The reduced interbank fee of 5.2 cents contained in the same-day settlement plan approved this week by members of NACHA, the regulatory body for the automated clearing house network, is likely to go down better with major merchants than the 8.2-cent fee contained in the original proposal. “The level of …

The voting members of automated clearing house network regulator NACHA have approved a plan to allow for same-day settlement of ACH transactions, NACHA announced Tuesday. The same-day proposal, which has been debated since its introduction early last year, received “overwhelming support” in the balloting, says a NACHA spokesperson. NACHA does …

By John Stewart Left for dead as recently as two years ago, the concept of mobile payments in physical stores is staging a remarkable resurrection. The signs are everywhere. In April, PayPal Inc. said it will adopt near-field communication (NFC) after years of mocking the technology, which enables wave-and-pay transactions …

Consumers expect restaurants to be the top merchant type to adopt mobile payments, especially as they envision it simplifying the payment process. That’s the finding of a survey from independent sales organization Harbortouch Payments LLC, which also products point-of-sale products for restaurants and other merchants. In the survey of 1,000 …

By Jim Daly Global Payments Inc., the biggest processor swept up in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s April lawsuit against allegedly fraudulent debt collectors, came out with guns blazing Thursday in its first response to the CFPB’s complaint. “The CFPB’s attempt to hold Global [Payments] responsible for the actions of …

By John Stewart Experts in merchant acquiring have long pointed out that, when it comes to revenue, size matters. Now there are numbers measuring just how much it matters. Acquirers processing the most annual volume, some $30 billion or more each, earned revenue at a rate of 41 basis points …

By Jim Daly Processors accused by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau last month of aiding allegedly fraudulent debt collectors by providing them with payments services are beginning to file their answers to the federal charges. At least one of them is accusing the CFPB of “regulatory overreach” in the style …

  Banking giant JP Morgan Chase & Co. has begun issuing EMV debit cards, with plans to convert its entire debit card portfolio of 34 million cards to chip by the end of 2016, Chase announced Tuesday. Chase began testing chip-enabled debit card issuance in Arizona and Illinois two months …

Mobile payments emerged on the scene a few years ago, but now it’s clear every market they touch—from the point of sale to peer-to-peer transfers to online lending—has become hot for investment. For proof, look no further than the latest list of so-called unicorns, privately held startups valued at $1 …

Few doubt the tremendous growth in mobile payments as consumers increasingly wield their mobile phones at the point of sale. In fact, consumers spent approximately $4 billion doing just that in 2014, a marked increase from the $961 million in 2013, says the “Mobile Proximity Payments Forecast 2015,” a new …