Amazon.com Inc.’s interest in launching a checking-account-like product, reported Tuesday by The Wall Street Journal, could have deep roots in its strategy both for payments in general and for Amazon Pay, the payment wallet it operates for non-Amazon sites, expert observers say. Talks between the Seattle-based retailing colossus and banks …

The number of Apple Pay users globally increased an estimated 104.8% in a year, from 62 million in 2016 to 127 million in 2017, Loup Ventures, a research-driven venture-capital firm, said. Only an estimated 16% of global iPhone users have activated Apple Pay, the firm said, which added that it is …

NthCard LLC, a prepaid gift card processing and distribution firm, launched nthPOS, an app for Android, iOS, and Windows 10 devices that enables merchants to activate, redeem, and reload gift cards using a mobile phone or tablet. Fraud-management vendor Giact Systems LLC announced it and Advanced Fraud Solutions are offering a …

While the U.S. Department of Justice’s Operation Choke Point initiative ended last year, over-zealous efforts by other federal agencies threaten law-abiding payments companies in the same way Choke Point did, the chief executive of the Electronic Transactions Association warned Congress on Thursday. Testifying before the House Financial Services Subcommittee on …

ProPay, a unit of Total System Services Inc. (TSYS), announced the debut of the ProPay Payment Network Wednesday. The service targets software-as-a-service providers and aims to make it easier for them to make payments among merchants, marketplaces, affiliates, consultants, and partners. TSYS says it does that through a single point …

Mastercard Inc. took an $873 million, one-time charge in 2017’s fourth quarter related to the new federal tax law, and the company reported Thursday that the cobranded Cabela’s Visa card will switch to the Mastercard brand. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that President Donald Trump signed into law in …

Processor Fiserv Inc. reported that its Accel debit network has added new transaction-routing options, including the ability to process signature-based transactions. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is using the new signature service, Fiserv said. Accel also will make signatures optional for merchants beginning in April, as are the four general-purpose card networks. …

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced changes to its controversial prepaid accounts rule and extended its effective date by one year, to April 2019. The changes will adjust error-resolution requirements for prepaid card providers and will make it easier for consumers to link credit card accounts to digital wallets, some …

Cardlytics Inc., which provides marketers with payment card purchase information as well as ACH and bill-payment data from 2,000 partner financial institutions, filed for a $75 million initial public offering. Cardlytics says that in 2016 its platform analyzed more than 18 billion online and in-store transactions across more than 94 million accounts, …

The huge CES (formerly the Consumer Electronics Show) expo is underway in Las Vegas, and out of it are coming the latest whiz-bang developments in payment technology. Among them: connected cars that enable the driver to pay for gas with a Visa card and authenticate the transaction with an iris …