Law and Regulation

The steady development of the cryptocurrency industry worldwide and domestically has led the executive branch of the federal government to lay the groundwork for regulation of these assets. The move, embodied in an executive order signed Wednesday by President Joe Biden, has drawn applause from some payments trade groups, though …

Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. will raise interchange rates for online merchants starting next month, while also lowering the rates for some small-merchant categories, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. Mastercard’s fee changes alone will result in a net increase of about $330 million yearly, according to the Journal story, …

As Russian armed forces continue their assault on Ukraine, Visa Inc., Mastercard Inc., and American Express Co. late Saturday said they are suspending all operations in Russia, following up on actions taken by the networks nearly a week earlier. Meanwhile, reports began to filter out of Russia that at least some …

Block Inc., parent company of Square Inc., has become the latest payments provider to come under the scrutiny of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The CFPB, as well as attorneys general from multiple states, have requested information from Block related to how the company handles complaints and disputes from customers …

The actions taken by the SWIFT payments-messaging network and by Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine will have an impact, but a muted one, observers say.  The 49-year-old SWIFT system, which on Saturday said it is banning Russian banks, has not barred all …

Cross-border payments specialist Flywire Corp. reported its payment volume rose 75% year-over-year in the fourth quarter, to $3.1 billion. Volume for 2021 totaled $13.2 billion, up 76% from 2020.Walmart Inc. announced customers can send remittances from any of its U.S. stores to any of its stores in Mexico for a fee as low …

With a crucial card-acceptance market at stake, Amazon.com Inc. has reportedly struck a deal with Visa Inc. to continue taking Visa cards issued in the United Kingdom. The agreement comes nearly a month after Amazon dropped a threat to stop taking the cards and said it would negotiate with Visa. That …

The major United Kingdom-based payments processor Paysafe Ltd. has extended its reach in the U.S. sports-betting market, announcing early Monday deals to support bettors’ deposits by credit or debit card in Louisiana and Oregon. Driving Paysafe’s latest gambit in mobile sports betting includes contracts with venue-operator Caesars Entertainment Inc. and betting …

Four-year-old payments provider F1 Payments announced it has changed its name to Corvia, effective immediately.Electronic funds transfer network Shazam announced it is offering DocuCommand, a document-management service, to client banks and credit unions.Mastercard Inc. said it expanded its partnership with Fearless Fund, a venture capital fund created by women of color for women of …

With ransomware attacks showing no signs of slowing down, the National Cybersecurity Alliance and the PCI Security Standards Council issued a joint warning bulletin Thursday. The bulletin was prompted by feedback from payment industry stakeholders and heightened news coverage of the attacks throughout 2021, says the PCI SSC.  In 2021, …