Credit Cards

Apple Inc. has reportedly acquired technology that enables smart phones equipped with near-field communication to act as point-of-sale devices with no other hardware. In the deal, news of which broke as the weekend began, the Cupertino, Calif.-based iPhone maker has bought Mobeewave Inc., a 9-year-old technology firm based in Montreal. …

Like its bigger rival Visa Inc., Mastercard Inc. managed to remain profitable during the pandemic-ravaged second quarter and in recent weeks has been seeing improving transaction trends. Mastercard on Thursday reported total U.S. purchase volume of $405 billion in the quarter ended June 30, down 5% from $427 billion a …

Visa Inc. reported Tuesday that it managed to make nearly $2.4 billion in its June-ending quarter despite massive hits to its international volumes and credit card spending caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, and its chief executive also addressed the latest debit card controversy. Separately, online marketplace eBay Inc. reported its …

Consumer complaints about payment products and services have shot up since March, when the national emergency was declared to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic. Complaints about credit and prepaid card products are up 29% over the same period last year, and gripes about money-transfer, virtual-currency, and money services have soared …

Mastercard Inc. is offering some concessions in its bid to win approval from European Union competition authorities for its planned $3.2 billion acquisition of major parts of Denmark-based payment processor Nets Group, Reuters reported.California’s Department of Motor Vehicles selected payments provider Forte Payment Systems to oversee the DMV’s e-check verification process.Digital-banking technology provider Tyfone Inc. has …

American Express Co. felt the full brunt of the global Covid-19 pandemic in the opening weeks of the second quarter, and on Friday it released numbers showing just how hard the swoon in travel and other key sectors hit the company. Executives also took time on a conference call with …

Some 75% of U.S. cardholders prefer contactless cards to card swipe, mobile payment, inserting a chip card, and cash, according to a survey of 1,000 cardholders by card-technology specialist Entrust Datacard.Alliance Data Systems Corp., a provider of private-label card programs, reported a 27% year-over-year drop in revenue for the second quarter to …

Discover Financial Services on Wednesday became the first major payment network operator to report its second-quarter performance, and things weren’t pretty on the credit card side in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Volumes on Discover’s Pulse debit network, however, rose by double digits. Taking the biggest hit was the …

The hits merchants are taking from the Covid-19 pandemic were apparent in the second-quarter financial results the big retail and cobranded card issuer Synchrony Financial reported Tuesday, results which include a 19% year-over-year drop in purchase volume. Stamford, Conn.-based Synchrony posted purchase volume of $31.2 billion versus $38.3 billion in …

Coffee king Starbucks Corp. announced new options beginning this fall for earning loyalty points, or stars, in the Starbucks Rewards program without paying with a registered Starbucks physical card or card loaded into the Starbucks mobile app. The options to be available at company-owned stores in the United States and Canada will …