Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals
Consumer revolving credit outstandings, most of which are credit card debt, hit a record $1.02 trillion in June, the Federal Reserve reported this week. The new high is 0.1% higher than the old record set in April 2008, just as the financial crisis of 2008-09 was gathering steam. Relying on leaked …
August, 2017
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11 August
In a Surprise Move, the DoJ Asks the Supreme Court Not to Take AmEx Steering Case
In a brief filed Aug. 7, the U.S. Department of Justice has asked the Supreme Court not to take up an appeal over a lower-court ruling upholding a so-called steering practice by American Express Co. The DoJ, which in 2010 joined 17 states in suing AmEx over the practice, argues …
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10 August
There Are As Many as 500,000 U.S. ATMs Now, Says ATMIA
The estimated number of U.S. ATMs—including those deployed by financial institutions and independent operators, and branded machines—increased 10.5% to at least 475,000 and as many as 500,000, the ATM Industry Association said this week. The previous estimate, released in 2015, was 430,000, says David Tente, ATMIA’s executive director for the …
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10 August
Looking to Expand Its Lending Capacity, PayPal Strikes a Deal to Buy Swift Capital
The financial crisis of 2007-09 forced many banks to retreat from small-business lending, leaving a gap that digital-payments companies have rushed to fill. The latest move in this direction came Thursday, when PayPal Holdings Inc. said it has a deal to buy Swift Financial Corp., a Wilmington, Del.-based lender founded …
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10 August
Cyberattacks Doubled in Just Two Years, Authentication Provider Says
ThreatMetrix Inc., a provider of digital-identity and authentication services, reports that its network detected and stopped 144 million cyberattacks in the second quarter, a 100% increase from 2015’s second quarter. ThreatMetrix says its Digital Identity Network from April through June also stopped 300 million bot attacks in which hackers take …
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10 August
ISO To Resell CardFlight Card Reader and other Digital Transactions News briefs
Mobile point-of-sale services provider CardFlight Inc. announced that payments provider Central Payment will offer CardFlight’s SwipeSimple mPOS reader to merchants. Fidelity National Information Services Inc. (FIS) said home-improvement retailer Lowe’s will use FIS’s BizNOW prepaid service—labeled as Lowe’s PreLoad—to enable contractors to automate their purchasing activities, eliminating the need for their employees to …
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9 August
Vantiv To Take Worldpay’s Name In a Merger That Will Create a Global Acquiring Powerhouse
After two delays, processor Vantiv Inc. and London-based merchant acquirer Worldpay Group plc finally announced a formal deal Wednesday that has Vantiv acquiring Worldpay in a deal that creates a global processing powerhouse. The cash and stock deal values Worldpay at $12 billion, a 34% premium to Worldpay’s six-month volume-weighted …
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9 August
Green Dot Provides Some Details About its Role in the Upcoming Apple P2P Service
Prepaid specialist Green Dot Corp. released more details about its role in Apple Inc.’s upcoming person-to-person service in its Messages app. Apple announced the new feature in June and is expected to make it available this fall with an update to its iOS software for iPhone and iPads. Pasadena, Calif.-based …
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9 August
Less Cash Use Triggers ATM Contract Re-Bid and other Digital Transactions News briefs
Declining use of cash at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport has prompted the Atlanta City Council to re-bid a contract for banking services at the world’s busiest airport after only one bank, SunTrust, responded to the original proposal, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. The incumbent, Wells Fargo, claims ATM revenues have declined and that its …
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8 August
After CardFree’s Suit Against LevelUp, the Mobile Specialists Trade Salvos in Court Filings
Litigation between CardFree Inc. and Scvngr Inc., better known as LevelUp, has taken a nasty turn in recent weeks, with LevelUp accusing CardFree of high-pressure tactics outside the courtroom and CardFree charging LevelUp with more instances of fraudulent access to its mobile order-ahead-and-pay system. In its June 21 answer to …
