Thursday , March 28, 2024

Law and Regulation

Buying Groups Might—or Might Not—Give Merchants More Negotiating Power with the Card Networks

Card-acceptance costs and network rules weren’t the only subjects covered by the sweeping settlement revealed Tuesday involving Visa Inc., Mastercard Inc. and lawyers for the merchants that sued them. The pending agreement, which needs approval from a federal judge, allows for the creation of so-called merchant buying groups that would …

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Visa And Mastercard Agree to Merchant Rate Cuts and Acceptance Changes in a Major Settlement

Merchant lawsuits challenging credit card interchange and payment card network rules that began nearly two decades ago may finally be heading for resolution under a landmark settlement announced Tuesday by Visa Inc., Mastercard Inc., and lawyers for the merchants. Merchant lawyers in the massive case estimate the settlement could save …

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COMMENTARY: Cap One’s Bid for Discover Will Lift Many Boats

Capital One’s proposed $35.3-billion acquisition of Discover will be a thunderclap for the debit-card, retail-banking, and payment-network markets. The Discover network has long been the number-five U.S. retail-payment network, after Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and PayPal. Since its acquisition of Diners Club from Citi in 2008, Discover has struggled as …

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X Gets More State OKs and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 3/25/24

X Payments LLC, the payments platform for the social-media network X (formerly Twitter), received money-transmitter licenses last week from New Mexico, Oregon, and Illinois, bringing to 22 the number of states that have approved the platform for money movement. Fleetcor Technologies Inc., a business-payments provider, said it has now renamed …

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ParkHub and JustPark Combo and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 3/22/24

Parking management and payment providers ParkHub said it will merge with JustPark, a United Kingdom-based parking reservations and payments platform. Dallas-based ParkHub said the new organization serves more than 20 million drivers and more than 500 business-to-business clients representing more than $1 billion in booking volume. Terms were not disclosed. Payments provider North …

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As Apple Opens up to Outside Payments, Big Tech Protests the Cost

Apple Inc. early Thursday said it has “fully complied” with a federal court ruling requiring the technology giant to permit app developers to process payments outside of Apple’s own system. The response came after five major technology companies on Wednesday filed a petition with the court protesting that Apple’s compliance …

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Generative AI, Pig Butchering, And Triangulation Scams Are Among the Biggest Fraud Threats, Visa Says

New technologies such as generative AI are making it easier for fraudsters to scam consumers, according to the spring edition of Visa Inc.’s 2024 Biannual Fraud Threats report, just released. What makes generative AI such an effective fraud tool is that it can be used to convince consumers to give …

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New Nacha Rules Take Aim At Credit Push Fraud, Handing a Clearer Role to Receivers

Nacha, the governing body for the automated clearing house network, has approved a new set of rules aimed at curbing the growing threat of credit-push fraud. Credit-push fraud uses social engineering and email phishing attacks to deceive someone into sending funds to a criminal-controlled account. Common examples of credit-push fraud …

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How the CFPB’s Mobile Wallet Rule Is Raising More Questions Than Answers

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released its proposed rule on mobile wallets back in November, and comments on it closed Jan. 8, but that doesn’t mean the proposal isn’t still stirring up discussion as lawmakers, payments experts, and technology firms wrestle with its implications. The rule, which would define so-called …

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COMMENTARY: Real-Time Funding Improves the Digital Wallet Experience. Here’s How

Digital wallets such as PayPal, Venmo, Apple Pay, and Google Pay are ubiquitous components of everyday financial activity for millions of people. With users increasingly using and maintaining cash balances on digital wallets, they are starting to demand 24/7 access to their money. They also expect faster and more visible …

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Digital Transactions