Installment lending at the point of sale has drawn both startups and established companies, including banks, in recent years, but who among consumers finds that offer most attractive? The answer, according to New York City-based Auriemma Research, is consumers who pay with debit cards exclusively or say they prefer to. …

Point-of-sale installment-loan provider Sezzle Inc. said its service is now available at “thousands” of online stores in Canada. SSI Group, a provider of payments-related software for the health-care industry, announced a capability that relies on machine learning to predict when providers will receive payments from payers. In related news, U.S. …

The debut of cashless stores has led to pushback by several cities, the state of New Jersey, and a member of Congress concerned that card or mobile-payments-only options will leave cash-dependent consumers unable to shop in such stores. Now, new research from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta concludes that …

Los Angeles-area merchants that sell transit tickets on behalf of 25 transit agencies will adopt an Android-based app for ticket sales, Cubic Corp. announced Thursday. Cubic says its Cubic Transportation Systems division is upgrading the existing point-of-sale infrastructure more than 450 retailers use to accommodate the Cubic Mobile for Merchants …

A common assumption among merchant acquirers and retailers is that merchants are the ones who ultimately are liable for network fines after a merchant’s data breach. But a recent decision by a federal appellate court that ruled against First Data Corp., the nation’s largest payment processor, sends a message that …

Private-equity firm Acuity Capital Partners LLC acquired specialty gift card manufacturer Sterling Card Solutions, according to Sterling’s financial advisor, the investment bank Capstone Headwaters. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Besides gift cards, Sterling makes hotel key cards, identification cards, phone cards, and other products. Half the world’s population, …

A standards body controlled by the major card networks released on Friday a long-awaited standard aimed at simplifying and securing consumer checkouts on the Web and in apps. By mid-morning, American Express Co., Discover Financial Services, and Mastercard Inc. had announced they intend to implement the spec later this year. …

Discover Financial Services chief financial officer R. Mark Graf will retire in early 2020, Discover announced. Graf joined Discover in 2011. The company has hired an executive-search team to find his successor. American Express Co. enhanced the rewards package on its Gold Card; cardholders will now get 4-times Membership Rewards …

Fast, frictionless credit at the point of purchase, delivered via mobile apps, threatens to sideline banks. It won’t—if they look upon new fintechs as friends rather than foes. We increasingly use smart phones to make contactless payments and apps to collect rewards. And now, we use new and fast-growing short-term …

The ducks are lining up for U.S. contactless payments with dual-interface cards, but they’re not all in a row yet. Outdated POS terminals and certification issues still stand in the way. Forget the swipe, and even the dip. Tapping plastic cards is the wave of the future, in the eyes …