Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals

Alchemy Pay, a payment gateway allowing users to exchange cryptocurrency and fiat money, launched its Crypto Card, a “mini app” backed by the user’s cryptocurrency. The promotion offers vouchers reducing the application fee to a penny from a dollar for a limited time. Fintech at Cornell has published “Cornell Convenes: Toward …

Digital-payments provider Wirex says it is working with ZeroFox Holdings Inc., a provider of cybersecurity technology, to incorporate ZeroFox’s Dark Web Monitoring app into its platform. Wirex’s blockchain-based service enables consumers to buy, sell, send, spend, and store fiat and crypto currency through the Wirex digital wallet. ZeroFox’s Dark Web …

Kindcard Inc., which among other services provides closed-loop payments technology connecting businesses and consumers, said it has entered a letter of intent to acquire OpenTransact from AcePay Inc. OpenTransact offers a banking platform that supports high-risk merchants. Terms were not disclosed. The tokens USDT and USDC dominate the stablecoin market, …

TurboTenant, an online property-management platform that enables landlords to collect rent payments, said it will work with Lula, a property-maintenance firm, for maintenance services and payment of service fees. Some 600,000 landlords are said to use TurboTenant’s platform. MoneyGram and Stellar Development Foundation announced they have invested an undisclosed sum in …

U.S. retail sales, excluding automotive products, grew 3.1% year-over-year in the Nov. 1 through Dec. 24 period, according to Mastercard Inc.’s SpendingPulse. The result is not adjusted for inflation. Standouts were e-commerce sales, up 6.3%, and restaurants, at 7.8%. The worst performer was jewelry, at negative 2%. Blockchain operator Paxos said it will …

LawFi, a payments platform for law firms, announced a $1.5-million pre-seed funding round from Capital Q Ventures. Digital-banking provider Ibanera announced Portl, a set of blockchain-based payments technologies for online gaming. NordVPN, a vendor of cybersecurity technology, launched an insurance program offering victims of identity theft reimbursement up to $1 million for …

The payouts platform Onbe said it will enable instant payment on virtual Mastercard cards to consumers who want to sell unused gift cards on the CardCash secondary gift card market. Buy now, pay later platform Affirm Inc. said it is expanding to self-checkout kiosks in more than 4,500 U.S. Walmart stores. U.S. households spend …

Presto Automation Inc. forecast its new, artificial-intelligence-based Presto Voice ordering system for drive-through restaurants will have been adopted by 1,270 locations by the end of 2024, up from the current count of 404. River, a provider of technology and financial services related to Bitcoin, launched River Link, a service that lets users send …

Tolling-technology provider Quarterhill Inc. said its Electronic Transaction Consultants unit has launched an E-ZPass interoperability hub to enable readily available electronic toll payments across regions of the United States. The move is considered a step toward nationwide toll-payment interoperability. Equipifi, a provider of buy now, pay later services for debit card issuers, …

Exceleron, a payments service for utility companies, said it is working with payments platform KyckGlobal to allow persons to pay a utility bill with cash at certain ATMs. Dash Solutions acquired KyckGlobal in August. Payments and loyalty platform Givex announced an integration with Uber Direct to enable merchants to add on-demand delivery service to …

Navy Federal Credit Union reported it took in more than $2.7 million in real-time deposits on its first full day of real-time payments service on The Clearing House Payments Co.’s Real Time Payments (RTP) network. Shift4 Payments said it will process ticket and in-venue concession sales for the Baltimore Ravens National Football League …

Priority Technology Holdings Inc. said its MX Merchant Suite software will integrate a platform from payments-technology provider Datacap. Mastercard Inc.’s Dynamic Yield technology unit launched a generative AI (artificial intelligence) tool that is aimed at helping consumers search for products in a merchant’s digital catalog. Authvia, a provider of tokenized pay-by-text technology, …

Payments provider Bluefin announced it is working with ID Tech, a payments-technology firm, to provide Bluefin clients with Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) technology validated by Payment Card Industry data-security rules. Mobile apps have accounted for 11% of e-commerce holiday-season sales volume so far, up from 9.6% last year, according to data from Signifyd, …

The U.S.-based card-issuing platform Marqeta Inc. announced it is working with Credi2, a Europe-focused provider of embedded-finance technology, to offer a buy now, pay later service tailored for bank cards. Topper, a fiat-to-crypto utility that is part of the Uphold financial platform, has added Apple Pay and Google Pay as payment options …

Real-time account-to-account payments provider AppBrilliance announced it closed an investment from Truist Ventures, the venture-capital arm of Truist Financial. Terms were not announced. AppBrilliance works with The Clearing House’s Real Time Payments network as well as FedNow, the real-time network from the Federal Reserve. Pay Plantation LLC, whose payment gateway allows merchants to accept e-checks …

The People’s Bank of China and the National Administration of Financial Regulation, China’s financial regulatory body, on Monday greenlighted Mastercard Inc.’s joint venture, Mastercard NUCC Information Technology (Beijing) Co. Ltd, to commence domestic bankcard clearing in China. The approval process took about three years. In February 2020, China’s central bank …

Payments platform Klarna AB added a service in the U.S. market that enables “creators” to open customized online storefronts. PCI Pal, a provider of compliance technology for the Payment Card Industry data-security standard, said it is working with Zoom Video Communications Inc. to launch its services with Zoom Contact Center and Zoom …

Digital-banking software provider Alkami Technology Inc. said it has enabled access for client banks to open-banking network Plaid via an application programming interface. Lightspeed Commerce Inc., a specialist in payments processing for the hospitality industry, launched “Luminaries,” a planned series of interviews with the leaders of client businesses, starting with the corporate …

Bitcoin Depot Inc. looks to expand the installation of its cryptocurrency kiosks in a new deal with Cord Financial Services LLC. Separately, RocketFuel Inc. will adopt Ripple Payments for its payment-products suite. Atlanta-based Bitcoin Depot, which recently expanded the footprint of its BDCheckout cryptocurrency digital-wallet funding program, says it will …

The Federal Trade Commission and the state of Florida reached a settlement with Chargebacks911 in a lawsuit they filed in April alleging the company and its owners use multiple unfair techniques to prevent consumers from winning chargeback disputes. The settlement would prohibit them from providing chargeback mitigation services to high-risk clients that use affiliate …