Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals
Trends & Tactics PayPal Eyes Payments from Couch Potatoes Might PayPal Inc.’s next advertising theme be, “As Seen on TV”?Having recently struck deals that will bring it to the physical point of sale, the payments unit of eBay Inc. is working with a Texas television-technology specialist to handle anticipated growing …
Read More »Search Results for: merchants
Sharp Comments Flow into Fed in Wake of Interchange Proposals
The comments are flowing in to the Federal Reserve Board in the wake of the board’s controversial proposals to set a 12-cent cap on debit card interchange, ban exclusive network agreements on debit cards, and give merchants more freedom to direct the routing of debit transactions. To a large degree, …
Read More »Consumers Open Wallets, Hike Spending 5.5% in Run-up to Christmas
Consumers brought holiday cheer back to merchants and payment processors in the run-up to Christmas this year, spending 5.5% more during the period than they did last year and giving signs that they are opening wallets and purses again after a long recession and rocky recovery. Especially noteworthy were sharp …
Read More »While Slipping, Credit Cards Will Remain Most-Used Online Payment
Credit cards will continue to dominate online payments for at least the next five years, but they will lose share to debit cards, alternative payments, and prepaid and gift cards, according to new projections from Javelin Strategy & Research. Javelin predicts in its “2010 Online Retail Payments Update and Forecast” …
Read More »Durbin-Inspired Survey Gives a Rare Look into Debit Cards
No matter how you feel about the Federal Reserve Board’s proposed 7-to-12-cent cap on debit card interchange and plans for breaking up exclusive debit-network affiliations, the regulatory process has produced some previously unavailable measurements of the booming debit industry. Ahead of writing the proposed rules that it unveiled last week, …
Read More »NFC Phones Poised for a Worldwide Boom, But U.S Mobile Payments Will Lag
The global market for smart phones with near-field communication technology (NFC) will heat up in 2011, opening the way for contactless payments via mobile phones, according to a new report from Mercator Advisory Group Inc. But while the U.S. is poised to be a breakout market for NFC at some …
Read More »Debit Interchange Would Get a 12-Cent Cap Under Fed Proposals
Debit card interchange fees would take a draconian cut under two proposals that the Federal Reserve Board floated on Thursday. Both would set caps of 12 cents per transaction, caps that would take most of the profit out of many transactions, especially signature debit. The board also left open the …
Read More »Canadian Regulators Challenge Visa-MasterCard Credit Card Acceptance Rules
Giving the bank card networks a taste of the medicine they’re getting in the U.S., Canada’s Competition Bureau on Wednesday took action against Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc. rules against surcharging and honor-all-cards requirements intended to prevent discrimination by Canadian merchants against credit cardholders. “Visa and MasterCard’s anti-competitive behavior hurts …
Read More »Fed Could Cut Signature Debit Interchange up to 60%, Goldman Clients Say
Financial-industry clients of Goldman Sachs & Co. are bracing for cuts of 40% to 60% in signature debit card interchange rates when the Federal Reserve Board releases its draft regulations for the controversial fee, possibly as soon as Thursday. Many of the investment-banking firm’s clients also expect the Fed to …
Read More »Eye on Mobile: A Google Deal Comes to Light; A Visa Offers App
Google Inc. continues to cement its early grip on mobile payments, as indicated by the disclosure on Monday that the online search giant has acquired a small company in Toronto whose technology purports to enable payments, promotions, and advertising over mobile phones. News of the deal follows in the wake …
Read More »