Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals
The proposed Credit Card Competition Act staged a comeback Tuesday with a huge boost from President Trump, who endorsed the bill on the Truth Social platform the previous day. The President’s backing breathes new life into the bill, which has been bandied about Capitol Hill for years. The last major …
January, 2026
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14 January
Eye on BNPL: Affirm’s Underwriting Open Banking Reliance; Klarna Delves into P2P Payments
With more than 100 million U.S. consumers expected to choose a buy now, pay later payment option by 2027, according to eMarketer Inc., BNPL providers are preparing better underwriting and new services as the payment option is further cemented in the U.S. payments economy. Affirm Holdings Inc. says its underwriting …
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14 January
Blackhawk’s EV and Grocery Cards and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 1/14/26
Payments and rewards platform Blackhawk Network said it will issue two Mastercard-branded products: the Drive Prepaid Card, aimed at EV adoption programs, test drive incentives, and other programs related to automobiles; and the Grocery Prepaid Card, meant for cost relief. Polygon Labs, a blockchain-based payments company, announced agreements to acquire Coinme, a …
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13 January
A Credit Card Rate Cap Will Harm Most Consumers And the Economy, Banking Groups Argue
The Electronic Payments Coalition and other banking industry groups late Monday warned that enacting President Trump’s proposed one-year 10% cap on credit card interest rates would cause the majority of credit card holders to lose access to credit. President Trump, who first floated the proposal during his 2024 presidential campaign, …
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13 January
Surcharges Come With Acute Abandonment Risk, J.D. Power Research Finds
Merchant surcharges are proving problematic for card-accepting merchants, as nearly one-third of small businesses say customers walk away from a potential transaction when faced with the extra charge, according to a study released early Tuesday by J.D. Power. Some 35% of merchants are now surcharging when customers use credit cards, …
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13 January
Papa John’s Picks PARTech and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 1/13/26
PAR Technology Corp. will provide its PAR POS and PAR OPS technologies for ordering and restaurant management under an agreement announced by Papa John’s International Inc., operator of more than 6,000 locations globally. PAR OPS is a back-of-house management platform. Ingenico Group announced it will work with Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions to …
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12 January
The North Year That Was
The definitive 2025 recap of everything payments. As December fades to January, it’s time to look back at the past year’s big events. A lot happened. Kendrick kicked it at the Superbowl, Katy Perry got shot into space, skinny jeans brought back a Y2K fit, and a scrappy little bot …
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12 January
AI is Driving More Online Traffic, Conversions, and Revenues, Adobe Analytics Says
Artificial intelligence is playing a significantly bigger role in online shopping, according to Adobe Analytics. During the 2025 holiday shopping season, AI referrals generated a nearly seven-fold increase in online retail shopping traffic, compared to a year earlier, Adobe says. At the same time, conversion rates from AI referrals were …
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12 January
CleverQ Taps MagTek in Authentication Boost, While MagTek Notes Several Similar Moves
MagTek Inc., a point-of-sale equipment and security provider, starts 2026 with four partnerships. First, it is pairing with cleverQ, an independent software vendor specializing in queuing and appointment software that will use MagTek’s Qwantum Multifactor Authentication product for its secure identity verification process. With this integration, cleverQ can verify visitors …
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12 January
Worldpay Sale Closes and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 1/12/26
The private-equity firm GTCR said the previously announced $24.25-billion sale of processor Worldpay to Global Payments Inc. has closed. As a result of the transaction, GTCR will own roughly 15% of Global Payments’ equity, the investment firm said. GTCR acquired a majority stake in Worldpay in July 2023 from the processor FIS Inc. Global …
