The Federal Trade Commission this week announced a settlement with an independent sales organization that processed $80 million in payments for “My Online Business Education,” or MOBE, a business-coaching and investment opportunity the FTC deemed fraudulent and shut down in 2018. Under an order and permanent injunction in U.S. District Court …
Read More »How PayPal’s Case Against the CFPB Could Spawn ‘Uncomfortable’ Results for Payments Players
It was easy to lose track of it in the midst of all the impacts of the novel coronavirus, but a crucial federal lawsuit filed six months ago still hangs over the payments industry, carrying far-reaching implications for nearly all players. It’s PayPal Holdings Inc.’s action against the Consumer Financial Protection …
Read More »Shift4 Looks to Raise Up to $315 Million Through Its IPO
Shift4 Payments Inc.’s pending initial public offering took a step forward Monday when the merchant processor filed an amended prospectus stating it plans to sell 15 million shares of common stock at a range of $19 to $21 per share. At the maximum price, the sale would yield $315 million …
Read More »Lending USA Launches Instant ID-Verification Tool and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 5/22/20
Point-of-sale lender LendingUSA LLC launched an instant ID-verification capability, which involves applicants using a smart phone to take and transmit photos of government-issued ID cards and selfie photos. The company says its merchant base exceeds 8,000 nationally.A startup called Skyflow said it has raised $7.5 million in a seed funding round aimed at developing …
Read More »A Rogue First Data ISO Will Cost Fiserv $40 Million in a Proposed Settlement With the FTC
Fiserv Inc. and the former head of an independent sales organization will pay $40.2 million to settle charges brought by the Federal Trade Commission stemming from alleged illegal actions committed by the ISO from 2012 to 2014 while it obtained processing services from First Data Merchant Services, whose parent company …
Read More »Mastercard Also Extends EMV Liability Shift for Fuel Pumps
All four card brands have now delayed for the second time their EMV liability shifts for automated fuel dispensers with Mastercard Inc.’s Monday announcement it would postpone its shift until April 16. The original shift was to have taken place in October 2017, but was deferred until October 2020. Along …
Read More »In the Time of Covid-19, Risk And Underwriting Practices Must Adapt, Experts Say
Payments providers and acquirers are having to quickly adjust to evolving risk practices as chargeback volume and return rates change during the nationwide Covid-19 containment. That’s important because the Federal Trade Commission, in particular, is using these two metrics as potential indicators of misdeeds, advised panelists Wednesday in the “Regulatory …
Read More »CPI’s EMV Card Boost and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 5/6/20
Payment card manufacturer CPI Card Group Inc. said first-quarter sales of credit and debit cards rose 22% from a year earlier to $59.8 million, driven in part by strong demand for dual-interface EMV cards that support contactless payments. The company reported first-quarter net income of $2.42 million versus a loss of $3.06 …
Read More »Visa Postponing Most Interchange Rate Changes Until April 2021
Citing the business disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, Visa Inc. announced late Tuesday that it will delay until next April most of the interchange rate changes it had planned for July. The network also publicly confirmed the six-month postponement of its EMV liability shift for fuel pumps, and further …
Read More »Visa Will Postpone Its Fuel-Pump EMV Liability Shift for Six Months, C-Store Group Says
Visa Inc. has informed petroleum retailers that it will delay its planned EMV fuel-pump liability shift set for October until April 17, 2021, the convenience-store trade group NACS disclosed Friday. “The network’s delay was in response to letters NACS sent on behalf of its retail members to the four global …
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