News

January, 2026

• 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, …
• 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, …
• 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 …
• 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 …
• 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 …
• 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 …
• 9 January

  Lightspeed Is the Latest Processor to Adopt AI as the Trend Accelerates

  

  Lightspeed Commerce Inc. has launched Lightspeed AI, becoming the latest point-of-sale system and e-commerce platform provider to add an artificial intelligence layer to its platform. Lightspeed is integrating the app into its retail, restaurant, and NuOrder business-to-business platforms in an effort to provide merchants and business-to-business sellers with automated insights …
• 9 January

  VeriFone And Bilt Aim at a POS And Loyalty Play—Starting With Restaurants

  

  Payments platforms like Block Inc.’s Square point-of-sale service have long sought to find ways to build customer loyalty for the merchants that use their point-of-sale technology, and now other major POS device makers are also looking to build business by building business for sellers that use their technology. In the …
• 9 January

  An ISV Deal for PointsKash and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 1/9/26

  

  Payments and rewards platform PointsKash Inc. said it has signed a new independent software vendor (ISV) agreement with payments processor Paysafe, allowing PointsKash to integrate Paysafe’s processing capabilities into its app. NCR Voyix Corp. announced it has begun to outsource its self-checkout and point-of-sale hardware businesses to technology firm Ennoconn Corp. under a …
• 8 January

  Aiming for Efficiency, Toast Launches Enhancements to Its IQ AI Assistant

  

  Point-of-sale technology developer Toast Inc. early Thursday announced enhancements to its Toast IQ AI assistant, an artificial intelligence-based app within the Toast platform that aims to provide retailers insights into how to run their businesses more efficiently. The Toast IQ AI assistant, which responds to natural-language prompts from users, allows retailers …