It’s May, and that means it’s time for our annual exercise to seek out and describe the payments players, apart from the big networks, that are rewriting the rules for the digital exchange of value. Since 2004, Digital Transactions has traced the course of payments innovation through its nimblest practitioners—the …

If data is the new oil, here’s how billers can refine that resource for the best revenue results. In 2006, mathematician Clive Humby coined the phrase, “Data is the new oil,” and that couldn’t be truer today. Like oil, data is a valuable commodity that must be refined to make …

Visa Inc.’s U.S. debit card payments volume of $767 billion in its fiscal second quarter increased 9.6% from $699 billion in the quarter ending March 31 a year ago. Its U.S. credit card payments volume of $704 billion was a 10.5% increase from $638 billion a year ago. For all regions, Visa’s …

Cryptocurrency has taken a beating in the headlines ever since the FTX scandal broke last fall. But last month it got much worse as a trio of banks known for their crypto-friendly lending collapsed, sending shock waves through the larger economy. The fate of Silicon Valley Bank was especially egregious, …

Apple Inc.’s newest financial product, a buy now, pay later service called Apple Pay Later, has finally arrived. Launched Tuesday, Apple Pay Later was announced in June, but only now is it being made available, and just to a limited set of Apple Pay users. Apple says it will offer broader …

Western Union Co. expanded its cross-border remittance capabilities Wednesday with the announcement it is partnering with 7-Eleven Mexico to enable money transfers from 1,800 7-Eleven locations in Mexico. The agreement will enable Mexican citizens to send money to more than 200 countries and territories in which Western Union operates, in …

The United States has become buy now, pay later provider Klarna AB’s largest market by revenue, the company announced Tuesday. BNPL use blossomed during the pandemic and continues to find favor as inflation concerns push consumers to make value-based spending decisions. With 8 million monthly active users of the Klarna …

Citizens Financial Group is partnering with Paymentus Corp., a Charlotte, N.C., provider of bill-payment processing, to offer real-time electronic bill payment and money-transfer services for retail banking customers nationwide. Citizens will be rolling out Paymentus’s Bill Center and Loan Payments products. Bill Center provides users with a view of their bills …

Georgia has joined a small but growing number of states that have introduced legislation to ban the portion of credit and debit card transaction fees that apply to sales tax. The Georgia bill, introduced late last week by Georgia state senator Billy Hickman (R-Statesboro), proposes prohibiting the fees from being …

The buy now, pay later trend has lifted a wide range of companies specializing in these online and point-of-sale installment-payment products, not least Affirm Holdings Inc. But late on Wednesday the 11-year-old company reported subpar results for its December quarter and announced it is dismissing 19% of its workforce. The …