Mastercard Inc. posted a 33% increase in second-quarter profit as its worldwide purchase volumes rose nearly 16% and U.S. volume grew 10.5%. New business wins, including cobranded cards, and more customers for existing products drove the higher numbers. “We continue to make excellent progress with cobrands,” Mastercard chief executive Ajay …

When it comes to the potential for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to be a real-world payment method, users, investors, and blockchain executives have a somewhat mixed view on the matter. Asked whether they think more merchants will start accepting crypto this year, 49% agree and 23% strongly agree that they …

Switch Inc., whose CardSavr application programming interface allows cardholders to manage card-on-file transactions and updates, said it is merging its technology with voice technology to make it possible for consumers to inquire about and update payment data with merchants via voice command. Custom Business Solutions Inc., a reseller of the …

The crowded peer-to-peer payments market will soon become a little less crowded with the impending demise of Snap Inc.’s Snapcash service. Snapcash, which runs on Square Inc.’s P2P payments technology, will end Aug. 30, according to TechCrunch. The Silicon Valley news service said over the weekend that it discovered a …

Payscout announced it purchased Paywire Inc. for an undisclosed amount. Payscout said it will expand Paywire’s education and health-care payments products to its merchants. Paywire’s tools consolidate payment software systems to reduce the scope of compliance and enhance security, Payscout said. Mobile point-of-sale specialist CardFlight Inc. lined up another distribution …

Washlava, a mobile-payments provider for laundromats, opened its second app-enabled laundromat, in New York City’s Queens borough. Washlava’s first such location opened in 2017 in Tampa, Fla. Payments provider Century Business Solutions announced an integration with Limo Anywhere, a point-of-sale software developer for the livery and limousine industry. Users of …

Global investment in blockchain technology will double this year compared to 2017, reaching $1.5 billion, according to a new report from International Data Corp. Investment will increase over the next five years at an annual rate of 73.2%, Framingham, Mass.-based IDC forecasts, reaching $11.7 billion in 2022. “Enthusiasm for blockchain …

The top four uses for peer-to-peer payments on the Zelle network are splits for rent, meals, utility bills, and gifting, according to a survey of 9,000 mobile-banking users. The results were released by Early Warning Services LLC, which operates the bank-owned Zelle service. Payments processor Computer Services Inc. reported a …

Processor Net Element Inc. said its first-half payment volume rose 37% year over year to $1.62 billion. Most of the volume came from the company’s North American subsidiary, Unified Payments, which handled $1.4 billion in payments, up 40%. Handpoint, a mobile point-of-sale payments provider, announced an integration with RxTrax, a …

The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil lawsuit Tuesday accusing former Heartland Payment Systems Inc. chief executive Robert O. Carr and his girlfriend, Katherine M. Hanratty, with insider trading in connection with Heartland’s sale to Global Payments Inc. in April 2016.  The lawsuit pending in U.S. District Court in Bridgeport, …