Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals

Identity theft is a national scourge, but initial research findings released early Wednesday indicate that scourge impacts Black victims far more than it does other segments of the U.S. population. The impact can be measured by the dollar losses ID theft victims suffer, according to the report. In one example …

MoneyGram International Inc. announced a partnership with bill-payment platform CellPay to expand bill-pay options for MoneyGram users while expanding acceptance for MoneyGram’s service to more than 30,000 billers. Some 3.46% of U.S. consumers opened a new credit card in November, down from 3.7% in November 2021, according to the December 2022 …

U.S. retail sales in the Nov. 1 to Dec. 24 period, excluding automotive, grew 7.6% compared to the same time in 2021, according to Mastercard Inc.’s SpendingPulse, which tracks in-store and online sales. E-commerce sales alone were up 10.6%. The calculation took account of all forms of payment but was not …

The world will not stand still in 2023—not in retail and certainly not in payments. For the coming year, security and automation will be the focus of the trends and innovations we’ll be seeing in the payments space. Let’s explore this further. Credit card tokens from Visa, Mastercard, Discover (Diners), …

The volume of buy now, pay later loans in the U.S. market will total $1.92 billion this year, up 25% from $1.54 billion in 2021, according to research from Research and Markets. The report projects the market will hit $6.5 billion by 2027.

As the holiday shopping season heads into the home stretch, consumer concerns over withered buying power due to inflation is expected to tamp down overall spending, according to J.D. Power’s Banking and Payments Intelligence Report. In a November survey of 4,000 retail bank customers nationwide, 40% said they expect to …

Long-time payments executive Frank Bisignano, who has guided payments giant Fiserv Inc. through a tumultuous time in the payments industry, has signed on to lead the company for another five years. Bisignano became chairman of the Brookfield, Wis.-based company in May, following his appointment as chief executive in July 2020. …

Payments provider Paya Inc. has agreed to supply point-of-sale systems supplier 1Retail with technology that enables EMV contactless and stored payments in enterprise resource planning (ERP) software from Acumatica Cloud. The deal provides Paya’s and 1Retail’s mutual customers running the Acumatica ERP platform with a POS system that works in …

Global processor Worldline S.A. will make Splitit, a white-label buy now, pay later provider, available to its roster of merchants and marketplaces, starting first in North America. Announced Tuesday, the integration will enable Worldline merchants to offer card-based installment payments within the existing checkout flow. Merchants can use their brand …

The interest in buy now, pay later (BNPL) skyrocketed in 2021 and 2022: Millions of people have turned to this installment-payment solution for its convenience, flexibility, and simplicity. So it’s no surprise that Apple announced its new BNPL product, Apple Pay Later, in June. With its new financial service, the …

EzFill Holdings Inc.’s specialty is sending one of its mobile fuel trucks to a driver’s location, thus eliminating the hassle to the driver of having to get to a gas station to fill up the car or a fleet of vehicles. Now, EzFill has launched a new one-time payment service …

Dealer Pay, a provider of point-of-sale payment acceptance for auto and truck dealerships, said it has joined the CDK Global Partner Program, which features applications and integrations for automotive dealers. Mastercard Inc. is working with the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation to help support financial institutions and businesses that work with …

Afterpay, the buy now, pay later service owned by Block Inc.’s Square, is the one most used by Gen Z consumers—those between 18 and 25 years old—according to a survey from Insights in Marketing, a marketing consultancy, with 58% of them having used Afterpay. Next was Klarna at 44%; Affirm …

One impression of consumers who use buy now, pay later services is that they may not be as financially literate as others. New data from Capterra, a software reviews and selection platform, indicate that picture may not be entirely accurate. In Arlington, Va.-based Capterra’s “2022 Buy Now, Pay Later Survey,” …

At a time when many businesses are struggling to fill job openings, payments provider VizyPay LLC announced on Tuesday it is planning a “hiring blitz” in 2023. In preparation for the influx of new employees, the Waukee, Iowa-based processor named Alex Schaeffer director of learning and development and Marj Chaffin …

The number of card-accepting merchant locations around the world reached a record high of 88 million in 2021, up 2% over 2020 as measures to fight the pandemic helped stoke consumer usage of payment cards rather than alternatives like cash, according to research released Monday by London-based research firm RBR. …

As the holiday season continues and the cost-of-living rises, shoppers are searching for meaningful yet budget-friendly gifts for loved ones. Consumers need financial flexibility to make large purchases without using their entire paycheck to do so. Buy now, pay later solutions continue to rise in popularity as consumers search for …

Not all countries, companies, and persons will suffer equally from inflation in 2023, as Europe will see a decline in economic activity while the U.S. market will experience limited economic growth, forecasts the Mastercard Economics Institute. Food-service provider Sodexo North America’s InReach unit has contracted with payments provider Cantaloupe to upgrade 18,800 vending machiens and …

To counter the rising tide of first-party misuse chargebacks, also known as “friendly fraud,” Chargeback Gurus has introduced ARI, a predictive-analytics engine the company says can identify transactions likely to be disputed by the cardholder, even though the transaction is legitimate. ARI uses artificial intelligence to analyze data gathered from …

Buy now pay later (BNPL) solutions have seen steady growth over the past few years. The lack of regulations and consumer protections have allowed financial institutions to maintain an edge in this product. But for how much longer? BNPL is now threatening the status quo, with 57% of customers saying …