began in earnest to convert payment cards and point-of-sale devices to the EMV chip standard, according to the latest Federal Reserve Payments Study, released Thursday.  …

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, which serves the area in and around the nation’s capital, plans next year to start allowing users of Apple Inc. devices to pay at fare gates with their iPhones and Watches using a virtual version of the agency’s SmarTrip card, according to The Washington Post. Android …

Mastercard Inc. on Wednesday announced it has begun its first real-world pilots for a new digital-identity system the company says has the potential to dramatically simplify payments and other interactions between consumers and government and commercial entities. Two separate pilots for the new service, which relies on mobile devices, are …