Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals

Switched transactions dipped 1% for the week ended Feb. 21 for Mastercard Inc. compared to the same week last year, the card network reported. It is the first weekly year-over-year dip in switched transactions for Mastercard so far this year and reflects a swing from 4% growth in the week ended Feb. …

The planned Inspiration4 project, the first space flight with an all-civilian crew, added its second crew member, Hayley Arceneaux, a physician assistant in Memphis. Crew commander is Shift4 Payments Inc. chief executive Jared Isaacman.Credit union service organization PSCU said spending made with debit cards increased 12.5% for the week ending Feb. 14 compared to …

AeroPay, a fintech that provides payment processing service to cannabis businesses, said it and Olla, an e-commerce platform for cannabis retailers, will offer online payments. AeroPay will be integrated as a cashless payment method to consumers ordering online through white-labeled e-commerce sites provided by Olla. Payments are made via bank-to-bank …

The push to increase the utility of cryptocurrency for purchases got a shot in the arm Friday as BitPay Inc., an Atlanta-based processor that offers crypto e-wallets, announced its prepaid Mastercard cardholders can add their card to the Apple Wallet and make purchases using Apple Pay. The BitPay Mastercard is …

Affirm Inc. said it had 4.5 million active customers in its fiscal 2021 second quarter ended Dec. 31, a 52% increase from the second quarter of fiscal 2020.Payments provider Repay Holdings Corp. said an integration with PN3 Solutions, a software provider for business-to-business payment automation, will allow PN3’s clients to complete payments to …

Like many of its rivals, Fiserv Inc. is looking for ways to prosper as hope begins to rise for a recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic that has ravaged much of the world. Tuesday afternoon, the Brookfield, Wis.-based payments provider revealed a promising report card for its fourth-quarter performance, with high-flying …

Payments provider Lightspeed POS Inc. reported total revenue of $57.6 million for the quarter ended Dec. 31, up 79% year-over-year. Revenue was $49.3 when excluding the recent acquisitions of payments providers ShopKeep and Upserve. The company’s merchant base grew 74% year-over-year to 115,000, or 84,000 excluding the acquisitions, up from 66,000.Fiserv Inc. and the Inclusive Innovation …

The FedNow real-time payment service will launch commercially in 2023, the Federal Reserve said, narrowing the launch date from the 2023-24 timing it has projected since announcing the project in 2019.Fuel retailer Valero Energy Corp. said it is working with payments-technology provider P97 Networks to launch a mobile app that allows users to activate …

American Express Co. said it is working with its reservation-technology company Resy to encourage cardholders to order out from restaurants. The program includes new dining offers on many AmEx cards.Exactuals LLC, whose PaymentHub platform processes residuals, royalties, and other payments for the entertainment industry, said dollar volume on the platform grew …

Visa Inc. along with many other payments companies was thrown for a loop by the coronavirus pandemic, but now it’s clawing it’s way back on the strength of debit cards, e-commerce, and a real-time payments service called Visa Direct. “In the United States, we are actually back to our prepandemic …

Fintech Rellevate Inc. announced a multiyear licensing and distribution agreement with Richard Petty Motorsports for gift and reward cards depicting NASCAR icon Richard Petty. The cards will be issued by Sutton Bank.CommentSold, a 3-year-old social e-commerce site, said it added 2,000 merchants in 2020 and saw record growth in gross merchandise value …

In a new twist on prepaid cards in Canada, Vancouver-based Peoples Trust Co. is extending eligibility for deposit insurance from the Canadian Deposit Insurance Corp. to general-purpose reloadable prepaid cards and payroll cards issued by the financial institution.  The CDIC ruled in 2020 that prepaid cards can be eligible for …

Givingli Inc., an app provider for virtual greeting cards and gifts, will use the Blackhawk Network platform to allow app users to send digital gift cards.Gateway NMI outlined its 2021 ambitions, including launching a tap-on-phone solution that will build on its recent partnership with Mastercard Inc.’s Cloud Tap on Phone.Gamber-Johnson LLC, a maker of mounting …

Unlike many fintech startups, Walmart’s Inc.’s new financial company is expected to be a formidable player right out of the gate. The retail giant unveiled plans late Monday to partner with Ribbit Capital to create a fintech that will provide what Walmart describes as “modern, innovative, and affordable financial solutions.” …

As part a strategy to widen its market for banking solutions, Green Dot Corp. Wednesday launched GO2bank, a mobile-banking application intended to help the 7.1 million unbanked households in the United States manage their finances.  Green Dot says it is launching the program as a way to eliminate the costly …

Challenger bank Current said it is the first fintech in the country to receive the second round of federal stimulus payments and is making the funds available to members immediately. The stimulus bill, which provides for $600 payments to individuals, was approved by Congress Dec. 21 and signed by President Donald Trump …

Bill payment provider Plastiq launched cash payments, which allows users to make any payment through a linked bank account. Plastiq already enables bill payment via credit cards.InComm Payments has launched an App Store card in Taiwan in partnership with Apple Inc. The cards are being sold through 9,500 7-Eleven and FamilyMart stores on …

Fast-food chain Burger King is depositing $1 into random Venmo accounts to promote the chain’s $1 Your Way Menu, which features all items at a price of $1. Venmo is a peer-to-peer payments provider owned by PayPal Holdings Inc.Blackhawk Network said it has added a capability to order gift cards for curbside pickup …

Openpay Group Ltd., an Australian buy now, pay later processor, began operations in the U.S market. Simultaneously, the company announced former Deloitte executive Brian Shniderman has been appointed chief executive of the U.S. operation.Fidel Ltd., a provider of financial application programming interfaces, said its API is enabling cash-back offers for …

Like many industries, the open-loop prepaid card segment of payments has absorbed the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, but the results may not be as harsh as for some other segments in payments. That’s one assessment from Mercator Advisory Group’s 17th Annual U.S. Open-Loop Prepaid Cards Market Forecast 2020-2024 Part …