Transaction Processing

Visa Inc. on Tuesday furthered its ambitions to expand beyond card payments with the commercial launch of a cross-border network that leverages blockchain technology to help manage business-to-business transfers. The network, called Visa B2B Connect, starts out with coverage of more than 30 so-called global trade corridors and plans to …

Private-equity firm Acuity Capital Partners LLC acquired specialty gift card manufacturer Sterling Card Solutions, according to Sterling’s financial advisor, the investment bank Capstone Headwaters. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Besides gift cards, Sterling makes hotel key cards, identification cards, phone cards, and other products. Half the world’s population, …

Retail loss-prevention executives say fraud is increasing the most inside stores, but nearly a third say fraud is rising the most in online-only sales and more than 20% say it’s going up the most in multi-channel sales. The findings come from the Washington, D.C.-based National Retail Federation’s newly released National …

The news that the major payment card networks will implement a standardized buy button later this year may have stirred hopes among issuers, merchants, and acquirers that the longstanding problems of rising e-commerce fraud and inconsistent checkout flows will finally be addressed. But already cautionary notes are emerging to indicate …

Publix Super Markets Inc. is adding a payments feature to its mobile app, first with a version for iOS devices and later for Android devices, according to The Ledger in Lakeland, Fla. Publix has 1,218 grocery stores in the Southeast, including 800 in Florida. Amazon.com and Synchrony Financial launched the …

A standards body controlled by the major card networks released on Friday a long-awaited standard aimed at simplifying and securing consumer checkouts on the Web and in apps. By mid-morning, American Express Co., Discover Financial Services, and Mastercard Inc. had announced they intend to implement the spec later this year. …

Merchant processor Square Inc. is making it easier for its restaurant clients to use third-party delivery services, while at the same time fortifying itself against bigger merchant acquirers slated to merge into even bigger ones. San Francisco-based Square, which has its own restaurant delivery, pick-up, and catering service called Caviar, …

Discover Financial Services chief financial officer R. Mark Graf will retire in early 2020, Discover announced. Graf joined Discover in 2011. The company has hired an executive-search team to find his successor. American Express Co. enhanced the rewards package on its Gold Card; cardholders will now get 4-times Membership Rewards …

The news this week that Square Inc. had misdirected consumers’ digital receipts to the wrong people has prompted some observers to point to new authentication technology as a solution. An emerging option some are zeroing in on is Apple Inc.’s Sign in with Apple, which the company unveiled Monday and …

A data-security services firm says it has spotted approximately 200,000 payment card numbers in online fraudster marketplaces stolen from a collections firm serving diagnostic laboratories, but it expects more to come up for sale later. Secaucus, N.J.-based Quest Diagnostics Inc. reported Monday that financial and other data on some 11.9 …